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Thread ID: 145904	2018-02-27 05:12:00	Acer Aspire problem	Driftwood (5551)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
1446806	2018-02-27 05:12:00	I have a Acer Aspire ES1-531-P4H4 which was in a continual repair loop. I managed to do a repair from a windows 10 DVD. I only lasted a short while before reverting to the same. It had heaps of third party software & all the usual bloatware. Rather than go for the factory reset we opted for a clean install. It initially boots from the DVD but wont start the installation. Comes up with a nice blue recovery window with the options "Enter to try again" OR "F8 for startup options" Neither of which do any thing. Thinking I could outsmart it, I booted from a Linux disk & formatted the drive & the recovery partition. However it still wont load beyond the recovery window.	Driftwood (5551)
1446807	2018-02-27 05:40:00	Normally Dont bother formatting the drive, it only adds trouble. If you can boot it from Linux, or some other partition software, completely remove all partitions so the drive is empty. Then try booting from the DVD. You may have to tap what ever key is required to get to the boot menu options. If its booting to a recovery window its not booting correctly / From the DVD. If the drives really blank there wont be any recovery to boot from. Some, depending on the laptop, you'll need to use a bootable USB drive instead of DVD. Being Acer, it should be one of the following --- F2 / Delete / F1 / Ctrl + Alt + Esc	wainuitech (129)
1446808	2018-02-27 05:48:00	Sounds like the Hdd is toast (apart from the recovery partition), or the cmos/bios is corrupted (flat battery?).	feersumendjinn (64)
1446809	2018-02-27 06:49:00	[QUOTE=wainuitech;1273631]Normally Dont bother formatting the drive, it only adds trouble. If you can boot it from Linux, or some other partition software, completely remove all partitions so the drive is empty. Then try booting from the DVD. You may have to tap what ever key is required to get to the boot menu options. If its booting to a recovery window its not booting correctly / From the DVD. If the drives really blank there wont be any recovery to boot from. Some, depending on the laptop, you'll need to use a bootable USB drive instead of DVD. Being Acer, it should be one of the following --- F2 / Delete / F1 / Ctrl + Alt + Esc[/QUOTE F2 gets into the Bios. Had to change the boot mode to Legacy before it will look at the DVD In Linux I did try to remove the partitions but it protested & claimed they were glued in or something similar. But I did successfully format all three of them, so was surprised when it wouldn't proceed with the install. Haven't tried a USB drive yet as I haven't got one ready & I'm almost at my data cap for the month. If you could advise on a method to copy the ISO from my DVD to USB, I will try that.	Driftwood (5551)
1446810	2018-02-27 06:50:00	Sounds like the Hdd is toast (apart from the recovery partition), or the cmos/bios is corrupted (flat battery?). You're a little ray of sunshine.	Driftwood (5551)
1446811	2018-02-27 07:55:00	In Linux I did try to remove the partitions but it protested & claimed they were glued in or something similar. But I did successfully format all three of them, so was surprised when it wouldn't proceed with the install. Nothing un-natural or strange about those actions. Something is still there. ;) The actual boot/recovery partition doesn't have a drive letter, some software cant see it. The Linux software more than likely didn't like the partitions (not uncommon). Had several times where gparted turned its nose up ( snobby bloody stuff) ;) Just a suggestion -- Download and install AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard www.disk-partition.com Click on the Local Button. Once installed open the program, on the left Make Bootable Media. ( several options on menu after doing that) Boot from that, on the partitions, right click each partition - Delete Partition / Apply. Don't be at all surprised if you see the hidden partition(s) you didn't see before :) There shouldn't be any need to change from UEFI since the DVD should accept it and boot. Once all partitions are gone and the drives completely blank, THEN boot from the DVD with Windows, because there's no other boot options it should pick up the DVD. If it stops then you may have a bad install Disk or the optical drive has a problem.	wainuitech (129)
1446812	2018-02-27 08:10:00	Adding to above, sometimes I have to remove a HDD, slave it to another PC then use the partition software Via Windows to remove the partitions from the slave drive. Put the Blank HDD back, and it boots fine from the DVD and installs. DONT boot from the DVD if doing it that way, its a real "moment " @^**(%%#& If you delete the wrong drive by mistake ( been there-Done that) :D "IF" it still wont install, there are other ways - Some Laptops can be a real PITA :(	wainuitech (129)
1446813	2018-02-27 08:15:00	Ah, that would appear to be a windows program. I can only boot the laptop in Linux. Hard drive is not easily accessible in this model.	Driftwood (5551)
1446814	2018-02-27 08:47:00	Ah, that would appear to be a windows program. I can only boot the laptop in Linux. . You may be doing something wrong then. Change the BIOS back to Legacy, change the boot order to CD/DVD first, then it will boot the CD/DVD assuming there's nothing wrong with your media. Done that countless times -- Changed to Legacy, boot from a CD, Wipe the drives completely clean, reset BIOS back to default (UEFI), boots from the Windows DVD perfectly fine -- Its designed to work on UEFI. The Linux Media you're using obviously cant handle it, if as stated -- In Linux I did try to remove the partitions but it protested & claimed they were glued in or something similar. Also, Make sure the Windows is X64, some laptops dont like a 32 (X86) bit OS	wainuitech (129)
1446815	2018-02-27 19:44:00	You may be doing something wrong then. Change the BIOS back to Legacy, change the boot order to CD/DVD first, then it will boot the CD/DVD assuming there's nothing wrong with your media. Done that countless times -- Changed to Legacy, boot from a CD, Wipe the drives completely clean, reset BIOS back to default (UEFI), boots from the Windows DVD perfectly fine -- Its designed to work on UEFI. The Linux Media you're using obviously cant handle it, if as stated -- Also, Make sure the Windows is X64, some laptops dont like a 32 (X86) bit OS I assumed you meant change Bios back to UEFI & boot from DVD. I just tried that & it now comes up with "Press any key to boot with CD/DVD" But then come up with "Default Boot Device Missing or Boot Failed" My win 10 x64 DVD could be faulty but it's worked fine several times before. I also tried a win 10 x32 DVD & it comes up with "No Bootable Device" Also does the same with Linux DVD.	Driftwood (5551)
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