Hey guys long time no see. My friends Acer lost it's OS and she doesnt have the recovery disk. I have XP Home Edition SP2 but I cant get the SATA drivers. Acer doesnt have a download for this on their website. Is there anyway around it or is she just out of luck?

Acer Aspire 5000 is what she has.

Thanks for any help you can give.

Acer needs a coustom bootmgr located on active hdd partition, u should b able 2 find online, you shouldnt need S-ATA drivers to install the OS
*damn, xp, k then f*@&%,, try vista :P
install, then reinstall wit xp

is there any way of going back to last known good configuration on the setup screen I think when the computer turns on you press F 12 then you get a choose if I am wrong then someone will jump in and correct me then you can go back to last known good configuration.

dough thanks for replying. I hate Vista but I was kinda leaning towards that option but dont really know if she wants it.

Wolf 40 thanks for your help but I thought that too and no it doesnt have that option.

Try installing a small version of linux to install the grub bootloader. Then maybe you can get the windows partition to come back.

Not even install just boot off a Live CD

Here are the specs for this POS

* Processor AMD Turion 64 mobile technology ML-30 / 1.6 GHz
* 64-bit Computing Yes
* Chipset Type SiSM760GX

Cache Memory

* Type L2 cache
* Cache size 1.0 MB

RAM

* Installed Size 512.0 MB / 2.0 GB (max)
* Technology DDR SDRAM - 333.0 MHz
* Memory specification compliance PC2700
* RAM configuration features 2 x 256 MB

Storage Controller

* Storage controller type IDE

Storage

* Floppy Drive None
* Hard Drive 80.0 GB
* Storage Removable None
* Hard drive type Portable
What OS would be compatible with this thing. She says that all she does is burn cds and pictures whatever that means. Personally I think that is a waist of a Pc but who am I to say.

Due the amount of ram she has I would actually stick with XP. Vista tends to not be stable with that little of ram. I usually recommend that to run Vista or W7 you have at least 2GB of RAM.

As was mentioned earlier, I would try to run a Linux disc and reinstall the boot loader, you may get lucky and not have to reinstall the OS. Another thing is are you sure the drive is working? Just wondering what caused it to go south in the first place.

Never tried Linux but what have I got to lose huh. Yes Drive is working. Here is the Error I get.

Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed on your computer.

make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is correct. this may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program.
setup can not continue.

Researching this said the SATA drivers as stated above.

Hi pixdog

Does the BIOS give you an option to set the SATA disks from AHCI mode to IDE mode? IDE might make it work

The manual says there is a hidden 15GB partition for resetting it to its original state but keep in mind that the main partition will be reformatted so you'll lose everything on it - if you need to get stuff off it first, try Ubuntu's install CD (which is a live CD so it runs off memory only at first, instead of running off the harddisk).



The generic user guide I got this from, can be downloaded from the Acer.be site

EDIT :: a regular Windows install CD has some tools to fix the boot & mbr but if it's a customized Acer one, it may change that in a way that removes the hidden partition and perhaps causes other driver problems later on

If you are getting the message that no hard disks were found, you better go into bios and make sure your hard drive shows up there. I suspect y9ou may have a hard drive failure. Windows xp should already be able to set up your sata drives, and that doesn't expain what happened in the first place. Your drive failing explains why it quite working and why it won't reinstall and why you are getting the error message.

Yes hard drive is there. No it doesnt give the option to change to sata and it is already ide. Tried the ALT-F10 before asking you guys lol.

And the hidden partition didn't work?

Then perhaps try the fixboot command by starting the Recovery Console from the XP install disc -- more info here: Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console for advanced users

If you do end up re-installing and nothing else works, there should be a XP sticker on the bottom of the Laptop (if it did have XP) with an install key. If you have a (most likely need OEM) CD, you can just install XP using that install key.

You'll lose the restore option. My Acer you had to make the restore disks so I made them when I first got it. No matter now though I bulked the whole thing and went to Windows 7 on it instead of Vista. Acer site had all the Win 7 drivers I needed, as well as other OS's.

You might try detaching the hard drive and plugging it back in. Most of them its a panel in the bottom, but have a look at the manual.

Very suspicious that all of a sudden it doesn't see the hard drive.

It tries to boot from hard drive but the os isnt there. This is the most infuriating thing that I have tried to fix. The cd that I have is a burned iso that I know works so it isnt the problem. I do know one thing though I will never buy an Acer.

Well I think any brand computer can screw up. I've had my Acer laptop since 2007 and never a hiccup. But mine is a different animal than the one described. Dual core, independent graphics card with its own memory, etc.

Its always infuriating to work on something that has frustrating problems no matter what the brand. People go gaga over Dells and I've worked on some I would have liked to run over with a truck.

I still think the HD might be fried. The Bios may see it but other than that. Did you try Fixboot as ADL suggested?

True true and no I will try later I am felling a little fried myself

I'm still thinking the hard drive failed also. If you are unable to get to the repair partition, and fixboot isn't getting you anywhere, it really still makes me think hard drive failure.

Always best to work on this kind of stuff as "fresh" as possible, otherwise its even more maddening

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/downloads/seatools

Try downloading SeaTools, burn to a CD and boot. That will scan your hard drive for errors. One of the many pieces of software I carry with me when fixing computers.

Excellent suggestion. ^^^

Ok we have a winner and it is ehm9000. The hard drive is fried. Thanks every one for your help. I still will not be buying an acer

is there a way to get her pictures off the memory or are they lost?

If you could take the drive out and hook it to a working computer you may find some files on it if the drive still spins but if its a total hard drive failure it is highly unlikely.

Laptop IDE drives need an adapter for desktop computer connections, SATA drives usually use the same cables as a desktop SATA.

But as I said if it doesn't spin up and is all fried that won't do any good.

There is something you can try. Believe it or not put it in a ZipLock bag and put in the freezer for an hour take it out plug it in and grab as much stuff as you can before it quiets working. This method is by no means guaranteed to work, but it has been known to work in the past. There is a good chance the circuit board on your drive is fried though. If that is the case there isn't much you can do, aside from finding a drive with same circuit board and swap them.

Thanks to all who helped. I gave up and told her to use it as a doorstop.

I have almost the same model: Acer 5000 - 5003WLMi - ML-32.

I should have the restore disks somewhere if you still need them.

Sounds like you just need a new hard drive. Check the warranty on the hard drive.

I don't think your video card could handle vista. Mine has the worst video card i've ever seen lol.



I've also used the hard drive in the freezer trick and it worked. That hard drive was totally dead and wouldn't show in BIOS.

Since you can see the hard drive in the BIOS, you may be able to pull off what you need.