[GUIDE] Clean install of Windows 7 on Acer

can someone please help me out....i have an Aspire Timeline 5810TZ and i updated my bios to the latest 2.31, but my version still shows 2.0. can someone advise me of what i should do? thanks

 

If it did not come with Windows 7 or an upgrade option (being bought in the last 6 months more or less) then:

Looks like you'll have to purchase an upgrade W7 if acer won't send you one - check this to see if your eligible http://www.acer.com/windows7/eng/

 

i just bought the laptop and i got my windows 7 cd in the mail last week. i haven't installed it yet because i want a clean install.

 

I got a 6930G with the latest bios (3228) and its SLIC 2.0
And paying 15euros of shipping for a DVD is a bit expensive IMO :/

 

Try googling "slic slp 2.1 acer 6930g 3238"

You should find the bios your looking for with that.

 

What he said

 

Thanks, it has worked

 

Thanks for this guide. It may come in handy later.

 

Finally someone answers. I've asked this question 4-5 times in this and other threads and it was overlooked. Acer's Vista 32-bit home premium -> Win7 64-bit home premium is legit with Acer's 32-bit key, I guess you just need to get a 64-bit disc/media somewhere. GOOD!

 

Already provided a download link to get an ISO direct from Microsoft so you can burn your own.

 

You mean this link right?

 

Yup, right click save as. If you only download a 1KB sized file then its due to your web browser, I first tried it in IE6 but that has a 2GB limit and the file is 3GB - ended up doing it in FF, but IE 7 or 8 should be okay.

 

Its Probaly being mention but i dont want to read ALL topics .. But actually my Acer Aspire 531-O is Eligible for at Windows 7 Upgrade , BUT because its with Windows XP , i am actually not not Eligible for the Upgrade - And Acer isnt support Vista for this machine .. so in my eyes is it stupid they have put it on the list even the machines sold after oktober or when ever RTM of Win7 was release.. so actually , this topic could very well be used from people who actually dont are eligible for Windows 7 despite the Bios for my Machine is SLIC 2.1 upgraded .. i know it because i did this long before i actually saw topic here .. but just want to tell that not all Acer Aspire especially Netbooks is eligible.

But it would run Vista if i try i think .. Think Vista is to Heavy for it .. also thats why they dont have it with a "v" on the support list if you choose the machine in drivers and support only XP and Windows 7 ..

 

My gratitude to the original post. Was very frustrated, but now my 1410 is now validated using MSDN DVD.

I still rather Microsoft let me enter my own COA from the upgrade pack label during install (feels more "authentic"), but hey it works, I'm happy

Disc-agnostic install was one of the few good things about Vista, but Microsoft had to kill it and make life harder for everyone. I hope more and more people find this posting. No exaggeration, but it's like seeing light at one's darkest hour

 

Hi, I have a quick question regarding the option of installing Windows 7 via the flash drive. I don't have a usb flash drive but I do have a 4 gb micro SD card with an usb adapter. Would that work just as well?

I would test it out myself but my laptop hasn't arrive yet, I'm just planning ahead. Thanks.

 

all i know is that i downloaded windows 7 ultimate OEM and it installed on my acer 5315. I didnt have to do anything. Been running it for months now. So i guess the 5315 is 2.1 compliant.

 

I don't know the "legalities" but I DO tend to reinstall more than "most" people and I hate all the crap that comes preinstalled and not that fond of arguing with MS's computer that can't understand my voice

So thanx for the "nice" way to reinstall

 

joined just to say thx to the OP for the tutorial.

REALLY wanted to 'accidentally' install PRO so i could use the slick remote features to help my computer newb mom when she's stuck (obviously the lappy is for her). alas, after 10 hours of this i've given up getting it to activate- followed all the steps, but somewhere steps 5 and/or 6 would not allow me to activate. once i gave in and did home premium, all worked.

did you guys do some sort of chanting or sacrifices to get ultimate to work?!? my .iso came from the digital river site. all seemed good except for activating.

hmmm...

anyway, thx again. a clean install beats an upgrade over crappy vista and bloatware...

abby

 

Hi guys,

Sorry if this has already been answered but I'm not quite sure... I bought an 1810tz with Win7 Home Premium. I want to do a fresh install of Win7 via USB and was just going to use the key on the bottom of the laptop to activate ... is this wrong? One poster above said the key didn't let him activate, why would this be?

Thanks in advance

 

I'm afraid I can't help you "accidentally" get access to PRO version due to forum rules, but I do suggest looking into programs like RemoteAdmin, which allow you to connect to another computer remotely.

You can use either the HomePrem key & cert provided in the first post or use your OEM key. It should work perfectly fine. Just make sure you are connected to internet when you tell it to activate (that is for OEM key).

 

Great thanks, I'll just go ahead and do it with the key on the bottom then as that's easiest and I have internet.

Last question: Can I use this key to install either 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 7, or is it only valid for the version that came pre-installed (64-bit)?

Thanks

 

It will work on both.

 

Surprisingy my 6935g has version 2.0 slic bios.

Oh well the code with my Acer disk worked with my retail disk (same version) so I am happy.

 

Can data on recovery partition be accessed and used? I am having hard time finding w7 home premium x64 for download since I got/purchased the key with laptop I want to use it (thinking about trying to extract w7 from recovery partition).

 

Have you tried downloading a torrent of it (make sure its not full of viruses though)? Ignore any cracks or piracy stuff, just get the download, format a USB stick to be bootable (search Google for "USB install Windows 7") and copy contents to the stick - I did it last night and works fine (although I have a genuine Win7 disk which I used).

 

Link is in post #47 - use that its legal and direct from MS.

 

Most downloads are Ultimate edition (ukrainian or russian is of no use), I am installing from USB stick. I even found 2 ways of "converting" ultimate into other editions, problem is it doesn't work on the image I have downloaded and I have no way of knowing if it will work before I download.

 

Lunar wolf: thanks

 

First off- huge THANKS to the OP for this guide. This is fantastic. I just purcahsed a new ACER Aspire AS5740-5513 laptop.

I have a few questions before I proceed with a clean install:

1) If I follow the steps as you've laid them out, will I lose the hidden ACER recovery partition of my hard drive?

2) If so, then won't the 3 DVDs that I created from ACER's eRecovery utility become useless?

3) And if so, should I even care? I have burned the W7 ISO from the link in post #47 of this thread. Isn't that better than the 3 ACER eRecovery discs? My thinking is that I want a bloatware-free version of W7 on my brand new computer, rather than a re-creation of the way my laptop came out of the box (which I what I think I will get if I use ACER's eRecovery DVDs). It seems like I can always reinstall a clean W7 with the ISO from post #47 at any time. Can somebody please tell me if I'm right on this?

4) My laptop came with a 320gb hard drive and I would like to partition it into 2 sections - one for Windows 7 and my programs, and the other for my data files. Can anyone advise me what extra steps I will have to do during my clean installation in order to achieve this? Please be as detailed as possible since I have never done this before!

5) If I partition as described above, can you please recommend how large each partition should be? I understand this is somewhat subjective but I'm open to suggestions from smarter people than me.

6) Finally, I have been reading posts on other boards from people with this exact same laptop who have tried the clean install and are saying that you have to call and activate by phone after a fresh install ( http://slickdeals.net/forums/showpost.php?p=26867499&postcount=435). Is this true? My sense is that they didn't know to use the OEM-SLP provided by the OP. Please let me know if I am right.

Thanks in advance!! Your help is greatly appreciated.

 

Did you burn the drivers and apps disk using the Acer utility that came pre-loaded? Thats the most important thing to keep if your going to windows 7 as its good some of the more useful things like Acer Arcade. The rest can be downloaded from Acer's website support section.

The 3 recovery disks arn't really needed if you go to a fresh W7 install and W7 has its own backup facility. I don't know how well the 3 disk restore works if you blank the acer recovery partitions, but I have no intention of going back to Vista.

 

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I did burn the drivers disk in addition to the 3 recovery DVDs. My computer came with Windows 7, but I want to do a clean install in order to get rid of the bloatware.

Do you happen to know the answer to question #1 that I asked above, ie, will I automatically lose the ACER recovery partition if I follow the steps in this guide?

Also, any advice on my question #4 above (steps to follow in order to create new partitions) would be greatly appreciated if you happen to know the answer.

Thanks.

 

you won't automatically lose the recovery partitions.

During the initial w7 install setup you'll be given the options choosing which drive to install w7 to and to delete partitions and create new ones.

 

1) Yes, using ISO you will just re-install clean system only - all you software disapperas in this case. But there is a solution: use Acronis True Image software, which makes an image of your disk(s) "as is" and then restores it. So the losses may be minimized. Furthermore, this software may create a hidden partition (like ACER does) used for storage of that image, and you can restore it without any external drives/sticks just pressing F11 during boot (read all that on their site).
4 and 5) You can simply divide it to 2 equal partitions or in any other proportion (just remember that W7 needs not less than 20-25 Gb - but it may grow with time hugely!). During clean install the system itself will ask you what to do with partitioning. In the future you always can adjust partition sizes with Partition Magic or Acronis Disk Director, for example.
6) You do not need an Internet connection or phone call - OEM activation is called OFFLINE activation. During first start W7 will check BIOS for SLIC 2.1, then for OEM certificate and for key corresponding to version installed (Ultimate, Home Premium etc). If all that corresponds to requirements - it is done, and you are all right.

Hope this helps...

 

Hi,

I am trying to do a clean install of WIn 7 pro 64 bits
Currently my new 1810TZ runs Win7 home premium 64 bits

I have downloaded a copy of win7 pro 64b and stored it on my old PC (XP pro)
I have formated my 8 GB USB stick
I downloaded and installed the WIN 7 USB DVD tools
I have copied all and got a message about a bootsect.exe file missing ??

Can someone advice me how to continue ?

Should I have done all the above from my WIN7 Home premium 64 bits ?

I read something about a problem caused by the USB stick being 32 bits and the OS 64 bits

 

hello,

see my previous message.
I managed to create a bootable USB Stick and have installed Windows 7

During the install I had the option to select the partition to install Windows 7 on.
I saw there are 2 smaller partitions probably for ACER stuff

Should I keep those or can I wipe them.

 

I would keep them. One of them should be a hidden partition that will restore the original OS which could come in handy if you want to sell the machine.

 

I have a question in regards to the hidden Acer partitions. If I already used VirtualCD to make ISOs of the factory restore DVDs & drivers, then technically I don't even need the restore partitions, correct? Then again, it doesn't hurt to just let them sit there, because there's no way I can fill up this netbook's hard drive, lol.

 

Sorry, I haven't understood well... My laptop came with W7 home premium 64bit... Can I install an Ultimate edition with this method??

 

well there's really nothing to stop you...


...other then your own guilt.

 

lol...classic...

 

I know but I meant to install an ultimate edition using the keys of oem HP..

 

Home Premium keys won't work if you choose to install Ultimate, you need to use the Acer Ultimate key.

 

PLUS PLUS PLUS 1000 ON THIS THREAD!!!!

Just installed Ultimate 64Bit on my sons new 1810TZ and it worked great!!!!

 

Can someone please Clarify -- i have an acer x1301 desktop win 7 home pre-- if i used a universal windows 7 X64 DVD ie; ei.cfg file removed from my own retail DVD could i use it to re install my Acer with the OA key on sticker, would it take?

 

If Win 7 came with the system you can follow the thread to install any version. If you elect to do a clean install with your own sticker later, it would work fine as long as it was the same version (premium 32/64 b it).

There is no need to remove the config file from anywhere....

 

Yes you can. When you install via Ultimate DVD (ei.cfg removed) simply choose Home Premium from the menu and enter your OEM key from the sticker. You will need internet in order to activate.

 

ok so just to clarify, it can be done using a ultimate dvd with ei.cfg removed, could it be lets say a home premium dvd with the ei.cfg removed too?

 

I had an HP OEM Slic 2.1 Win7 Ultimate install on my Aspire 5315, but in fear of the WAT putting an end to my happiness, I bought an Ultimate key online for 30 bucks. It is a legit, legal, unused retail key. If anybody wants to know where these are available for purchase, leave me a PM

 

To clarify, the key you purchased is an illegal purchase according to the manufacturer although it would definitely pass authentication as they purchase in bulk and sell as such.

Even so, the advertisement should not be put out here for purchase of others.

What I dont understand is why you would have bought it with this thread being very clear to understand wth a cost of 0.

 

But can the new WAT update do anything to a W7 activated on an acer with the method explained in this thread?