Acer 1810tz harddrive failed (I think? Help?). Also, which replacement HDDs/SSDs fit with ZIF?

I've had my Acer 1810tz-4174 since '09, and it is my absolute favorite laptop ever. I use it for web browsing, email, movies, etc. No games at all, don't need much storage. I'm not a computer guru and need help with the following in laymans terms:

2 weeks ago the stock HDD (320gb SATA) crapped out on me - or perhaps a virus took it out, I'm not sure. When booting it gives me "a disc read error occurred, ctrl+alt+del" and thats as far as it goes. Happened right after airport security so I dont know if it got bumped or what. BIOS still recognizes that the Hitachi HDD is there. After googling, I created a bootable W7 USB drive and when I booted to it, first I tried to repair. It said Windows needed a startup repair, I clicked OK. Then when it boots it says "missing boot manager" or something like that. Basically same problem different message.

So then I tried a fresh install. Suprisingly, it saw the Hitachi and seemed to want to install to it. During install, windows recognizes 3 partitions during installation:

disc 0 partition 1: PQSERVICE = 12gb; 3.4gb free (OEM reserved)
disc 0 part 2 = 100mb; 86mb free (system)
disc 0 part 3 = 286Gb; 281mb free

At this point I am confused. Should I format Partition 1 or is it possible to recover it?

I went ahead and installed to partition 3 (I dont need any of the media that might be on there) and I'm letting it run as I type this thread. If that doesn't work, is there any way to restore the original OS that is apparently on partition 1? Any ideas what happened?

If it turns out my HDD is dead, I'd like to know what my optoins are. I've googled quited a bit but the whole ZIF connector has me concerned. Can I get any 2.5" SSD and will it mate to the ZIF? Something like this?

http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Solid...&s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1323882880&sr=1-15

 

Well, still not sure if the HDD is dead, but I was unable to install windows. I tried to install it on the large partition, it thinks its going OK then it has to restart and can never finish installing. Even tries to reinstall itself and tells me its putting my "old windows installation" (the one it just started) into its own folder.

I tried formatting the first partition, it formatted (now 12gb of 12gb free) but windows still wont install there, says its saved for the OEM.

Found this: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/250364-32-solution-disk-read-error-occurred

Says the error is usually hardware related. Ugh. Tried all of his list in dos from the WIndows USB boot - no luck.

ACER is of no help, their website is crap, all blank pages on FAQs etc. Their recovery tool was not on my laptop (or at least the comptuer can't see it) and I could not figure out how to install it (they dont even have a readme file with it).

At this point I'm in over my head trying to fix this, and ready to try a new HDD unless somebody has any clues for me....so that brings me back to my last questions - SSD? Good and cheap? Work with ZIF?

 

ssd and cheap are not used in the same sentence. they are great however. one word of advice, stay away from sandforce controlled ssd. i have an intel 320 & its blazing fast. if you can find a small hd to try and make sure thats your problem then do that.

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Tapatalk

 

Well, relatively cheap I mean. I looked for replacement 320gb SATA harddrives and they were all about $100 (cheapest was $70 for a reman).

Since I really dont need all that storage (its in internet netbook for me) I can easily live with 128gb, and I have found 128gb for $95-$120. Basically the same price for SSD with 33% of the capacity.

Regardless, I was able to boot to my old harddrive. EVERYTHING I found on the web stated that it was not the harddrive that had become corrupt, but rather the "connection" between the motherboard and harddrive. They wouldn't talk to each other. Everything warned me not to reformat...but I had not other options that I could figure out, so I reformatted the whole thing.

Once I did windows installed no problem. So I feel like it must have been some sort of windows problem. I'm still scared its gonna crash again, so I'm looking for some good drive image software. Any recommendations?

When/if it crashes again I'm going SSD, so any recommendations for a "budget" 60-120gb SSD are appreciated.

 

I would watch what SSD you are pricing for that amount of coin...I would either get a samsung or intel.....thats it!...most all others are using sandforce controllers, there for are really unstable and unreliable.

btw how is the 1810? im looking at getting one for a solution to put in my adventure motorcycle to post rides while im on, check forcasts, keep in touch etc. My 4810 is great, love it, but I would something a little smaller to keep pack weight and size down.

 

My 1810 was $599 back in 2009, I got it on sale for $450 with bing cash back way back in the day.

Todays version is the 1830, it is the same retail and sells for $579 on Amazon, but recently it has been on sale as cheap as $480.

Its classified as a notebook w/o an optical drive. The "netbook version" is the Acer One 11.6" and those are $299 or so. Too slow for my taste, even when just browsing the web.

 

yeah, got one of those for my dad, works for him...not for me. thats why I think the 1810 will rock for me. I am looking for a used one anyways. rather crash on my bike and wipe out 200 bucks in computer instead of 600..

 

Can anybody recommend a good drive copy utility? While I've got it working I want to back it up if/when it fails again so I can swap it over to a new drive.

Also, I'm missing the Wifi driver. Went to ACer's website and downloaded the driver (they had like 8 to choose from, even after I put in my serial number, frustrating) and it doesn't seem to be working.

#wishingIwasntcomputerilliterate :/

 

I think intel has one available on their website. I still think you should get the intel 320 series SSD. When I find an 1810 I will be maxing out the ram and adding an intel ssd. my 4810 is a screamer now1