Acer Extensa 5620 - recovery and other stuff

Hey,

So I recently got an Extensa 5620 laptop. Like many others, I decided to replace the slow Vista with Windows XP. Making a recovery DVD kept failing (for some reason it kept getting an error at 99%) so I decided "screw that" and just installed XP on the unused second partition of the hard drive, so that if ever needed I could load Vista. However, there are no boot options when I turn on the computer; it just goes straight to XP. Is there a simple way I could change it so it gives me an option, or is it too late? Also, is there any other way to make a recovery DVD? The hidden partition is still there, I'm just not sure what to do with it. I want to do all that before I remove the remains of Vista.

Thank you!

 

Hey Capybara,
The familiar boot sector > ntldr > boot.ini sequence of XP and previous NT OSs is no longer used by Vista. Instead of the boot.ini text file, a boot configuration database file (BCD) is used to point to the correct OS. Installing XP overwrites the MBR without any awareness of Vista thus rendering it in-operative. The correct way to implement a Vista / XP multiboot is to install XP first, then Vista. The Vista setup program recognizes the presence of the older OS and makes the proper entries into the BCD to pass the boot sequence on to ntldr and boot.ini when you choose to start that OS. Too bad that doesn't help either one of us but there is a relatively simple fix. All that you have to do is to restore the Vista aware MBR, and create the BCD with entries for both Vista and XP. Follow this link for a complete explanation of the problem and a detailed description of the fix.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919529
With enough people trying to "downgrade to XP" the issue is relatively common. I'm basically going to do the same thing to my 5620 and I stopped by this forum to learn about issues with XP drivers. Let us know how you make out.

 

Thank you for your reply.

The dual-boot works now. There are still a few problems. First, the wireless in XP seems to not recognize as many networks as it does in Vista. For example, it doesn't see the one in the local library; does this have to do with DHCP? Is it possibly a driver problem?

Also, I still can't get the backup DVD writing software to work. Would you know any way to do that?

I was happy that I didn't need to install any of those annoying Acer programs to make anything work in XP. Even the custom buttons work without them. Would any of them come in useful?

 

Also, will I have to do something weird to restore the boot system after I get rid of Vista completely?

 

I'm glad you got it working. You may want to check the euro Acer site for some of the XP drivers and apps that would be missing from a straight XP install. For instance, the DVD burning and backup software might be useful. Check the thread for the drivers on this forum, I found it very helpful.
As far as the wireless connectivity is concerned, it could be anything from driver to settings. DHCP doesn't discover wireless networks. If you scan for networks and you don't see one that you expect, DHCP is not involved. You would see the network and could even "connect" with auto configuration settings (limited conectivity warning, etc.) if DHCP services were not available. Check to see if your settings include a limitation of what networks to connect to (speed related, security related, etc).

 

If you want to get rid of Vista and use the first partition for something else the repair options of Xp setup should help you. My preference would be to start the recovery console and use the chkdsk /fixmbr command to have it replace the Vista mbr with a copy that points to ntldr.exe and returns to the standard NT boot sequence.

 

The network problem occurs because it's an unnamed network, and my computer has trouble seeing it sometimes...

So if I don't touch the recovery partition, can I delete Vista now? Will I be able to restore from it if I need to, or do I need to make a DVD to do that?

 

Once you connect there, why don't you create a profile for the library network and just set it to connect automatically. You could also just activate it when you walk into the place.

Your hard disk originally included a 10 GB hidden partition that contains a full factory restore image. According to the Acer guide, in addition to restoring from bootable DVDs backup images, that YOU create, you can also start a recovery from the BIOS. That process re-formats the C: partiton and installs Vista there in it's original configuration. The documentation doesn't go into greeat detail about this process. I'm assuming that it restores the drive's boot sector as well. The DVD restore image would be a good idea to have if your hard disk goes bad or you no longer have the hidden restore partition.

I'm planning on leaving Vista "as is" and just install XP on the D: drive. There is enough room on D: to install a fairly complete set of programs and tools under XP and, if necessary, I can use the free space on C: for data storage.

I'm an IT person and, like or not, Vista will be part of my life. I need to have some degree of familiarization with it to be able to bill for my time. I might even upgrade it to the Ultimate edition for the same reason.

Vista Home Premium is very stylish but utterly worthless for IT purposes so I'm installing XP for that reason. Before I do anythiing else, my plan is to make a Ghost image of the whole drive, that I can preserve and even test on another hard disk. The easiest way for me is to remove the notebook drive, connect it to another system and just do a disk to disk image. I'll store that in my server for safekeeping and I get to play and "break" it over and over just for fun!

The whole idea is to learn about the limitations and work arounds to the problems, and to make this new toy useful and productive at some point.

I also bought my daughter an EX4620 so I guess it's going to be like Doublemint gum around here!

I just want to thank everyone at this forum for all your help and suggestions. Have a Happy New Year everyone!