HDD upgrade on 1524 problem

I have just bought a Toshiba MK1032GAX 100Gb 5Krpm drive to replace the MK6025GAS 60GB 4Krpm drive that came preinstalled.

I am attempting to install windows XP with SP1. Deliberatly because SP2 which the computer came with is incapable of handling interupts properly. thus making it a heap of junk for audio work.

When I go to setup XP from CD, the computer randomly shuts itself off at some point along the install. I suspect overheating or some other error.

However I have also booted with bartPE and managed to hammer the drive copying data on and off, running physical scan disk and speed checks without it failing.

Has anybody else had problems like this? Does the notbook rely on the OS to control fan/spu speeds?
how the hell do i get an os on this machine.


ps. this machine really , really sucks.

 

quick update:
I have just tried ghosting my old HDD (the one that came with the acer) and it too was hanging when running ghost in PC-DOS.

I have just tried downgrading my BIOS from 1.1 (XP64 compatable) to 0.9 and now it seems to be ghosting OK.

I'll try installing XP SP1 again after this and note the results here. It seems that the 64bit compatable BIOS may well be incompatable with anything pre 32bit XP ... which is a bit dumb as it makes installing XP and maintenance of pc impossible?!!

 

I have just found out that even with BIOS 1.09. windows install still switches off randomly. The Acer recovery CD also does this.

There is something seriously wrong here. I sugest that people with 1520's do not try upgrading to the 1032GAX.

 

Referring to your first question - the BIOS controls the fans, not Windows.

That's a really weird issue...have you tried calling Acer to see what they say about the issue yet?

 

i sent an email. awaiting a reply. from what i read i expect it to take some time.

I also emailed Toshiba they assure me that the new drive uses less power than the old one. It also has virtualy the same spec throughout. Making this even wierder.

I have also removed my old drive and ghosted it onto the new one via usb-ide adapter on a desktop PC.

when the new drive is ghosted it boots into windows and works fine. If i try booting from XP CD/Acer recovery CD and reinstalling it dies again!

Maybe the problem is with the DVD drive. I wonder if it is on the same bus?

BIOS controls fans - yes thats what i suspect. I now know that the machine isnt overheating but I still think the BIOS on this machine sucks.


I hope Acer are helpful and dont just act ignorant about this.

 

Called Acer. They will not help as the drive is not a specific one they recomend. They will not recommend any any upgrade drives.

Do not buy acer.

 

I had exactly the same problem a few months ago when I tried to upgrade the Acer Aspire 1524 60GB HDD to a 100GB one. The system was shutting down a few seconds after the ghosting procedure started. Not even Acer's system CDs could do a clean install on the new HDD. No non-Windows (actually DOS only) application succeeded. Seems to me that it's a CPU overheat issue as I also observed that the parallel port (very near to the CPU) was getting extremely hot just before the "automatic" system shutdown. Propably when the system starts up the BIOS (both v1.11 & 1.09) pushes the CPU to its highest voltage/frequency state and the CPU fan isn't just enough to bother with it for long. Certainly, if you try to remove the AMD CPU drivers from XP (SP2) the system will also crash a few minutes later. I did it, you shouldn't! My conclusion: The CPU absolutely relies on XP and AMD drivers to function fine.

However, a week later with an every day 3-4 hour attempts and numerous shutdowns (and an even worst mood) I managed to do it! I actually put an extra fan upon the internal CPU fan and put the notebook under and a meter away from an air condition at its coolest (dry programme, to avoid moisture). This really helped a lot for the CPU to remain quite cool and after a few attempts I made it. I don't remember whether I finaly used Partition Magic or Acronis TrueImage software to do it, but I did it this way.

Hope this helps.

BTW Acer support sucks as I sent emails with my problem back then and I received a 'sent it for checking' answer 4-5 months later, when the guarantee had already expired!