How To Install Win Xp On A New Harddrive In An Acer Laptop???

Hi all

its me again. After going to the store and having a look at the crystalbrite screen and normal matt screen, i have decided to get a laptop without the crystalbrite screen as its just too reflective. Why would they introduce this glossy screen if its so much worst off than the normal screen for the user's comfort i would never understand. This very reason made me choose TM 4102 over Aspire 1692.

Anyway, I have a few questions on my new acer laptop Acer 4102.

I read that acer laptop all comes with a hidden partition to store its windows xp recovery data. Is this the same data on the win xp recovery cd? I also read acer's recovery cd is not a full install of win xp but rather a image data with all the drivers for the laptop on it as well.

The reason i ask is because my laptop comes with 60gb 4200rpm hard drive and i plan to change it to either 80gb 5400rpm or 60gb 7200rpm hard drive. So how do i go about installing win xp on the new hard drive? Can i put in the new hard disk and pop in the acer recovery cd and let it do its magic? Or is it much more complex than that?

Also does acer install the original ram in the memory slot under the keyboard or in the slot under the screw lid at the bottom of the laptop? Does all laptop have one slot under the keyboard and on the bottom?

Please help

Thanks!

 

Before you take out your old HD, you need to enter BIOS and set the computer to boot from your optical drive first if it doesn't do that already. Then after you restart pop in your XP cd (either recovery or actual copy that you purchased) and restart again and the computer will boot from your cd drive, basically XP on the cd will take over and just follow the prompts and instructions.

Make sure you back up any files that you don't want to lose first before doing this so you can reinstall it later on your fresh HD.

Tony

 

Interesting...Is the Xp on the recovery cds installed with all the acer stuff or is it actually a clean copy of xp?

 

The Acer Recovery CD's utilize an Image to retore your OS. It's all ready pre-loaded with all the software & drivers (just like your original OS on your HDD when you first turned it on). The Image will just overwrite the existing data/partitions and replace it with the factory load. You can't customize the install, nor can you use this recovery cd to perform a manual (clean) load of your OS.

In order to get a clean copy of XP, you need to purchase XP Home or XP Pro (depends on what version you have in your system). You might be able to get an OEM version from the store (no fancy packaging, just the CD & guide booklet), and then use the COA label (product key) located on the underside of your notebook to register/activate.

Regarding the ram, most manufacturers have designed their units this way, one under the keyboard & the other under the unit, but some still design it with both slots under the unit. To get to the module under the keyboard, it usually only needs approx 2 screws remove from the underside to remove the keyboard. This shouldn't viod your warranty as some has stated on other posts, but it's best to verify with Acer via email so you have it in writing.

-Vb-

 

Thanks guys.

i will give it a try and see how it goes.

Can anyone tell me if Hitachi 60G notebook HDD 7200RPM is worth buying over Toshiba 80G 5400RP Notebook HD 16MB Cache considering the 16mb cache size for the 80g harddisk (i have no idea how much cache the 7200rom 60g harddrive has). Both are around similar price.

Thanks again.

 

ifie, sorry to digress a little, but may i ask you how do you find your acer tm4102? i was considering it, but i got many bad comments from my friends about acer. what made you decide on buying this acer tm4102?

TQ for sharing

 

I would consider Toshiba 80G 5400RP Notebook HD 16MB Cache over 7200rpm

1) 7200 rpm drives get to hot after a while

2) 16MB cache is added bonus -

 

Well I'm using Hitachi 7200RPM HDD and it's not that bad.

It uses as much power as other slower speed HDDs. Well I'm sure it's somewhat more but not considerably more.

Tom's hardware had a great review on this 7200RPM HDD and it was confirmed that it uses about the same power as other HDDs.

Also it gets hot but just as much as other HDDs.

As for the 16MB cache, this only applies to Toshiba, the drives do not benefit from larger 16MB cache that much. There was a hype about 16MB a while back and it also is confirmed that they do not benefit much from a larger cache. They were just about the same speed as other 8MB cache HDDs in bench marks.

It's just for your information though.

You should know, the Hitachi 7200RPM is the fastest on the current market.

Not the quietest nor coolest but fastest.

If you looking to get a fast HDD, consider this as your option. Well I'm sticking with this until something better comes out.

 

By the way, the 7200RPM drive has 8MB cache. (Hitachi)

 

Previous one was TM613tx, had it for about 4 years now and dropped it several times right off the table when i tripped over the rj45 cable. Have a crack at the front because of that but everything else is still working. Well, except keyboard and battery charging problem. It has no dead pixel til this day!

So I went back to acer when i decided to get my 2nd laptop. Aspire 1692 was 1st on lmy list but the crystalbrite screen puts me off it. I went to a store and had a look and it is VERY REFLECTIVE. 8100 is out of my budget so 4102 is just right. Theres a new 4102 out last week which has the glossy screen but i went for the previous model with the matted screen. The difference is the screen and 20g of hard disk space. Also heard that Tm has a better build than aspire as TM is a business range laptop.

I got it today and hope its as solid as my 613tx. Anyway I got 2 dead pixel at the left side of the screen!

It also very upgradable with lids on the base for upgrading hd and ram. Both memory banks are at the base so you can change both module easily. I upgraded it to 2g 4200 cosair value select ram and currently waiting for my seagate 7200rpm 100g to arrive.

Btw the supposedly factory installled 4200 ram in it is actually 3200, misleading advertisement on their site....