Windows won't install

7520G ICY70

I replaced the graphics card (gf8400M) with a 3650 and can get the machine to run linux (mint 8 and puppy 4.3.1) as long as I turn acpi off (f2 option then acpi=off).

When I try to run the recovery partition the machine gets to the bit that ends boot.wim and if I press enter I get a blank screen.

This may indicate an incorrect parameter, any ideas?

If I press esc I, usually, get to a series of safe mode type options which, if I use the command prompt option, stops at \windows\system32\drivers\disk.sys.

This, I think, is the result of an attempt I made to install from a vista disk.

Again, any ideas?

 

I have now got mint 8 installed on the hard disk and I can get the machine to boot as would a normal linux system but the acpi function doesn't work, as expected with acpi off (manual shutdown needed).

The recovery partition has now been deleted (deliberate) and I tried to boot off the recovery disks which were made when the computer was first bought.

I have also tried an xp and a vista disk.

The machine does the same as before and halts, after the first white bar bit, with a blank screen.

If I use a win 7 disk it stops with the (first) starting windows screen.

I don't know how windows handles acpi but am wondering whether this is the problem.

Is there a way of forcing windows to work with acpi off or to correct this issue?

It is not a hard disk problem as I have tried with two different hard disks.

 

If this started with replacing the graphics card, I suggest that you reinstall the original card, install Win 7 then try installing the new graphics card.

 

The reason that I uninstalled the original graphics card was that it was broken - graphics corruption problems.

I can now get it to boot into XP if I use the F5 option and choose the alternative option (it's got i486 in the wording) and it will install XP with acpi off as with linux (manual shutdown required).

I have found the cmos battery, it is not replaceable, but I have managed to reset the cmos by holding down the power on button with all power removed.

That has not worked.

I am going to try a bios upgrade but will need to read about it first - haven't done one on a laptop before.

One thing I did notice in the bios is that the video bios version shows

Vf R Ħ← ↓

Anyone know what this means or is it normal?

The main screen shows the video memory as 0 MB.

Again is this correct?

The reason I want to try and install the original vista operating system is that the language is Finnish and the computer is owned by a 70 year old who doesn't speak English.

I could install Finnish linux but it must be possible to get this machine to work eventually.

 

Not trying to frustrate you further but maybe you need an exact replacement of the original card.

 

Yes, that would be a good idea but the exact replacement is rarer than dodo's eggs.

I am into a bios upgrade now but it will take a while to sort it out as PHLASH through XP doesn't work.

I am working on doing it with a usb stick and have got it booting to the A: prompt but haven't worked out how to proceed from there.

 

Wow.

I retried with flashing with a dos disk and have now got bios 1.33 installed.

Refresh didn't work and, after several goes, I entered the command

phlash16 /c /x /s ic50133.wph at the prompt and bios flashing went without a hitch.

It is now recovering from the disks made when it was new.

Hopefully this will go alright and I will only have to sort the graphics drivers out.