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    S96J Boot/Driver Problems

    Discussion in 'Asus' started by Nifos, Aug 22, 2007.

  1. Nifos

    Nifos Notebook Enthusiast

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    Got the notebook with Vista Pre-Installed. I decided to try and Dual Boot with xp however after I installed xp, couldn't get either OS to load. Decided to reformat both partitions. Installed XP fine, then tried to install my drivers, was a no go. Tried to dual boot again hoping vista would install easier, didn't even recoginize XP. Reformated, installed vista.

    Now that I'm back on Vista my driver disk won't work. Gave me the error "Can't Execute Kernel Mode Driver Service." After I click ok I get the "Can't Load ASUSHWIO.DLL."

    I explored the disk and tried to install the drivers solo. I got an error saying it requires XP/2000 for the drivers to work, however I can't even get the disk to load.

    Please help.
     
    Nifos, Aug 22, 2007
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  2. E.B.E.

    E.B.E. NBR Procrastinator

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    Well, if I were you and I were certain that the problem is due to my messing around with partitions and OS-es I would rebuild my partitions from scratch, run a FDISK /MBR from a FreeDOS live CD, and then try installing from the recovery DVD.
     
    E.B.E., Aug 23, 2007
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  3. Nifos

    Nifos Notebook Enthusiast

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    Can you elaborate on what exactly an FDISK /MBR will do? From what I understand (which is little) it rewrites the master boot record. Can I not do this using BIOS?
     
    Nifos, Aug 23, 2007
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  4. E.B.E.

    E.B.E. NBR Procrastinator

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    Indeed the fdisk/mbr will rewrite the master boot record, which means that any boot settings left over from the many Windows installations that you tried will be gone, and you'll be able to start with a clean slate. I suggest that because there are many reports out there of incompatibilities between the ways that XP and Vista use the MBR.

    Here's a more detailed procedure for you:

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=2188540&highlight=FDISK#post2188540
    Edit: you don't need to delete all partitions, that was a suggestion for that thread only. Also the freedos drive letter might be different from X. Edit2: On the other hand, rebuilding the partitions from scratch (delete and rebuild) might be a good idea.

    It doesn't have much to do with the BIOS, it will only access the HDD.
     
    E.B.E., Aug 24, 2007
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  5. Nifos

    Nifos Notebook Enthusiast

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    Alright, gonna lay this out one more time to make sure my procedure is right.

    Download FreeDOS.iso and burn to cd.
    Boot from CD.
    X:> CD FREEDOS
    X:\FREEDOS> FDISK
    Close FDISK.
    X:\FREEDOS> FDISK /MBR
    Reboot then boot from OS cd.
    ???
    Profit

    Also do you suggest Freedos full or base?
     
    Nifos, Aug 24, 2007
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