X401A1 Need drivers... No USB. No LAN/Ethernet.

My girlfriend's laptop got a really bad HDD crash and kept booting into recovery and would show a huge red ERROR. Eventually just booted into GParted to format the entire HDD, somehow it was changed to a GPT partition, couldn't do a OS reformat.

I just did a fresh format of Windows 7 Ultimate for the second time with the same issue... Tried running repairs using my other USB Flash Drive to boot Win7, thought I was finished climbing Mt. Everest when I saw the Browse button in hopes that I could locate the drivers on the flash drive... No dice, flash drive is not readable even though it's booted via USB... So obviously BIOS can pick up the flash drive, but the OS can't...

Laptop does not have a CD/DVD drive and no drivers (see pic below) and as usual... Out of warranty.

I'm out of ideas and going to sleep as I have to go to work in a couple hours...

 

Windows 7 does need drivers for USB 3.0 to work. Are you using your flash drive in the 3.0 (blue) ports, if so try the 2.0 (black) port.

 

Tried it, no go, it's the only port I can boot off of, but once i'm booted into the OS, I can't get anything off it.

 

You could take the hard drive out of her computer then put it in yours, or a desktop, basically anything you can put a hard drive into. Then install the drivers on that. It doesn't fix the issue with the computer not recognizing the USB devices currently but it may once you get the drivers installed onto the hard drive.

 

Was hoping that wasn't the only solution....

Wish drivers could be installed via boot...

 

Unfortunately it seems like it is since your USB isnt working, which I really cant think of a reason why its not.

 

Yeah, it makes no sense... The USB 2.0 and 3.0 is detected by BIOS, but not by the OS.

Edit: just noticed you for xotic!!! Been wanting a laptop from that site for the past 5 years haha.

 

I am :thumbsup:, when it comes time to look at a new computer feel free to shoot any questions my way, or anytime actually!

 

You need the chipset driver installed. That is why no USB devices work. And without the Ethernet and Network drivers, well...

You will probably have to resort to pulling the drive out and attaching it to another system to transfer the drivers to.

P.S. In the future, applications like this come in really handy if you use them before you reinstall the OS. I've used SmartDriver Backup in the past, and it came in really handy on systems where there was no Ethernet controller driver.

 

I'm trying to figure out how that would apply to my situation haha, I have the drivers, I just... can't get them on the computer.