Windows 7 Installing Replacement IDE 0 Hard Drive

[Mortiferon]

In my 8 years of serious computing, I have never had to replace a HDD but I am going to have to do it for the first time sometime earlier next week when the new one along with the recovery media from Acer gets here.

I have managed to locate a service manual for my Acer Notebook model series here.

The new HDD is a WD500BPKT @ 7200RPM

The old HDD is a WD3200BEVT-22ZCT0 @ 5400RPM

Will I need to install new drivers (SCSI etc.) or anything else, or is it a simple plug-and-play operation once the recovery media is booted off of the disks and installed?

I suspect I will need to change the BIOS Boot Order so that the opticle drive is first rather than IDE 0 to get the disks to come up, so that's a non-issue.


Also, I know it is the HDD because I have several different indicators (see blog, I put them there for my and other's quick reference. Hope that's OK). Full system specifications are in my "About".


Thank you very much!

 

[patcooke]

The physical replacement should be very straight forward and should not require any driver installation. Main possible problem is that you are replacing a 320gb drive with a 500gb. Many laptops are not upgradable beyond 320gb - have you confirmed that your pc will support the upgrade?

 

[Mortiferon]

Thank you. I'm fairly certain it'll work out. There's nothing in the manual saying it isn't upgradable, unlike the RAM. I suppose I will find out on Monday-Tuesday. Thankfully Amazon has a 30-day return policy on these things. If it doesn't work out, I'll just have to return it and try a different one (I would have went with a 320GB but they didn't have anymore of them - just 120GB, 250GB and 500GB).

Edit: I see listings for HDD's from 160GB-500GB in the service manual on this series of Notebook. I think that means it'll work just fine. I know for a fact most can't take a 750GB-1TB 2.5" because of the dimensions. Thanks for pointing that out. =)

 

[Medico]

You will have to change the Bios to boot from DVD. Make an up to date Image of your present setup along with a Boot Disk from what ever Imaging app you use. Install the new HDD, install the Boot Media in the DVD player, connect the media you stored the Image on (I use a USB Ext HDD for my Images) and go for it. Restoring from an Image, even to a new HDD takes about 10 minutes.

 

[Mortiferon]

OEM Windows 7 cannot finish installtion on Setup, reboot loop!

I just finished installing a brand new HDD (WD5000BPKT) in my Notebook, it went through ALL five Acer eRecovery disks just fine, and afterwards despite changing the BIOS Boot to HDD first, Windows 7 claims on Setup that it can't install (no recovery disks are in the opticle drive, as instructed)?

I have even tried enabling and using F12 for Advanced Boot Options, selecting the HDD but it also does not progress. It just keeps telling me this:

"Windows Setup could not configure Windows on this computer’s hardware"

and restarting when I press OK.

Is this because of the "Advanced Format" on the this WD HDD? What can I do?

Please help ASAP.

 

[Mortiferon]

The installation went beautifully, BIOS recognized the new drive instantly. Restoring my system from Acer's eRecovery disks, however, is a really big problem now. I made another thread about it in the Installation forum. I've tried doing everything I could think of... changed the boot order back, even tried F12 to boot from the HDD and it just keeps telling me it can't install on the Setup screen and reboots and reboots and reboots.

Right now my only theory for why this could be happening is because of the "Advanced Format" on this HDD... and because I do not have a 2.5" enclosure for these drives, I can't use WD's "Align" on it.

Although according to the data on these "Advanced Format" HDD's, this should NOT be a problem with Windows 7...

*Facepalm*

 

[Medico]

Re: OEM Windows 7 cannot finish installtion on Setup, reboot loop!

I might consider a generic version of Win 7 rather than the Acer branded version. You can Link Removed, use your original OEM key. If you have a problem activating the installation a simple phone call to MS will solve that problem. Some OEM keys work without the call, some don't. You will loose the Acer specific S/W, but many agreee that this is mostly junk that is un-necessary.

 

[Saltgrass]

Re: OEM Windows 7 cannot finish installtion on Setup, reboot loop!

If have never done a Manufacturer's Recovery for a laptop, so could you walk me through the process?

You have a new, unformatted hard drive. The system boots to the first of 5 CDs which contain the image of the original install? I suppose the process is supposed to work on a new drive, so you do not need to pre-format in some way?

You should not have to put the bios back to boot from the HDD first. If you have 5 CDs, only one is probably bootable.

I will see if I can find an owner's manual that describes the process, but if you go with Ted's suggestion, please post back how it worked out.

Edit: If the system cannot handle the drive, have you checked to see if a new bios is available. If your system is several years old, it might need an update. The bios update should state what changes were made.

 

[Saltgrass]

The installation went beautifully, BIOS recognized the new drive instantly. Restoring my system from Acer's eRecovery disks,

Could you explain the comment about the install going well, and then you can't use it? Did it work originally then break or did you change something?

Hopefully one of the moderators will combine your threads.

 

[Mortiferon]

My system is only 1 year and 8 months old. Specific details about my hardware problem I decided to place in my blog, for easy and uncluttered access as I sort this problem out (Edit which I see now is gone... great, I couldn't save that on my computer because it kept crashing... ugh). I know it was the HDD based on several different things, so I ordered this replacement. Amazon only had "Advanced Format" versions of the 2.5" Caviar Black (and now I know why) available for direct purchase from them, meaning hassle-free return policy for 30 days.

I need Acer's eRevovery Media and Image to use my Notebook because it is a touch-screen and not all of the Drivers for it are hosted on Acer's support website. I clean up all of the bloat myself and am happy with it the way it is off of the recovery media.

The problem is because this drive is "Advanced Format". There is supposedly a way to install Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers to replace the old Intel Storage Controller driver that apparently CAN'T work with these new "Advanced Format" drives. I in fact do have a Windows 7 Home Premium RTM .ISO burned and functional, and I can access the repair options off of that disk to load drivers there, but I can't figure out the process for installing the required driver to get the error message "Windows Setup could not configure Windows on this computer’s hardware" to let the setup of the default factory image off of the disks to properly configure.

Even if I did try installing Windows 7 off of my .ISO disk it would still present with this same issue I have read, because it is NOT a slipsteamed Service Pack 1 disk (which reportedly solves this issue enough to let you get into the OS and thus able to install the Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver hassle-free).

So I'm really stuck and I would really appreciate some help with that.

 

[Mortiferon]

I apparently was mistaken. My OEM Windows 7 and other eRecovery media are completely 100% useless now because of the hardware change. I found some old self-made recovery disk images and tried to load those instead, to find the very same problem with that error message halting the setup process of the installation.

I thankfully have a .ISO as I mentioned of the retail Windows 7 Home Premium disk and it did work... however, my OEM key is of course useless. However, I also thankfully was given one by a friend so that's hopefully not an issue.

I also very thankfully created a drivers and applications backup disk, so that also does not appear to be an issue.

I am however very irritated that the license and everything else I purchased with my Acer is now worth nothing because the HDD they installed on it crapped out on me. I am unwilling to pay them $99 just for them to talk to me about this problem, much less to spend $200+ for them to restore my OEM data, including their Windows 7 Home Premium.

So there we have it. I would STRONGLY caution anyone else to replace any of their OEM System hardware because of this possible outcome. I also am going to report Acer to the BBB because I personally find this skullduggery, breaking any possible usage of recovery media of their OEM OS and applications etc. after a hardware change, entirely unacceptable.

Issue, for now, is resolved. Thank you everyone for your assistance.