Cannot upgrade my Acer laptop to SP1

[Paul H]

I have an Acer Laptop, two or so years old. Vista Home Premium. Acer OEM
version, so Microsoft will not help me. When I upgrade to Service Pack 1,
my keyboard and sound disappear - the service pack apparently does not like
the drivers. Fortunately for me, the uninstall of SP1 worked flawlessly,
and my keyboard and sound came back.

Acer support says "Please be informed that it is on your own discretion to
upgrade Service Pack 1. We have not tested non-Acer OEM or retail versions
of Windows."

When I responded "Microsoft will not support OEM versions. Microsoft cannot
provide drivers specifically for Acer laptops. I must stay current with
Windows technology, so Acer MUST support it's products, not leave a trail of
unsupported orphans.",

Acer support responded "As per the manufacturers warranty the software and
drivers are provided as is. If the shipping driver provides functionality as
advertised, an update may not be provided. If you feel you have a problem
with the hardware of your computer you may contact Acer technical support."

I've offered to pay them to install the SP1 upgrade for me, for a repair
fee. They refuse, as the above statements indicate.

This clearly is a driver problem. Any suggestions? If I purchase a
standard version of Vista Home Premium, will it include drivers that will
work on this apparently strange laptop? An expense I should not have to
incur, but the laptop does what I need.

Could I install XP Pro on it?

Price was part of my original purchase decision. So this proves again "You
get what you pay for". Beware, potential Acer buyers. Acer is apparently
unconcerned about leaving orphans.

Help, anyone? TIA, Paul

 

[DDW]

This clearly is a driver problem. Any suggestions? If I purchase a
standard version of Vista Home Premium, will it include drivers that will
work on this apparently strange laptop?
No.

Could I install XP Pro on it?

If there are XP drivers at the Acer site, sure. Bet there aren't.


DDW

 

[Chad Harris]

Hi Paul--

With all do respect to Mr. DDW XP drivers at the Acers site don't have any
impact on successfully installing XP on that acer laptop. XP will supply
the drivers y ou need to install XP (software and hdw for that
matter)--Vista shipped RTM with 19,000 plus drivers and XP had a good
number.

If I were you I'd try to see if there are any updated drivers for your
keyboard and sound. I doubt SP1 has different drivers for those two that
Windows or MSFT Update (it's called both) supply. The keyboard may not have
other drivers, but the sound card may. Try the manufaturer's website and
see what drivers are available.

You could install XP on the laptop, but I don't think you'll have to and you
could also install it on another partition while you're working this out.

It's always preferable to install the oldest OS first with Windows, but
here's a link on installing XP on a new partition after Vista is installed.

Install Windows XP on Your Pre-Installed Windows Vista Computer
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...on-your-pre-installed-windows-vista-computer/

To do that with a dual boot, and make the new partition, you simply do
this:

1) Type diskmgmt.msc in the run box.
2) Right Click your drive or one of the drives and click "shrink volume."
3) Decide how much space you want to give to the XP volume/drive.
4) It will take very little time for it to setup.
5) Then when it's setup as the New Volume, right click it and click "Quick
Format"
6) Install XP to that new drive

Good luck,

CH

 

[Paul H]

Thank you, Chad,
My hard disk is too full to do as you suggest. When I tried to install SP1,
I did look for drivers. I don't have the talent or the time to research
every avenue. If I don't get help from Microsoft or Acer, I could sell this
laptop cheap, telling about the problem, on eBay. The computer does work
fine, and I can install other updates, but I refuse to use a computer that
is not current with security and performance upgrades. Or give my wife a
nice hand-me-down - her uses are email, WordPerfect, and games. It would
annoy me, but it's probably my best alternative.

=============================

Hi Paul--

With all do respect to Mr. DDW XP drivers at the Acers site don't have any
impact on successfully installing XP on that acer laptop. XP will supply
the drivers y ou need to install XP (software and hdw for that
matter)--Vista shipped RTM with 19,000 plus drivers and XP had a good
number.

If I were you I'd try to see if there are any updated drivers for your
keyboard and sound. I doubt SP1 has different drivers for those two that
Windows or MSFT Update (it's called both) supply. The keyboard may not have
other drivers, but the sound card may. Try the manufaturer's website and
see what drivers are available.

You could install XP on the laptop, but I don't think you'll have to and you
could also install it on another partition while you're working this out.

It's always preferable to install the oldest OS first with Windows, but
here's a link on installing XP on a new partition after Vista is installed.

Install Windows XP on Your Pre-Installed Windows Vista Computer
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...on-your-pre-installed-windows-vista-computer/

To do that with a dual boot, and make the new partition, you simply do
this:

1) Type diskmgmt.msc in the run box.
2) Right Click your drive or one of the drives and click "shrink volume."
3) Decide how much space you want to give to the XP volume/drive.
4) It will take very little time for it to setup.
5) Then when it's setup as the New Volume, right click it and click "Quick
Format"
6) Install XP to that new drive

Good luck,

CH

 

[Mick Murphy]

https://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?ln=en-us&prid=11274&gprid=500921

Paul, above is MS's FREE Vistra SP1 help link.
MS is supposed to be helping with SP1 probs, including OEM customers.

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

Did you try reinstalling keyboard and sound drivers after installing SP1?
This is generally the solution to this issue. Microsoft provides free
support for SP1 installation issues regardless of OEM/retail status:
http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?ln=en-us&prid=11274&gprid=500921

You're right in that the issue lies within drivers Acer has supplied for the
installation, but whether or not a manufacturer chooses to update them is,
unfortunately, up to them. Sometimes you can find drivers from the component
manufacturer as an alternative.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[Paul H]

Thanks, Guys - that's good news. Microsoft supporting OEM customers. Wow!
No, Whew! I'll try it.

============================

Hi,

Did you try reinstalling keyboard and sound drivers after installing SP1?
This is generally the solution to this issue. Microsoft provides free
support for SP1 installation issues regardless of OEM/retail status:
http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?ln=en-us&prid=11274&gprid=500921

You're right in that the issue lies within drivers Acer has supplied for the
installation, but whether or not a manufacturer chooses to update them is,
unfortunately, up to them. Sometimes you can find drivers from the component
manufacturer as an alternative.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[Chad Harris]

Paul --

The problem sure is not that the Acer lacks anything. The problem is a
software problem period.

As to the drive being too full, it's your decision as to what you need to
save. Many times people have folders in the GB range that they don't need
or even know exist.

Good luck,

CH