Acer TimelineU M5-581T| UEFI| Windows 7 install hangs at Logo


  1. Posts : 5
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
       #1

    Acer TimelineU M5-581T| UEFI| Windows 7 install hangs at Logo


    hi,
    i am having a peculiar problem with my newly purchased Acer TimelineU M5-581T laptop. it has 20GB SSD and 500GB HDD and UEFI MB also supports legacy BIOS. it came with Windows-8 pre-installed and had a single drive C:. i needed to partition it and had created drive D: with windows disk management tool by shrinking drive C: and then creating drive D: with available space. problem started to happen after that when i restarted laptop, it was failing to boot on Windows-8 and was going to repair option - eventually that was too failing, but i think i didn't try all the options under repair. i also don't have Acer recovery or restore disks with me, last i got that i should have created the disks before.

    since repair didn't work, i tried to fresh install windows-7 from bootable USB containing windows-7 x64 installation.

    1. with UEFI option and secureboot enabled, it didn't go through. it recognizes USB bootable disk, but unable to boot for security reason (may be because of secure-boot was enabled)

    2. then i tried with disable secureboot, it did go through this time, at least till starting installation and then hangs when windows logo appeared before windows custom selection screen (disk selection). waited for hours nothing happened except the the windows logo. tried several times, same thing. FYI, the USB bootable flash media was created using Rufus with UEFI mode option selected

    3. then option left with legacy bios. tried with legacy bios (secureboot option was ghosted, anyway disabled from previous try). installation was started, got the selection scree, saw three disks (20 GB SSD, 500 GB HDD and 16 GB usb flash disk). was showing windows can't install on SSD, space is less - fine, i understood.created a 50GB partition on HDD, when formatting was showing unable to format some 0x000... error. got stuck again. searched the forum, some solution says to open command prompt and use diskpart command to clean HDD fully

    4. when trying to clean HDD with diskpart command, it showed all the disks by "list disk". when tried clean disk after selecting disk, it failed to do that. then when gave list disk again, it showed only the SSD and USB flash disk, but not the HDD. i had to exist from the command and restart laptop, got the HDD in disks list but same problem continued to happen, was not able to clean or format disk

    5. i followd some of the posts here in sevenforum and eightforum, tried to do what was advised, but didn't work

    i don't think its a problem with the HDD, because t was working fine with windows-8 before. thats why didn't try with any disk-checking or repair utility. it may be with some security feature related to UEFI or may be with this type of new generation laptops. i will give a try with windows-8 64-bit, but i think the result will be same.

    if anyone can advise how can i successfully install windows-7 or even windows-8, will be much help for me.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 11,408
    ME/XP/Vista/Win7
       #2

    The 20GB SSD and 500GB HDD and UEFI MB are in Raid for Windows 8 Intel IRST acceleration cache.

    1) I would Reset UEFI/BIOS firmware back to default.
    2) Use the Acer USB Recovery Drive to repair Windows 8.

       Information

    We always assume you have made your Recovery Disks using the OEM manufacturer's Recovery Media Creator app the first day you had your new PC.
    & made the Startup Repair CD.
    Recovery Drive - Create with USB Flash Drive in Windows 8
    System Repair Disc - Create in Windows 8





    You can use the ACER version of
    Recovery Drive - Create with USB Flash Drive in Windows 8
       Warning
    Deleting the Recovery Partition is NOT RECOMMENDED


    Acer video:
    Windows 8 - Create a Factory Default Backup - Acer Recovery Management - YouTube
    Windows 8 - Create a Drivers and Applications Backup - Acer Recovery Management - YouTube
    Windows 8 - Restore Windows With a USB Recovery Drive - YouTube

    Did you make the OEM manufacturer's Recovery Disks?

    You can order the Microsoft official OEM Recovery disks from the OEM manufacturer's website.

    You can Order Acer recovery disks from here:
    https://secure.tx.acer.com/RCDB/Main.aspx?brand=acer
    or
    Acer | Recovery Media
    Check in Accessories
    or check the main web site.
    Acer Worldwide - Select your local country or region
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 5
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
    Thread Starter
       #3

    hi theog,
    i don't have Acer recovery disk, neither i could find any site i can download than contacting Acer support as my last option.

    so is it like, without the recovery disk i won't be able to restore my laptop or resolve this issue?

    i understand that the disks are in Raid for Windows 8 Intel IRST acceleration on the UEFI motherboard. so is it like this RAID needs to be broken first? is there any utility or create bootable disk i can try?

    also you said "1) I would Reset UEFI/BIOS firmware back to default.". does this mean to go to BIOS/UEFI settings and select to factory/original settings?

    shouldn't Windows 8 have some utility to work on the RAID?
      My Computer

  4.    #4

    IRST should work the same in Win7 as Win8 as long as it provides a driver. But we often help users turn it off in BIOS and reinstall in AHCI mode because it can cause issues that are not worth the nearly unnoticeable benefits. You can research this more yourself to decide. I would probably try IRST install first to decide if I want it.

    So you'd disable Secure Boot in BIOS at minimum: Downgrade Windows 8 to Windows 7

    Decide if you want UEFI BIOS vs. Legacy BIOS - YouTube

    For UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with special steps are required.

    Or you can Bypass UEFI to install Win7 normally.

    But I'd still make the preparations and follow the tips to get a perfect Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7

    If you cannot make backup media you can save one or more backup images of the full HD using an app which supports UEFI in necessary. But you'd probably want to Clean Reinstall Win8 anyway if you want to go back or try it again, since it is a vastly better install just as with Win7. But Win7 is a vastly better OS.
    Last edited by gregrocker; 08 Sep 2013 at 13:32.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 11,408
    ME/XP/Vista/Win7
       #5

    shouldn't Windows 8 have some utility to work on the RAID?
    The utility is part of the ACER Recovery.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 5
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
    Thread Starter
       #6

    hi theog,
    so is it like without the Acer recovery disk, the RAID in intel IRST acceleration cache on UEFI motherboard cannot be deleted or re-configured , and so without deleting this i will not be allowed to install Windows 8 or 7? this will be strange! i am looking for a solution to get rid of this situation. i have Windows 8 x64, and willing to use UEFI for maximum performance.

    hi gregrocker,
    how do i turn IRST off in BIOS and reinstall in AHCI mode?

    as i mentioned i want to remain in UEFI BISO. your two posts didn't help:

    "
    For UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with special steps are required.

    Or you can Bypass UEFI to install Win7 normally.
    "

    first one i already tried, but got stuck at disk formatting and couldn't proceed. second one with diskpart command, it failed to do clean command on the HDD. details are in my original post.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 5
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
    Thread Starter
       #7

    further update:


    i could able to try with UEFI + Secureboot enabled which is allowed to take Windows 8 USB bootable disk (created by Rufus with UEFI+GPT selection), this time i got error during HDD partition. it says "we couldn't create a new partition. error 0x......".

    and if i leave the disk just un-partitioned and click next to continue with installation, then it says "unable to format a partition on disk 0. the error occurred while preparing the partition selected for installation. error code 0x.......".
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 11,408
    ME/XP/Vista/Win7
       #8

    Boot the ACER Recovery USB drive & do a RESET.

    You can use Reset to recovery to factory setting.
    How to do a Reset
    Reset Windows 8
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 5
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64
    Thread Starter
       #9

    i did it finally worked-out without the recovery disks. will share details later.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 1
    windows 7 64 bit
       #10

    Well, what did you do?
      My Computer


 

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