disk.sys problem during/after install

[sshake1]

I installed Windows 7 on my laptop, an Acer Extensa 4630z. It went painfully slow the first time, took about 3 hours to get through but never gave any error message or stopped completely. But when it restarted the first time it froze at the windows is starting logo. When i booted in safe mode it stopped at disk.sys. I reinstalled windows overnight and about 8 hours later it was installed, rebooted, and running. I thought it might be solved and I restarted the computer just to check. It froze in the same place, at the windows starting logo, still disk.sys in safe mode. I thought it was a hard drive issue so I tried everything I could think of, changing BIOS settings between AHCI and IDE, even tried a completely different hard drive. I've tried removing each stick of RAM individually. I've tried both 32 and 64 bit versions. Nothing works. Please help. At this point i feel like hurling the thing out the window.

 

[torrentg]

Remove all devices non-essential. Use unit only while plugged into wall socket to install.
Remove as much system ram as possible while still having a functional unit to install.

 

[sshake1]

There is nothing else plugged into the computer. Its plugged into the wall but do you mean remove the battery too? It came with 2x1gb sticks of RAM. I've tried it with each stick of RAM individually to no avail.

 

[torrentg]

Bios on IDE.

Actually, now that you say...yeah, try removing the battery in case it is malfunctioning.

 

[Frostmourne]

Try flashing the BIOS too.

 

[sshake1]

It's in the middle of yet another install right now. It is set on IDE, only has one stick of RAM in, and seems to be going faster than it has previously but is still pretty slow, about an hour in and only 47% through expanding files. If it doesn't work out this time I'll try flashing the BIOS.

 

[torrentg]

Probably the battery then. Let's see how it goes...let us know.

 

[sshake1]

torrentg, I'm not sure I understand how the battery could cause this. Could you explain that?

 

[torrentg]

If the battery is malfunctioning, it could cause erratic voltages from unit trying to charge it. Removing the battery is a good way to test and/or solve the potential issue.

 

[sshake1]

That makes sense, worth a try at least. Its only gone from 47% to 50% in the last half hour. I think it might be time to try something else. The most recent BIOS on the Acer website is called 1.24. I'm not sure which one is on there now because it says revision 3.5 in the BIOS. Also I'm not entirely sure how to go about flashing the BIOS. The download is just a .exe file. Is there a way I can run it from a cd without windows? Sorry if thats a stupid question but I've never had to do this before and don't want to ruin anything.

 

[sshake1]

I tried it again with the battery taken out. In 40 minutes it did not move beyond 0% in expanding files. Is there any chance installing from a usb drive instead of a dvd would help? I'm trying to avoid having to flash the BIOS if possible as I've never heard good things about that process.

 

[torrentg]

Flashing bios is a good attempt to fix, yeah. It can do a lot of good. USB Key is also a good attempt.

 

[sshake1]

I'll try the usb key next. I'm waiting for it to finish extracting to the key now. I'm not sure how to flash the BIOS though. The download from acer is just a .exe file. How do I flash it with out being able to run windows?

 

[torrentg]

I dunno. It might extract to a .bin or something. Then you could use a dos flash utility from Award or whatever type of bios your board uses. Each manufacturer different.

 

[sshake1]

I cannot figure out how to flash the bios outside of the windows flash utility that acer provides. I sent an email to acer asking if they could provide anything else but haven't heard back yet. I also tried installing windows xp and it froze at starting setup. I'm assuming this is a similar problem to windows 7. I did, however, get linux to work. It installed seemingly without a hitch but runs very sluggishly. I hope this is only a temporary solution. Also when the computer first turns on it goes through the first few loading screens, then a whole array of colorful lines comes up. The screen then turns off and comes back a second or two later and the computer is back to normal. I have no idea if any of this is even remotely related to windows not installing but I figure the more information I give the more likely someone will know something about it. Any suggestions at all would be appreciated. I'm willing to try just about anything at this point. Thanks.

 

[torrentg]

I cannot figure out how to flash the bios outside of the windows flash utility that acer provides.

Close all software in Windows not needed to run. Then you could use this if you read carefully and follow their instructions. Do not cause any circuit breakers to blow from overusing power in your home when you do this.

 

[sshake1]

The problem is I can't get into windows. It freezes during installation.

 

[Frostmourne]

Your laptop mobo may be broken. Is your laptop under warranty? Flash the BIOS, basically boot into Windows and then double click the exe. Don't touch anything until its completed.

 

[torrentg]

Yep. My bad on that. I just read your latest response when I replied. Good, ya. Wait for manufacturer to suggest a method to update.

 

[sshake1]

I installed windows overnight again and it had booted up by the morning. I was able to flash the BIOS from within windows but when it restarted afterwards the same thing happens. It still freezes on the windows starting logo. The laptop is out of warranty. Now I am completely out of ideas.