Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Writer

Hi:

I have a 532h that will not boot; I get the initial Acer bios screen and then the "Windows failed to boot" message saying to insert the installation disc - and I also can use F2 to get to the Bios. But ALT + F10 no longer allows me to restore from the partition --- I had done that twice and still the unit would turn itself off. I'm assuming a virus.

I have ordered the $20 recovery discs from Acer, and now I'll need an external drive. But I've seen a post here that says you shouldn't use a USB-only-powered external drive. But there are very few A/C-power drives available, it seems. So I'm wondering if the model noted above will work; it gets super reviews on Amazon. Can anyone tell me if this external drive will work for this purpose? Since the Acer now has no access to Windows files, will it recognize this drive? Is the lack of an A/C power source a problem?

Thanks for your help.

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

The reason the AC powered DVD-RW drives are recommended is that most USB-only drives simply can't get enough power from the AAO to actually run.

The only way I have seen them work is with a particular USB cable that has two male plugs at one end (one is for data and power, the other is for power only) and the connection to the drive at the other. The second plug usually provides enough power for an external drive to run, but the drives with their own power source will be more reliable. I have seen the drives with the two ended lead still fail to get enough power to operate. It depends on the drive, the manufacturer and the power consumption of the drive itself.

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

Hi: Thank you for responding. Is there insufficient power to the external drive even when the AAO is plugged in to AC? Thanks for your help.

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

Hi: Sorry, but I forgot to ask if there is a drive that you would recommend. Thank you again for your help.

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

Hi:

OK, I'm hoping that this LG external drive will work:

http://www.lg.com/us/computer-products/ ... 24LU20.jsp

Based on a chat with LG support, and based on user reviews, I know that this uses an AC power supply. But LG support thinks that the AAO will not recognize the drive because no device drivers will be loaded on the AAO.

I'm sorry, but I'm completely confused now.

Can anyone confirm that this external drive can be used on my currently-nonfunctioning AAO 532h to run the recovery discs that I have ordered from Acer?

Sorry for all of the questions; I really appreciate your help.

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

Yes, even with the netbook plugged in, the AAO's (in my experience) don't supply the current required to operate an optical drive (and it's USB based circuitry) when connected to a USB port. It is suggested however, that you keep the AAO plugged into mains when using an optical drive for operations such as installing/repairing Operating Systems or installing software, using peripheral devices (usb mice etc) will drain power from your battery faster.

No, not really. Optical drives have evolved to the point where they're all basically the same, some manufacturers may produce better quality devices but some cheaper brands will use the same components under a different name. Some will have features such as lightscribe, but as far as an optical drive that you can use to repair an AAO, any DVD-RW drive should be more than capable, so long as it's got the option of AC power.

The drive pictured in that link is a full size drive, not as portable as the smaller slimline devices you can buy, but I have a similar drive in my workshop for such occasions as repairing AAO's and other PC's that don't have DVD-RW capabilities. Mine is AC powered and works very well. I don't think you'll have any problems with this drive. But it won't fit in your pocket like some others will. P.S Lightscribe is not a necessary feature and I don't belive I've ever used it once in my life. IMO, if you want to label a disk, nothing beats printable media with a CD-printing capable printer.

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

Hi:

Thanks very, very much for your continued help; I really appreciate it. I didn't see a slimline drive that runs on AC power on Amazon, so I think I will go ahead and order this one. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything will work and that whatever has taken possession of my AAO will be destroyed. I'm assuming that restoring the AAO from the recovery discs will ensure that the virus/malware is removed . . . . is that right? Is there a chance that the virus/malware could somehow remain on the recovery partition on the AAO, or do the recovery discs also recreate the partition from scratch? Or is there some other possible root cause for this entire problem (other than virus/malware) that I have not considered?

Thank you again.

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

I never use the recovery partitions, I prefer to completely wipe the hard drive and use my own media to eliminate all the bloatware. So unfortunately I can't give you much information about the recovery process. It is entirely possible that the built in recovery partition could be infected by a virus and in the past there have been viruses that can hide in the hard drive at a low-level and can come back after a format. I believe the restore CD's will recover the entire hard drive though, so by using an external drive, with read-only media such as CD's or DVD's you should be on the right path.

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

Hi:

Thank you so much for taking the time to provide so much information and assistance.

An update: Two days ago, I was able to restore the AAO using the partition. I loaded Webroot SecureAnywhere Essentials and ran several scans. Result: no threats found. And the AOO had avast! AV prior to the start of this trouble - and avast! had never reported a threat, either. So I'm now wondering if it's likely that this is like a malware problem . . . .

Yesterday, however, after I had spent hours installing Windows 7 updates using the AAO's "Windows Update" program, the unit blacked out again. I was able to use Safe Mode to bring it back a few times, but this morning, the unit will do nothing at all. When powered on, the screen remains black - even the initial, white-on-black "Acer" screen that says "Press F2 to change setup" does not appear.

Is this the end, then? Will the AAO even recognize the external drive that has not yet arrived?

I'll certainly appreciate any advice you can offer at this point.

THANK YOU.

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

Sounds like you have the dreaded corrupted BIOS, a common problem with Acer netbooks. If you have access to another computer and a USB thumb drive, follow the directions here: viewtopic.php?f=50&t=4153

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

+1 to the corrupted BIOS, you need to reflash, make sure you download the correct BIOS image for your netbook though.

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

Hi:

Well . . . .

I purchased a 16MB USB memory stick through Amazon (Patriot XPorter XT), which arrived yesterday. This morning, I formatted the stick (FAT32), downloaded the files from the Acer website as instructed, renamed the .fd file, and . . . . . NOTHING.

The Acer's power button never flashes on and off, so the netbook never seems to attempt to access the files on the memory stick.

I give up. Does anyone have a diagnosis or suggestion of anything else I can try?

THANKS.

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

I may be mistaken, but from memory the flash procedure calls for a USB flash drive 2Gb or less to work.

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

Hi:

I just went back to read the procedure (from macles) again; it doesn't say anything about the size of the memory stick. Would the size of memory stick affect whether the power button blinks? If the power button doesn't blink, I don't think the Acer is even attempting to access the files . . . .

Am I correct?

THANKS.

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

The capacity, speed and design of the flash media determines if the BIOS recovery process will even start. The BIOS has to be able to initialise the drive, without loading a driver to operate it, anything above 2Gb usually requires this due to the design of the drive.

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

Hi:

Thanks for your continued help; I am obviously out of my element in trying to deal with this situation.

I will buy a 2GB memory stick, but I wanted to mention that, when I first read the BIOS flash procedure - before purchasing a memory stick - I held the Fn + Esc keys, pressed the power button, and then released Fn + Esc. However, the power button did not blink at all. I think I'm understanding your last post to say that, without an appropriate memory stick in a USB port, the power button will not blink. Is that correct?

Also, I have seen some disagreement about whether formatting in FAT32 will work; the Patriot 16MB stick had no other FAT option. Should I be concerned about this with the 2GB stick?

Thanks again.

 

Re: Will this work? Liteon ETAU208-96 Top Load DVD/CD Write

As far as I'm aware, a 2Gb flash drive formatted as FAT32 should work. Blind flashing can be a minefield. I've only had to recover the BIOS once and that was on an old 150 series, I can't comment on the light blinking without a flash drive plugged in. I can say though, without an appropriate flash drive, the procedure won't start and without the correct BIOS image, you can permanently brick your AAO.