Aspire 9300-5317 clean install

Hello!

I've been doing some research online about this but I'm getting conflicting reports and before I totally mess up my system I want to make sure that what I want to do will work.

I bought the 9300-5317 from CompUSA last week. What I'd like to do is a clean install with my own WinXP Pro cd.

Before reading (my own dumb fault) about the Fat32 partition and eRecovery I quickly changed my C: and D: drives to NTFS from a command prompt. However I did make a backup CD of my system as soon as I was prompted to when I first booted into Windows before I changed the drives.

What I'd like to do is reformat with my WinXp Pro cd that I used for my desktop computer. I am afraid if the install doesn't go well I may now not be able to get my system back to factory default since I converted to NTFS.

Also I found two links http://support.acer-euro.com/drivers/notebook/as_7000_9300.html
and http://www.acerpanam.com/synapse/fo...m/us&siteid=7293&areaid=7&formid=3394#results

with drivers and want to make sure I download the exact one's I need to get my system up and running once I reinstall. I could care less about most of the Acer bloatware except I would like to keep Launch Manager, Orbicam and GridVista. Aside from those I have no use for anything else unless I absolutely need it.

I read somewhere I may have to change the MBR before I do this and I also read somewhere else that I wouldn't. Have I just screwed myself out of any "factory reset" since I converted to NTFS and is what I want to do possible?

Thanks for the help!

 

Hi Dave, I did the exact same thing you did but I did a clean install of Win MCE and converted to NTFS file system. I first made a backup copy of the factory install and also of all drivers. I then installed the MCE and changed to NTFS and everything seems to work perfectly.
I am amazed at the screen quality on this laptop as it simply blows away the Toshibas and the HPs 17" PCs. The other 17" seemed almost dirty to me when compared to this Acer.

 

I agree the screen quality is amazing. Very happy with it so far. So basically because I made the backup copies before I changed anything if something were to go wrong during my install of XP Pro I could just pop in the backup CD's and my laptop will be back to factory settings? Am I understanding this right? I just want to be totally sure before I do anything before I have a fancy new paper weight on my hands.

It's amazing I searched everywhere I could think of for info on this specific model and I can hardly find anything out there aside from sites selling the laptop. I think I went through almost every thread on this forum and didn't see any topics on the 9300-5317. Was this not a big seller?

 

You are right Dave. The factory image will restore the laptop in it's original default condition. When you install XP Pro, just make sure you are choosing the NTFS file system because I believe it will give you the option.
You are also right that there is very little info on this puppy anywhere. I think its because this is an absolutely new model. I got this for $799 after an instant $100 and $100 mail in rebate. I thought for $799 this was a great deal with a SATA 120HD, 1GB RAM, Bluetooth and Webcam. I don't know why at that price it could not do well. This laptop stays amazingly cool and I literally have worked for hours with it on my lap and it is less than lukewarm.

 

hi I am really interested for this laptop but I am worried from the noise of this Acer laptop fan. Can you please tell me when the fan kicks? Does the fan work when you are browsing the internet? When you use the MS office? I will have this laptop most of the time plugged to the mains, if this helps.
thanks a lot guys

 

The duo Turion stays absolutely cool and the fan comes on when multitasking heavily. I spend much time on the internet but have never heard the fan go on. AAMOF, I have never really heard any kind of loud noises from this laptop.
I am really surprised this laptop does not get more run here. I was trying a Centrino Duo and it really got hot and noisy and I returned it. The TL50 is a very capable multitasking computer and as I mentioned before, this comes loaded with a 120GB SATA HD, 1GB RAM, Webcam,Bluetooth and more. But I really love the amazingly sharp 17" screen.
The whites on tis scren appear very smooth but on the HPs and Toshibas, they appear very dirty and scratchy. This 17" at this price is a bargain. I do a lot of .NET programming and Adobe work and this computer easily keeps up. I was initially thinking of adding more memory but haven't really felt the need yet.

 

Thanks for the help, Nick. I got the same deal as you on this laptop. Terrific price for what you get. And I agree it stays amazingly cool. I had a Compaq laptop and that ran so hot I couldn't stay on it for more than a hour at a time because the system would shut itself off. The fan like you said is very quiet. I hardly ever hear it unless I'm actually paying attention.

One last question- is it in my best interest when I reformat to keep the PQSERVICE hidden partition? (It's currently taking up just under 5GB) Or since I have the recovery CD's I don't need to concern myself with it?

 

HI Dave, I actually combined all the partitions and hence erased all the existing partitions. This should not affect the restoration at all. OTOH, if you keep the 5GB partition intact and if you wouldn't miss that space then it would be the way to go.

 

Hello you all ! Consider on undervolting your cpu with RMCock, mine works at 0.95V (1.1V stock if i remember) without any issue and this decreased its temp by 5 to 6°C, usually about 42°C idle, actually 52°C at 100% load (BOINC calculating for hours). The fan never starts on idle, actually it's not so noisy. If this can help...