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Acer Aspire 5349 (running Windows 7)' -- Not booting.


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#1
Jabroni42

Jabroni42

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Hello

I am unable to boot my Acer Aspire 5349 after a small knock right above where the hard drive is located--I dropped a book on it.

So, when I dropped the book on the laptop, the screen went blue and it turned itself off.
Now I am unable to get it started. Initially, when I turned it on, it went to a black screen that said press F2, before saying: 'check cable connection. PXE-MOF'and then nothing.
I understand that was related to the laptop trying to boot from network, so I changed the boot settings to boot from HDD. Now nothing happens.

 

Please could you explain to a computer idiot, yet someone who can follow good instructions, what they can do to try to get it working?

 

Please, bear in mind:
I have no boot disk (none came with the laptop)
Factory reset is not an option.

 

Some things that may help:
Running Windows 7
HDD shows up under information and is listed as
HDD:WDC WD3200BPVT-22JJ5TO (this also shows up under boot options).

I am not looking for a factory reset.

 

I hope you can help. Thanks.


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#2
Naathim

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Hi and :welcome:
 
Are you aware that we may not be able to bring your machine to its previous condition without a factory reset? If this is a hardware issue, there's very little we may do.
 
Before we will go any further I strongly suggest you to do a backup of your personal data (at least see if it's possible).
 
 
Puppy%20Linux.png Backup your data using Puppy Linux
These instructions come courtesy of phillpower2 from our technical section.
===================
***Required Hardware***
CD Burner (CDRW) Drive,
Blank CD,
Extra Storage Device (USB Flash Drive, External Hard Drive)
===================
1. Save these files to your Desktop/Burn Your Live CD:There are instructions on how to boot from flash drive with puppy here
  • Open BurnCDCC with Windows Explorer
  • Extract All files to a location you can remember
  • Double Click 1BurnCDCCIcon.PNGBurnCDCC
  • Click Browse 2BurnCDCCBrowseButton.PNG and navigate to the Puppy Linux ISO file you just downloaded
  • Open/Double Click that file
    IMPORTANT: Adjust the speed bar to CD: 4x DVD: 1x
  • Click Start 3BurnCDCCStartButton.PNG
  • Your CD Burner Tray will open automatically
  • Insert a blank CD and close the tray
  • Click OK
Puppy Linux Live CD will now be created

2. Set your boot priority in the BIOS to CD-ROM first, Hard Drive Second
  • Start the computer/press the power button
  • Immediately start tapping the appropriate key to enter the BIOS, aka "Setup"
    (Usually shown during the "Dell" screen, or "Gateway" Screen)
  • Once in the BIOS, under Advanced BIOS Options change boot priority to:
    CD-ROM 1st, Hard Drive 2nd
  • Open your ROM drive and insert the disk
  • Press F10 to save and exit
  • Agree with "Y" to continue
  • Your computer will restart and boot from the Puppy Linux Live CD
    4BIOSBootPriorityImage.png
 
3. Recover Your Data
Once Puppy Linux has loaded, it is actually running in your computer's Memory (RAM). You will see a fully functioning Graphical User Interface similar to what you normally call "your computer". Internet access may or may not be available depending on your machine, so it is recommended you print these instructions before beginning. Also, double clicking is not needed in Puppy. To expand, or open folders/icons, just click once. Puppy is very light on resources, so you will quickly notice it is much speedier than you are used to. This is normal. Ready? Let's get started.
3a. Mount Drives
  • Click the Mount Icon located at the top left of your desktop. 5PuppyLinuxMountIcon.PNG
  • A Window will open. By default, the "drive" tab will be forward/highlighted. Click on Mount for your hard drive.
  • Assuming you only have one hard drive and/or partition, there may be only one selection to mount.
  • USB Flash Drives usually automatically mount upon boot, but click the "usbdrv" tab and make sure it is mounted.
  • If using an external hard drive for the data recovery, do this under the "drive" tab. Mount it now.
3b. Transfer Files.
  • At the bottom left of your desktop a list of all hard drives/partitions, USB Drives, and Optical Drives are listed with a familiar looking hard drive icon.
  • Open your old hard drive i.e. sda1
  • Next, open your USB Flash Drive or External Drive. i.e. sdc or sdb1
  • If you open the wrong drive, simply X out at the top right corner of the window that opens. (Just like in Windows)
  • From your old hard drive, drag and drop whatever files/folders you wish to transfer to your USB Drive's Window.
For The Novice: The common path to your pictures, music, video, and documents folders is: Documents and Settings >> All Users (or each idividual name of each user. CHECK All Names!) >> Documents >> You will now see My Music, My Pictures, and My Videos.
Alternatively search for Main drive >> Users >> Username
Remember to only click once! No double clicking! Once you drag and drop your first folder, you will notice a small menu will appear giving you the option to move or copy. Choose COPY each time you drag and drop.
If you're doing this to recover from a virus or malware infection, (or even if you're not), DO NOT copy executable files (.exe, .scr. etc...) if any of these files are infected you could be copying the corruption over to any new device/computer. Just copy documents, pictures, music, or videos.
 
YOU ARE DONE!!!
 
Simply click Menu >> Mouse Over Shutdown >> Reboot/Turn Off Computer. Be sure to plug your USB Drive into another working windows machine to verify all data is there and transferred without corruption.
Congratulations!
PuppyLinux528screenshot.png
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#3
480James

480James

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It sounds like your HD is either disconnected or broken. If the connection is good and it wont boot you can buy a new HD for cheap. You will need to load Windows on it. You can remove the old HD and plug it into another PC to see if you can access your data. If not you can send it to a data recovery firm but that is not cheap.
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