Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Stabby]

I'm having a huge problem. I'd like to sell my MSI Wind U100, but I have to bring it back to factory settings first. However, F3 does absolutely nothing. I hit F3 right after I boot up, that doesn't work. I try while booting up, does nothing. I go absolutely crazy on the button, pressing it 5 times a second. And nothing happens. The computer just boots up like usual.

Anyone have an idea of what to do?

[Stu]

Did you wipe the hard drive clean and install your OS yourself?

[Stabby]

I didn't. I left everything the way it was.

[dvair]

Do you still have the original recovery disc that came with the system?  You can boot with that and restore the system.

[Stabby]

I don't have an external disc-reader though. And the USB tutorials are confusing me to no end.

[WeAreNotAlone]

I don't have an external disc-reader though. And the USB tutorials are confusing me to no end.

Installing via a USB Flash drive appears to be your only option. I don't know what USB tutorials you are referring to but during a OS install the process is basically to make a USB "bootable" and copy install files to it. From there you do a cold boot of the machine with the USB stick plugged in, bring up the *screen that shows which device to boot from, pick the USB option and the machine will read the info off the USB stick. From there the installer or restore app will run and you pick what procedure you want to do. (Install, repair, run a recovery/restore.)

(* In the bios you should be able to rearrange the order of bootable devices if your machine does not have a option during boot to select what device to boot from. Whatever is listed at the TOP of the list boots FIRST. You want to have the hard-drive listed after USB /CD/DVD media if installing via USB/CD/DVD, otherwise machine will boot from HD.)

EG: boot from:

A: USB device
B:CD /DVD drive
C: Network
D: HD 0 (hard-drive)

*Note that if you don't have a formatted USB device /one with files on it that can be read plugged in at time of boot there "may" not be a USB option showing in the bios on some machines, so stick a drive that is formatted/has files on it when configuring the bios.


Alternative to the above may be to request MSI re-do the drive?

Options:

1: Borrow a external reader
2: Install from USB
3: Send drive back to MSI, have them restore drive.


One last thought, you said you where pressing F3 5 times a second.... Try slowing that down some /varying it..

.

[Svet]

http://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=125750.0

[Stabby]

Thanks guys! I'm installing from USB right now. Hoping for the best.

I'm just hoping that re-installing the drivers isn't difficult to do?

[Stabby]

I'm having trouble again. I get an error that it can't copy the files IAAHC.CAT and IAAHC.INF, yet I know those files are present on the USB stick.

[Svet]

go to bios and disable ahci

[Stabby]

Thanks, that worked.

Yet, problems keep persisting. Now when I boot up, I have to choose between "Windows XP Home Edition" and "Windows". The first option loads the Windows I installed. The second one installs Windows XP back to the factory settings from the recover drive. This is just what I wanted, but after installation I get a black screen with nothing happening. After waiting 10 minutes, nothing still happens and the only option is pulling out the battery...