some of you might have problem installing windows xp in acer aspire 4520. actually it’s not just with acer aspire 4520 you will have problem with installing windows xp. new laptop from various manufacturer use AHCI (SATA) hard drive and that’s where the problem comes from.
Old windows XP (includes windows xp sp2) installation cd didn’t come with AHCI/SATA driver when it boots into installation mode. since the installation can not read your hard drive, you won’t be able to install windows xp.
Let’s start solve this problem.
There are 2 way to solve this problem which are :
- The easy way is to set your hard drive to work in IDE mode instead of SATA mode. This can be done in BIOS
- The long hard way is to slip stream SATA driver into your windows xp installation cd
In this post i’ll show you how to do the 1st solution using Acer Aspire 4520.
- Turn on your laptop
- When acer logo appears, just press F2 button on your keyboard to enter BIOS Settings
- Using arrow button, point the cursor to Main
- Scroll down to SATA MODE using arrow button
- Press Enter and change the value from AHCI Mode to IDE Mode
- Press F10 button on your keyboard and OK
now boot with windows xp installation cd in cd-drive and it should be able to read your laptop hard drive.
Thank you!