ACER TM 290: Cannot access BIOS or change Boot Order !!!

[petitniv]

Hi,

To speed up the startup of my laptop I asked the BIOS boot to run in
the background, meaning my screen starts directly when I am logged in
Win XP Pro with my profil. This was great, execpt I now want to format
my disk and install Win XP Pro fresh again and I cannot.

I am using an ACER TRAVELMATE 290 running Win XP Pro SP2.

1. I tried to flash the BIOS to reset the factory settings but this did not work.
2. I tried to turn off the computer, plug out the AC + the battery, hold the power button for 60 seconds to get a hard reset and get the factory BIOS settings but nothing
3. I tried to hit the F2 key and Crtl+Esc key in the dark

Right now when I put a Win XP Pro install disk or any boot disk, the
CDROM spins, meaning it sees the CD, but goes to run windows none the
less. I tried to push the F2 or F8 or F10 or F12 buttons before the
boot to have access to the BIOS but nothing.

I have formatted my drive many times, with the same CD, used to work
great until I made the change in the start-up. Any help will be greatly
appreciated !!!

Thank-you,

Pierre

[Will.Spencer]

On the Acer TravelMater 290, you should just have to press <F2> during the POST (Power On Self Test) while the TravelMate logo is being displayed to enter the BIOS setup.

Hmmm...

[petitniv]

Yes, It's what I usually did. Bit know the POST is run in the background, I don't see the Acer spalshscreen nor the windows splashscreen anymore.

I think it's something I changed to speed up the boot in msconfig but I can't find the correct setting.

Anyway, I tried to press F2 while the boot was on but nothing. Someone suggested I press the power button for 60 seconds when the power and battery were unplugged or remove the CMOS jumper pin (but I don't know where it is on the mother board)

Anyway, I am up for some test/trial so shoot anything you got

Pierre

[Will.Spencer]

This is going to sound stupid, but I would power the machine on and keep pressing <F2> until I saw that Windows was booting.

Wait, do you have a USB keyboard? It may be that your BIOS doesn't support -- or is not configured to support -- a USB keyboard. It that is the case, then your keyboard will not be enabled until Windows boots. That could present a real problem, as non-USB keyboards are getting hard to find.

If you are really seriously stuck, you can use a program like CmosPwd to wipe out your CMOS BIOS configuration entirely. That will set everything back to default. Of course -- your Acer may not boot with the default settings.

The command to do that is `cmospwd -k`.

[petitniv]

Ok, well I got around the BIOS for the time being. I used a friend TM 290 to install win XP back.

The problem it seems is that my screen is blank until the window boot so no BIOS. I called ACER and they were of no help.

Somewhere along the line I tried a brute force technic, powering up without CD drive or HD drive and hitting Esc, F2 continuoulsy. Once my screen lit up and I was asked to choose the boot order, so I put CD first, booted into Windows setup but then was stuck...I didnt if I could hot plug my HD now or if that was a bad idea...

It seems my problem is not solved, but I have enough adrenaline for now, and will try your solution soon, but after I have safely installed my computer back...