On Friday, July 21, 2017 at 11:51:21 AM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/21/2017 10:34 AM, Uncle Monster wrote:
On Thursday, July 20, 2017 at 10:57:53 PM UTC-5, Terry Coombs wrote:
On 7/20/2017 10:04 PM, wrote:
On Thu, 20 Jul 2017 21:50:48 -0500, Terry Coombs
wrote:

It's an Aspire 7540-1317 laptop , and it belongs to my daughter ..
They got it in a storage bay auction , and it apparently was used as a
terminal - no OS . I had to initialize the hdd , but it won't access the
BIOS/setup screen .

It pops up an error screen as follows :

Broadcom UNDI PXE 2.1 v11.4.1 followed by a copyright etc

then :

Base Code PXE 2.1 v1.1.0

PXE E61 media test failure check cable

PXE-MOF exiting broadcomPXE ROM

OS not found

I want to install a copy of Win7 Pro 64 bit so my 2 youngest grand
daughters can use it for their school work , any help will be appreciated .
BTW , they also got in that auction a Netgear ProSafe 8 port gigabit
network switch model GS108 and a uverse WAP model VEN501-AT which both
followed me home . They had no use for these ... and I'm thinking the
switch will work for my home network wiring , the WAP will be used to
enhance the wireless link to my shop . Also included in today's haul was
a 12V/3 amp power supply that will replace the burned out original
supply for my buried wire dog containment fence system . SCORE !
--
Snag
It has been a while since I screwed with an Acer but I think F2 gets
you to BIOS. Then turn off boot on LAN and be sure the CD is in the
boot sequence. On the BIOS screen you may be best to just reset to
factory defaults. It might even be worth pulling the CMOS battery and
using the reset jumper if all else fails.
A lot of these "medialess" clients turn off a lot of stuff you will
want, to keep people from loading their own software.
Your W/7 should have disk tools to prep the hard drive and rock on.
You're right , F2 should get me to the BIOS , but it doesn't . No
matter what I press (esc , F12 , F2 etc) it goes straight to that error
screen I described above . Your suggestion to clear the CMOS might be
what I need to do ... no particular rush , I have some time before they
need it . Someone here will have the answer , that's why I ask on this
NG . Great bunch of folks when we're not bickering about politics .
--
Snag

I kind of wonder if the BIOS wasn't flashed with a custom build so the laptop could only be used as a terminal? Stranger things have happened. ヽ(ヅ)ノ

[8~{} Uncle Lap Monster

OK , to all - I have disassembled far enough to pull the CMOS battery ,
shorted the bat terminals and held the start key down for 30 seconds .
Now when I power it on I can access the BIOS screen using either the on
board keyboard or a USB keyboard . After the screen comes up it starts a
steady beep-beep-beep and none of the navigation or F keys responds . If
I don't push F2 it boots to the original screen that I got at first ,
still beeping all the time . Unc , you may be right , it may have a
custom BIOS flash that won't let anyone in unless connected to the
hetwork server . Next attempt to try may be a BIOS flash on USB . It
won't start memtest on CD , but at first would open KonBoot to the first
screen but not respond to any keystrokes . Won't even do that now . I'm
starting to think this thing may make a great paperweight .

--

Snag

Given that it boots to that terminal screen with a blank drive in it,
IDK how it could be anything other than it's not a typical BIOS.