Thursday, February 28, 2013

Asus Eee PC 1101HA Upgrade

I helped my brother upgrade his Asus Eee PC 1101HA.

http://uk.asus.com/Eee/Eee_PC/Eee_PC_1101HA_Seashell/

He purchased the Samsung 840 120 GB SSD here at amazon.com. But during installation he ran into a problem.

The 1101HA boots just fine off an external DVD ROM drive into the Windows 7 install disc. Selected the empty space as the target (no partitions created) to install Windows 7. The next step is where the issue occurred. The Windows 7 install hangs/freezes while copying Windows install files to the SSD.



I don't know the root cause of the issue, but here is the solution:
  • Install SSD onto Asus Eee PC 1101HA
  • Start installation of Windows 7
  • If the drive is new, select the blank drive to install Windows 7 (Windows 7 installer will create the correct partitions required). Otherwise, delete all partitions, and select the blank space in which to install Windows 7. If you prefer to create your own partitions, do that now.
  • Start Windows 7 install
  • The Windows 7 install will hang/freeze on the first step of the Windows 7 install: Copying Windows files.
  • At this point, turn off the Asus Eee PC 1101HA
  • Remove the SSD
  • Connect SSD to another computer using an external enclosure, dock, or simply connect it to a free SATA port in the computer
  • On the 2nd computer with the SSD recently attached, go to the Computer Management console (Right click Computer -> Manage)
  • Go to Storage -> Disk Management
  • The Windows 7 installer if installed on an unconfigured/partition-less drive will automatically create 2 partitions: System, Primary
  • Format (quick) BOTH partitions to NTFS. The System (small) partition should already be formatted, but format it again for good measure. The Primary (larger) partition should show up as RAW. Format (quick) to NTFS.
  • Remove the SSD from the 2nd computer.
  • Reinstall SSD to Asus Eee PC 1101HA, attempt to install Windows 7 again. This time, don't delete partitions, instead, select the Primary (larger) partition to install.
  • Windows 7 will install without issue.


11 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting this. I'm fighting with the same upgrade problem. Do you have any idea why your method works? I'm curious to know if there's an easier workaround.

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  2. Create partitions using a Live CD/DVD (like Ubuntu Desktop). Uses the same logics, just not physically removing the drive, if you find that easier.

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  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  4. Man, this work perfectly, you saved my day!

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  5. Dude, perfect descriotpion of problem solved!
    It helped me a lot!
    TY

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  6. If you do not want to disassemble notebook again, you can use some live linux CD/DVD or GParted Live USB.

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  7. Hi, you saved my day. After hours of searching the net.

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  8. Dear Meep, you saved me from days of trying to resolve the same issue on my 1101ha!!

    Million thanks!

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  9. Do not need to remove SSD, just boot from hiren's mini xp (for example) and format the partition.

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