Acer Revo RL80 recovery partition

[CoolAsLife]

I have a problem with my Acer Revo RL80. Short bit of history: Purchased the Revo to run XBMC, HD was re-partitioned, Windows 7 installed to replace the native Windows 8. I have since bought another bigger/faster HTPC, so I wanted to restore the Revo back to the factory state to sell on.

The sticking point is that the Revo does not come DVD-Rom to restore it. It has a separate HD Partition where you can restore everything from. After Googling around for a bit, on boot you can press ALT + F9 to load up the eRecovery util. I did this thinking the partition might still be there. However, I stupidly removed this partition whilst installing Win 7. Now I’m stuck….

On boot, I see the Acer Logo and then a black screen with just “reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key”. I assume the ALT + F9 is telling the Revo to boot from this partition which isn’t there.

If I enable the boot menu (F12), there are no devices to select or boot from. Entering the BIOS (DEL on boot) and then Advanced > Miscellaneous, the HD and DVD drives are present.

AHCI Port 1: WDC WD7500BPVT-22HXZT3
Device Type: Hard Disk
Size : 750GB
Serial Number: WD-WXQ1EB1FTWXP

AHCI Port 2: Slimtype DVD A DL8A4SH
Device Type: ATAPI CDROM

If I then go to the Boot Options:

1st Boot Device: [Hard Disk]
2nd Boot Device: [CD&DVD]
3rd Boot Device: [Removable Device]
4th Boot Device: [LAN]

But under “Hard Disk Drive Priority”, “Optical Disk Drive Priority”, “Removable Disk Drive Priority” no devices are listed.

So I assume the Revo is still stuck in ALT + F9 recovery mode looking for a partition that on a HD that it can’t see.

I’ve tried the following with no success:
- Booting from DVD
- Booting from USB
- Restore BIOS default settings
- Set devices to IDE instead of AHCI
- Opening case, locate and reset CMOS jumper

I believe this recovery mode is present a lot of Acer PCs. Question is – How can I get out of this recovery mode? I need something like a magic key combination that undoes the ALT + F9.

Any ideas?

 

[Dr_JRE]

Try this:
In the BIOS, under Advanced System Configuration -> Boot Mode -> try changing modes.
(Change to CSM if not already set)

Otherwise, we cant do a firmware flash or anything and the hardware could be bricked.
BUT WAIT!
If we can find some one who has an RL80, we can clone the recovery partion back over.
Just a matter of finding some one with a working RL80

 

[CoolAsLife]

Thank you! I changed the BIOS CSM settings and I can could at least boot from a DVD Rom (F12 on startup). The OS installed successfully. At least it's now in a sell-able state, albeit without a recovery partition.

If there is someone out there with a RL80 willing to clone this partition that would be very handy.

 

[Dr_JRE]

You will want to take if off CSM mode once you have it back up and running. CSM slows down performance.