Hi there,

I have a acer aspire one 721, AMD Athlon 2 Neo Processor K125 (1.7 GHz), 2GB DDR3 Memory, netbook, without cd drive WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM, so i created a ubcs usb stick which is working. Because im not really a pro with using this kind of instruments, i have to ask what to do to get it run again.

First of all the most important for me is NOT TO LOSE ANY FILES, i'm travelling around asia since 4 months and have around 6000 pictures on this netbook, which i dont want to lose! So i first want to SAVE MY DATA! As i see there are some kind of CLONE apps on the UBCD V503, but im new to this kind of stuff so which one should i use and i think i need a external hd to clone it to via usb?!

So please help me to save my data.. and after i did that i will try to fix my netbook to be able to boot again..

the BOOT ERROR MESSAGE which appears is the same as other user told about its. the boot priority order which was set when the error came first is:

1: IDE 0:
2: Network Boot: Atheros Boot Agent
3: USB HDD:
4: USB FDD:
5: USB KEY:
6: USB CD/DVD:

And the follwing error appears:

Intel UNDI, PXE-2.0 (build 083)
Copyright (C) 1997-2000 Intel Corporation

For Atheros PCIE Ethernet Controller v.2.0.1.7(11/23/09)

Check cable connection!
PXE-M0F: Exiting Intel PXE ROM.
Operating System not found


Which is strange to my because why should it boot by Network? And why this Intel stuff when it is a AMD Athlon...?

Anyway FIRST PRIORITY IS TO SAVE MY DATA and then FIX THE BOOTING AND WINDOWS!

THANKS FOR HELPING!!!!
Dany

Boot to Parted Magic and see if you can access the hard drive and if you can, save all the data from there. You need to have enough space on the USB flash drive/stick or use another USB drive (either another USB flash drive or HDD) if you have a second USB port. You may also be able to use a USB CD/DVD burner to copy the data to.

If your HDD is not detected by Parted Magic, check the BIOS to see if it's listed/detected. As a last resort, you can re-seat the HDD or remove the HDD and use a USB adapter to connect to the machine or another working machine.

Good luck

how exactly do i do this with parted magic?
i don't want to press wrong key and lose all my data

Before anything else, during all your troubleshooting steps, use AC power, as oppose to using the battery only. After that, keep reading.

If in PMagic you can't see your HDD, I would like to suggest checking the BIOS (as mentioned in a previous post). The BIOS should be able to, at least, recognize that a HDD is connected.

If the BIOS can't recognize it, change its settings from AHCI to "IDE compatible" or "disabled" (or something similar in that same category) and reboot again into the BIOS so to recheck if it can recognize the HDD.

It is unlikely that PMagic (or any other tool for that matter) could recognize the HDD (so to make your backup) if the BIOS can't recognize its presence.

Independently of the first booting device (meaning, no matter if you select to boot into NET, UFD, CD or your main HDD), the first screens during the booting process ("way" before Windows or any OS starts) should show you information about the motherboard, the BIOS, etc. Among others, one information you should see is your HDD listed. Again, this may depend on "AHCI", "IDE" ("disabled") or some other BIOS setting.

Sometimes those first screens are "hidden" by a "computer's logo". This setting is also changed inside the BIOS. If those screens are "too fast" to see, press the "pause" key on your keyboard. Press "enter" to continue.

My point is, get the BIOS to "somehow" see the HDD (even if it can't boot it), or it might be difficult for any tool to do a backup of your files while using that same computer.

Now, about PMagic, the first icon you see in the PMagic's desktop is a file manager, similar to "Windows Explorer". So to see your HDD and your UFD for backup, you use it almost like Windows Explorer. Be sure to have enough free space in your UFD to copy all your files. I suggest to AVOID copying all the 6000 files in only one pass, just to be sure about the available space and to avoid using “too many” resources (RAM).

Let us know about your improvements, and if you need more specific details about some step, or if you see any errors. There are many different scenarios, so if I write them all I will only confuse you.