That title wasn’t meant to scare you – but prepare you.

Acer have put together a specific page to deal with Acer owners wishing to upgrade to the latest Operating System from Microsoft. You can find it here:

Upgrade your Acer PC to Windows® 7

If you click on the link or picture above you’ll see that the page is divided into three, easy-to-follow steps:

1. Check to see if your PC is compatible with Windows 7.
2. Follow the Instructions for Upgrading Your Acer PC to Windows 7.
3. After You’ve Completed Your Upgrade, You’ll Need to Update Your Drivers.

There’s also a link to Microsoft’s Upgrade Advisor which “scans your PC for potential issues with your hardware, devices, and installed programs, and recommends what to do before you upgrade”.

Well worth checking out if you’re about to take the plunge.

Just a quick post to thank Paula Sutton who just wrote to me with this solution for the problem she was having getting her laptop to “see” her optical drive. In addition to solving this particular issue, this Acer FAQ page might also provide some answers to other issues you may run up against so many thanks again Paula.

“Hi

I found a fix for a problem with an 8290g that wasn’t seeing the optical drive and hence no discs could be played. the problem was with a corrupt registry. I don’t seem to be able to post this helpful info on here – tried 3 times now and about to give up [working on that one Paola - MW].

the fix is at http://support.acer-euro.com/faqs/search.html?Query=registry

“Optical drive will not detected in Windows Vista”

If this is helpful to others please could you post it as i found it by chance and it might help someone…

Paula“

Hello everyone, it’s been a while since I reviewed or wrote an article for you guys, but I’ve been asked to introduce the future of easy LAN connection – Bravura Easy Computer Sync™.

This product allows you to transfer files directly from one PC to another using USB specification, in other words, you can now easily and quickly sync the files of 2 PCs.

The kit contains a specially designed USB cable that allows direct connection between 2 PCs made by Bravura, simple to use, fast and best of all, it is so easy!

When this cable was connected, my Windows 7 directly installed the driver without a glitch, as on the cable, it states: “for Vista” tells us that it will work for the “beloved” Vista (not!).

With the lightweight software (installation just 8.62MB) quickly installed, it guided me straight to the synchronization settings page in almost in a heartbeat.

The software instantly listed the common locations that most users use on their computer, but there is still an “Add Folder” option for advanced users to transfer files not just from that location!

This is a very simple tool for many netbook users, I do have some features I’d like to see such as a background service which will transfer the files automatically without the prompts and have a feature that lets the CD-ROM (DVD…etc) appear to the subcomputer as a typical USB CD-ROM so that you could use it to install operating systems without the hassle of getting a pricey CD-ROM enclosure or figuring out how to install them from a bigger flash drive. I’d also like to see the possibility of detecting the device as a simply USB Removable disk so I can drag and drop the files from Windows Explorer.

All in all a pretty good product. Recommended!

My rating for the product: 7/10

Pros:
• Fast USB transfer speed (appears to be Full USB 2.0)
• Easy to use
• Light HDD space requirement
Cons:
• No Windows Explorer drag and drop
• No support for emulating the CD-ROM as a typical USB CD-ROM

Manufacturer: Bravura Software.
Pictures: Morris.

OK, let’s start the week off with the bad news.

I got this feed through my Tweetscan reader and as I’m not one to shy away from stuff like this, I thought I’d bring it to your attention as well.

On 19th March, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission posted a recall alert regarding the Acer Predator desktop models sold from May 2008 through December 2008 because of, and I’m quoting, “a burn hazard to consumers“. Apparently, “Acer has received two reports of computers short circuiting, resulting in melted internal components and external casing. Neither incident occurred in the U.S. No injuries have been reported.“.

The problem seems to have been caused by “the insulation on the computer’s internal wiring, which can become bent or stripped, causing the wires to overheat while the product is in use.”

Again, this is a voluntary recall from Acr so whoever’s got one of these, please stop using it right now and get on the phone to Acer to schedule a free repair toll-free at (866) 695-2237 anytime.

Oh, and let us know how you got on.

John Daniels wrote me a mail with some information I just had to share.

Many thanks for this John.

“Thought this might be of use for your website

Anyone having a problem with Adobe Dreamweaver not loading on an Acer, it is caused by a conflict with the Acer eDataSecurity Management program a patch is available here http://www.egistec.com/oem-acer001/program-update.html

It fixed it on my Aspire 8920G.”

Sascha from Netbook News posted what is probably the world’s first review of the 10″ Aspire One that is definitely worth a look.

I think I should clear something up (or start a debate) though. Although this is for all intents and purposes the second model from the Aspire One range, it is by no means to be considered a second-generation netbook. I’ve seen the road map, talked to the bosses, named some of the models and know what’s coming and the advances in both design and specs of the second (and then third gen. models) are astounding.

The 10″ model (AOD150), as Sascha correctly points out, is just an Aspire One with a bigger screen. A few internal spec-ups but by no means a leap forward. Wait and see what’s coming in the not too distant future though, and then let’s talk about improvement.

Basically, Acer launched the world’s best selling netbook, listened very carefully to what its chosen target audience wants (and doesn’t), and set about transforming this wish-list into real life features. Let your imagination wander (within reason) and you’re close.

But for now, we have the 10″ D150 and Acer should quite rightly be judged on what it actually offers, not what I say is coming. I just wish I could fill you in and transfer some of my enthusiasm for the future from Acer to you. Ho hum…

Gravatar icon

As described on the Gravatar site, “A gravatar, or globally recognized avatar, is quite simply an avatar image that follows you from blog to blog appearing beside your name when you comment on gravatar enabled sites”.

So if you want to be seen – and let’s face it conversations are much nicer when you can see who’s talking – head off over to the Gravatar site and sign up (free of charge).

If you are a Microsoft Visual Studio user (a developer like me) and have a problem with 8920G’s Touchpad Virtual Scrolling, then here is the solution.

Acer Aspire 8920G comes with Windows Vista preinstalled. By default it has User Account Control (UAC) enabled to make your computer secure. But since Microsoft Visual Studio users should run Microsoft Visual Studio in Administrator mode, it causes Touchpad Virtual Scrolling not working.

To solve this problem you must disable the Vista’s UAC. Here are the steps if you are not familiar.

1. Go to Start Menu – Control Panel – User Accounts

2. Click “Turn User Account Control on or off”

3. Uncheck the checkbox and then click the OK button.

It will then ask you to restart your computer. Just do it.

Now you can use the Touchpad Virtual Scrolling on Microsoft Visual Studio and throw away your mouse

I owe Dutchies from Nova Scotia a huge thank-you for this nugget.

Many of your questions and problems concerning the Aspire One (Linux edition) come from the fact that a lot of you don’t remember the password you set when you first turned on the machine.

Well, rather than reinstalling everything from the recovery disk which effectively resets everything including the root password, there is a better solution:

First of all you’ll need to get the into advanced mode – you’ll see why once you’ve done it. To do this go to “Files” > “My Documents” to open the File Manager. Then go to “File” > “Terminal” (use the word menu at the top of the File Manager window.

Linpus Linux uses Xfce, so use “xfce-setting-show” to get the Xfce Settings Manager.

Click on “Desktop” to get to the “Desktop Preferences” and select the “Behavior” tab.

Now click under “Menus” the “Show desktop menu on right click” option and close the window.

This setting will allow you to bring up the normal desktop menu when you right click somewhere on the desktop. The Desktop Menu contains many more options than the limited user interface on the Aspire One.

OK. Now you’re in advanced mode, right click and bring up the menu. Go to “system” and then go to “terminal”

Once the terminal has opened type this:
sudo -su

it will prompt you to enter a password. type this:
passwd

It will now prompt you to enter your new root password (Just type it – you won’t see anything appear but it’s registering it).

You’ll be happy to hear it asks you to repeat the password to make sure you were paying attention…

Note: That the password can be anything you want but needs to be longer than 6 characters.

Done!

ALTERNATIVELY: Scroll down in the comments and use Morris’s method. Which one works for you?

In the first of the “How to…” series of videos, I look at how to set up a Recovery Flash Drive from the Aspire One’s Recovery DVD and then how to do the actual recovery.

I need to make it clear that this video applies to the Linux version of the Aspire One. The XP version is an entirely different ballgame and as many of you have pointed out, does not contain a recovery disk as there is a form of eRecovery already installed on the machine.

ALSO WATCH THE ENTIRE VIDEO BEFORE YOU ATTEMPT THIS AS YOU MIGHT MAKE A MISTAKE AND WIPE YOUR ENTIRE HARD DISK IF YOU DON’T!!!

Oh and before any of you comment, no I don’t have the fastest-booting Acers on the planet – the boot up/down times have been edited to fit into the video.

Hope it helps.