The 100MB Partition in Windows 7

As you might already know Windows 7 default installation creates a 100MB partition during Setup.
The function is not really documented on the Internet, however reading this you should already know what it is for.

The partition in question is the System Reserved Partition.

So lets compare the Windows 7 installation with and without the 100MB System Reserve Partition.

Firstly lets take a look at the root drive of the Windows 7 with the 100MB:

Next lets take a look at the root drive of the Windows 7 without the 100MB:

So what is the the difference? It is the presence of file and folder required for booting like bootmgr etc...

Open up the 100MB partition and what do you know we are right!

So what does this means?
It means in actual fact the extra partition is optional has 0 effects on system operation.

So lets take a logical approach and think of possible reasons for this change.

1)Prevent Noobs from accidentally killing their Windows Installation by moving the boot files off C:\ to a partition they can't touch? Possible Very Likely
2)Optimize boot performance by moving boot files to the first partition(front part of the drive)? Possible as well.
3)Modularize the OS file layout? Very possible a much more elegant solution than cramping all the files into C:\.In fact it could mean you could multiboot multiple Windows OS on volumes without having repeated Boot files in each and every installation.

What does this means to end user? It means for those Dual Booters like me it is 4 - 2 primary partition left instead of 4 - 1.
Does it matter? No because you can create logical/extended partition to bypass the 4 primary partition limit in legacy Master Boot Record (MBR).
It doesn't affect GUID Partition Tables (GPT) on EFI systems.
Unfortunately Windows 7 doesn't do GPT volume installation.

So remember the 100MB is just a rearrangement of boot files. Period.

ACPI DSDT Investigation

There has been this problem with Acer Aspire 4530.
When the temperature of the GPU hits 99 degrees the fans don't seemed to turn on to cool it.
Instead the GPU throttle down but without the active cooling the throttling doesn't help instead it stays around 95-99 cycling back and forth.
Therefore I investigated the ACPI configuration of the laptop.
Using Phoenix BIOS editor I extracted the AML file contain compiled ACPI instruction.
The AML file is actually the DSDT Table which Windows load from the BIOS
Using Microsoft ASL Compiler I decompiled the AML file to a notepad readable format.
After checking with ACPI specification PDF documentation I discovered a flaw in the coding.
According to the ACPI documentation as shown below
_PSV is supposed to be the temperature which it safe to do passive cooling meaning fan can turn off.
However Acer programmed the _PSV value to be 0x63 (hex) which is actually 99 degrees in Decimal.
Which means when the laptop reaches 99 degrees it is safe to turn off the fan which led to this situation.
Therefore I modded the DSDT changed it to 45 degrees and overload the table to Windows Registry.
Now the fan no longer stop working when the temperature reaches high levels.

Here I share with you the patched DSDT (actually you can patch the BIOS but I prefer not to do this)

To use the DSDT install Microsoft ASL Compiler, v. 3.0.1 [646 KB] from this page.

Copy and paste the patched DSDT to "C:\Program Files\Microsoft ASL Compiler v3.0"
Then open a Command Prompt Windows with Admin Permission then type

cd "C:\Program Files\Microsoft ASL Compiler v3.0"
asl.exe /loadtable DSDT.AML

You should see "Table Overloading Succeeded".
Reboot.

I modified another value.
It is the return value for the THRM.
I modified the else condition to a higher hex value so the else condition will assume higher temperature.
I relink the link above to the newer file.

Hi guys sorry I promised there would be no changes to th Acer Aspire 4530 BIOS but I found some errors in the Acer Aspire 4530 DSDT code hence I had to recompile and replace the buggy DSDT code found originally in the Acer Aspire 4530 BIOS.

Here is an excerpt from the original buggy code.

I used IASL Compiler (Intel ASL Compiler) for this purpose as Microsoft ASL Compiler is non-standard(Doesn't guarantee Linux Compatibility), no optimization & buggy.

The new output after I corrected the DSDT:


As usual I always tested the new BIOS with my Aspire 4530 before releasing it so no worries.

Please refer here for the modified BIOS for Aspire 4530

**Note important!
I have removed the optimized DSDT as many seems to have issues with it.
If your Windows report error please flash from DOS (Read Instructions) because DOS doesn't require ACPI so it should be possible.

(Includes Win7 SLIC, Undervolted GPU & Corrected DSDT code)
I noticed things like Brightness Display during unplugging of Adapter and Battery is solved with this DSDT Code Correction.

Acer Phoenix BIOS Emergency Recovery

This is for people who don't listen and interrupt the flashing BIOS for unknown reasons.

This will work provided the BIOS BootBlock isn't screwed up while your Main BIOS Image is gone so remember when flashing DO NOT FLASH the bootblock.

The bootblock is to initialize emergency BIOS recovery for some reason the BIOS screwed up.

Download the CrisDisk here.

Do the following on a spare working computer to prepare the BIOS Recovery Drive:

Rename a working copy of the BIOS to bios.wph.

UnZip & Extract CrisDisk to a folder called CrisDisk.

Copy and Paste the bios.wph inside the folder
(Remember to replace the sample bios.wph in the folder with your working BIOS!).

Plug a USB Floppy Disk with a Floppy Disk inside.

You can try using a Thumbdrive but the chances of working with a Floppy Disk is higher.

Right Click and run and WinCris.exe with Admin Permission.

It will format the floppy, copy the MiniDOS files inside with the bios.wph to create a emergency BIOS Recovery Disk.

I have tried this with Aspire 4530.

Do the following on the Computer which BIOS you need to recover:

Plug in the prepared USB Floppy Drive to the machine you need to recover the BIOS from on the left USB port which is the motherboard main USB (There are 2 such ports on the same side).

Remove battery and AC Adapter.

Press and hold Fn+Esc then plug the AC Adapter in while holding Fn+Esc.

Press the Power Button Once and release while holding Fn+Esc.

You should see the lights flashing meaning the laptop is in BIOS Recovery Mode.

The USB Floppy drive should be lighted up and you should hear the floppy drive reading after that you can release Fn+Esc.

After a while you should see either it power off itself or the laptop lights stop flashing.

Remove the AC Adapter, USB Floppy Drive.

Plug back the AC Adapter your laptop should be working again.

Insyde BIOS recovery is different.
1)EFI doesn't need a bootable thumbdrive because EFI uses GUID Partition Tables just a normal partition will be ok (I think).
2)You need to rename the EFI to the correct name so recovery bootblock will identify the correct firmware.

ACPI Problems in Windows 7

(Error1

: The embedded controller (EC) did not respond within the specified timeout period. This may indicate that there is an error in the EC hardware or firmware or that the BIOS is accessing the EC incorrectly. You should check with your computer manufacturer for an upgraded BIOS. In some situations, this error may cause the computer to function incorrectly.

Result of Error 1

The speed of processor 0 in group 0 is being limited by system firmware. The processor has been in this reduced performance state for 3 seconds since the last report.

What does this means?

It means ACPI has detected the temperature has exceeded the threshold in the PSVT method in the DSDT contained in the BIOS. Therefore ACPI will automatically throttle down the CPU to lower states so temperature will drop. Hopefully.

I revised the DSDT file need further testing to confirm if the newer DSDT fixes the issue(Note: For Aspire 4530 only other Computers need their own DSDT).

Acer Aspire 4530 Boot Screen

Acer Aspire 4530 Boot Dianogostic Screen

PhoenixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.1

Copyright 1985-2008 Phoenix Technologies Ltd.

All Rights Reserve

1.052.A6 NVIDIA NFORCE

CPU0=AMD Turion(tm) X2 Dual-Core Mobile RM-72

CPU Stepping = B1 2100MHZ

MemClk = 333Mhz Tcl = 5.0 Trcd = 5 Tras = 12 Trp = 5

CPU<->MCP:LDT Frequency = 1800Mhz LDT Width = 16bit DOWN - 16bit UP

No TPM or TPM has a problem

2815M System RAM Passed

1024KB L2 Cache per Core

System BIOS shadowed

Video BIOS shadowed

Fixed Disk 0: WDC3200BEVT-222CT0

ATAPI CD-ROM:HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-T50N

Mouse initialized

System Configuration Data updated

Press F2 to enter Setup

HyperTransport (HT), formerly known as Lightning Data Transport (LDT)

MCP (Media and Communications Processor)

Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is both the name of a published specification detailing a secure cryptoprocessor that can storecryptographic keys that protect information

ATAPI (AT Attachment Packet Interface) is an interface between your computer and attached CD-ROM drives and tape backup drives

Closest I can get to 2817 = 4096 - 1087 - 256 + 64

Or it could be some BIOS Programming legacy