Acer 1410, 1810, 3810, 4810, 5810 Timeline Drivers, Software, Tweaks and Settings FAQ

[Phil]

Where can I download the latest drivers? (answer credits to dasfool)
Intel GS45 Express - Video, Chipset, Sata, Wireless
http://www.intel.com/Products/Notebo...5-overview.htm
Click "Tools & Software" -> "Mobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset Drivers" to get to the Video drivers.

Chipset and sata drivers: http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/CS-029319.htm

Intel 5100 wireless drivers: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/
On left side hover "Wireless Networking" -> "Intel WiFi Products" -> "Intel® WiFi Link 5300 and Intel® WiFi Link 5100 products" -> Download the software application version, it should include the newest driver as well

Atheros - Lan http://partner.atheros.com/Drivers.aspx
Grab the drivers from the "Atheros AR81Family Windows Driver x86/x64(Win7,Vista, XP, Server 2003)" category. I'm not sure which one to grab though, "AR8131_AR8132" or "AR81FamilyWinSetup" I'm guessing either would work.

Realtek - Audio (HD Audio)
http://www.realtek.com.tw/
Click - "Downloads" -> "High Definition Audio Codecs (Software)" -> "Vista, Windows7 Driver (32/64 bits) Driver only (ZIP file)"

The Alcor website seems inaccessible at the moment so I can't get updated card reader drivers and I don't know which camera and touchpad is in this so those will have to wait as well.

How can I enable two finger scrolling and three finger gestures for the touchpad?

To enable gestures use the following synaptics driver:
http://files.laptopvideo2go.com/syna..._v13.2.6.1.exe

This will allow you to have two finger scrolling (and three finger application launch which I disabled).

To enable two finger right click and three finger forward/back (while browsing), you will also need to add this:
http://two-finger-scroll.googlecode....roll_1_0_6.zip

This program does give you both scrolling and right click, even if you don't use the synaptics driver above, but I found the scrolling not to be as smooth as with the driver.

How can I play 720p/1080p mkv / H264 files?
With MPC HC and Cyberlink Power DVD codec: H.264/AVC graphics acceleration in the series timeline.
Discussion on best software and image quality of DXVA: Is there anyone that can play this H264 clip on Timeline SU3500 without 100% CPU load?

How can I increase the volume of the internal speakers?
Apply the tweak described here: Found a way to boost volume


Creating recovery ISOs if you don't own an external DVD drive:

http://www.virtualcd-online.com/ is the English page where you can get the 30-day trial of Virtual CD 9. I haven't burned the ISO's to DVD and tried to boot from them, but that program did create them just fine.

Basic process: I installed VirtualCD, set up a "virtual burner" drive, then selected the "create and insert blank medium" option in Virtual CD and selected "ISO DVD+R". Then I ran Acer eRecovery wizard. When it asked for another blank disk, I did "create and insert" again (in VirtualCD) and put another "ISO DVD+R". Same thing for the third (application/drivers) recovery option. At the end, I have 3 ISO's that appear to be the same size as the DVDs I burned using a friend's external drive. I can test them sometime in the near future and let you all know i f they burned and/or booted successfully.

Bluetooth module info:

Looks like BCM92046NMD, BCM92045NMD, BCM92035NMD, etc. should all be compatible. With older models lacking some of the features, of course. The the 8-pin connector on the modules is the same, and the cables from Acer, HP, Dell, Lenovo all look very similar. Should be an easy retrofit. DELL J613H also fits.

I'm getting my 1410 today (if UPS don't screw up). Plannig to use a dealextreme sku.11825 adapter for now, since I already have it. If I decide to keep my 1410 I'll probably go for a BCM92046NMD in the future, hopefully they would be cheaper/easier to get.

Vista performance tips:

[...]
First things I did on unpacking and first power up was to go to the MS site and download Vista SP2, once installed, then use Windows update and download the latest service packs and patches.

Next is to update the drivers mentioned on a previous page of this thread in post #1133 - thanks DasFool for doing the work, invaluable.

Next is to "tuneup" Vista - if you want to know more, google Vista Tuneup.

With this done, remove all of Acer's little "extras", and load software. Do not load Apple Quicktime - despite requesting no install of Apples auto updater it installs it anyway and still sucks CPU cycles - get a superior player with minimal overhead - VLC.

Do the same for Adobe products as well, if already loaded, kill the process in task manager, remove the updater via programs in control panel, then kill it again in startup in msconfig. Adobe is one of the worst companies for loading up your startup config, most of it is entirely unecessary at best.

By now the system is lean and reasonably quick, at least as quick as it would arguably be under XP - you just have to be aware of what third party programs are unecessarily robbing from your cpu cycles and either remove them, or not install them in the first place.
[...]

Hardware MOD to improve fan quietness

[...]My first attempt at dampening the fan rattle failed... so I tried to find the real problem by running
the fan by itself and looking at sound levels.
Sound meter
It become obvious that Acer/Quanta messed up big time. There is metal-on-metal contact between the heatsink and fan housing.
They just aligned the two parts and taped the tops together... like they were intentionally trying to make a rattle!! So I put a few layers of electrical tape inbetween to make metal-on-metal contact not possible...
Wrapped part join
This made the sound much more reasonable... more like a normal fan, less like a diesel engine.[...]

Pix of disassembled 1410

[...]
Here's pics of the chassis:
Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Usb/ethernet/audio board:
Pic 1
Pic 2
[...]
SSD pic
SSD score
pic of boot up test, no disk/keyboard/battery

See the original set of pics in cause you missed.

[...]
http://imgur.com/B5b1p.jpg
http://imgur.com/jW2qZ.jpg
http://imgur.com/aIHNu.jpg
No markings on either chip:
http://imgur.com/6Iifv.jpg
Floating corner for G45:
http://imgur.com/bYRzR.jpg
Heatsink shots:
http://imgur.com/po1C6.jpg
http://imgur.com/Qx9CA.jpg
http://imgur.com/xE7QR.jpg

SmartFan(control your 1410/1810t(z)'s fan via software)
Link to the original post of SmartFan's author on the Aspire one board:
SmartFan v1.16

@all everyone, who is searching for a fan control:

I was wrong with my first impressions! It works with SmartFan very fine now!
The correct settings are:

0x1F for fan off.
0x1A for fan low mode.
0x1C for fan mid mode.

So far I was not able to find the high mode setting. But therefor the auto mode (0x00) is a good alternative untill the correct value is found.

Now enjoy your silent notebook!

Here are the important code lines from my "options.ini":

[Modes]
Auto=0x00
Stop=0x1F
Slow=0x1A
Medium=0x1C

[Schemes]
Auto="Auto"
Example_scheme="Stop, Slow, 40, Slow, 45, Medium, 50, Auto, 53"

Edit: Unfortunately these values are not correct for the battery mode! For Example 0x1F becomes medium mode.

How to install Windows 7 from a flash drive
http://forum.notebookreview.com/show...82#post5279482

Win7 HDMI audio problems? Try this:

I'd advise this upgrade, as it fixed the HDMI audio for me

Win7 32-Bit v15.15.4.1872 dated 08/20/2009 (Changelog)
Win7 64-Bit v15.15.4.64.1872 dated 08/20/2009 (Changelog)

Is webcam image quality lacking? Check this first:

Make sure you removed the plastic covering the lens. Mine didn't come off when I removed the plastic covering the bezel.

How to disable the automatic fan activation when on AC power: (this does not completely shut down the fan)
Acer Aspire 1410 and 1810T Timeline (single core) 11.6" Thread

Win7 drivers tweaking
How to reduce CPU load and maximize battery life:
Acer Aspire 1410 and 1810T Timeline (single core) 11.6" Thread

I've successfully made a bootable sd card with the newest version of memtest86+ on it using the utility here.

Once you get it to write to the boot sector properly (took me a few tries using vista x64. I finally got it to work by launching an administrator command prompt, navigating to the drive, and running the makeboot.bat) you can switch out the "memtest" file with the newest "Pre-Compiled Bootable Binary" version from memtest.org. Just make sure to extract it from the zip and rename it from "memtest86+-2.10.bin", or whatever name it has, to "memtest" (no extension) so it can be recognized.

BIOS recovery. If you bricked your device, this might help. Works on 8471, other timelines should be similar. Warning!This is experimental! Please report back if it works for you!

bios recovery is similar to the aspire one recovery.
http://macles.blogspot.com/2008/08/a...-recovery.html
just download the correct bios for your unit, then the file must be named "jm31x64.fd"

yeah, it worked for a travelmate 8471 (and of course you need the correct bios for the TM8471)

but follow the instructions. make sure thumb drive is fat32, and rename the file exactly. you will also need the fla.exe on there as well.

Edit: The forum's spamfilter removed a part of the flash program's filename, it's called f_l_a_s_h_i_t.exe

Timeline battery life measurement software

If you are interested in a more accurate measurement of battery life I recommend Battery Bar(thx, Redline). It 'learns' and is much more accurate than Vista, because Vista just extrapolates the momentary power consumption, which is totally useless.

http://osirisdevelopment.com/BatteryBar/

How to enable virtualization on 1410/1810.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/show...18#post5300618

Windows 7 Wireless driver for 1810TZ.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/show...06#post5312806

Help to expand by adding your own tips and tweaks.

[sosorio]

wow phil, great post!! gonna use what i need for my 3810T

PS: why not make it general timeline driver thread?? most of the components are shared along the whole series

[Phil]

PS: why not make it general timeline driver thread?? most of the components are shared along the whole series

Yes you are right. I did not think of that. I've changed it.

[dannylu88]

I did a clean install with xp and everything works except the brightness function.... any ideas?

[der_mali]

Where can I download the latest drivers? (answer credits to dasfool)
Intel GS45 Express - Video, Chipset, Sata, Wireless
http://www.intel.com/Products/Notebo...5-overview.htm
Click "Tools & Software" -> "Mobile Intel® 4 Series Express Chipset Drivers" to get to the Video drivers.

Chipset and sata drivers: http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/CS-029319.htm

Intel 5100 wireless drivers: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/
On left side hover "Wireless Networking" -> "Intel WiFi Products" -> "Intel® WiFi Link 5300 and Intel® WiFi Link 5100 products" -> Download the software application version, it should include the newest driver as well

Atheros - Lan http://partner.atheros.com/Drivers.aspx
Grab the drivers from the "Atheros AR81Family Windows Driver x86/x64(Win7,Vista, XP, Server 2003)" category. I'm not sure which one to grab though, "AR8131_AR8132" or "AR81FamilyWinSetup" I'm guessing either would work.

Realtek - Audio (HD Audio)
http://www.realtek.com.tw/
Click - "Downloads" -> "High Definition Audio Codecs (Software)" -> "Vista, Windows7 Driver (32/64 bits) Driver only (ZIP file)"

The Alcor website seems inaccessible at the moment so I can't get updated card reader drivers and I don't know which camera and touchpad is in this so those will have to wait as well.

How can I enable two finger scrolling and three finger gestures for the touchpad?

To enable gestures use the following synaptics driver:
http://files.laptopvideo2go.com/syna..._v13.2.6.1.exe

This will allow you to have two finger scrolling (and three finger application launch which I disabled).

To enable two finger right click and three finger forward/back (while browsing), you will also need to add this:
http://two-finger-scroll.googlecode....roll_1_0_6.zip

This program does give you both scrolling and right click, even if you don't use the synaptics driver above, but I found the scrolling not to be as smooth as with the driver.

How can I play 720p/1080p mkv / H264 files?
With MPC HC and Cyberlink Power DVD codec: H.264/AVC graphics acceleration in the series timeline.
Discussion on best software and image quality of DXVA: Is there anyone that can play this H264 clip on Timeline SU3500 without 100% CPU load?

How can I increase the volume of the internal speakers?
Apply the tweak described here: Found a way to boost volume


Creating recovery ISOs if you don't own an external DVD drive:

http://www.virtualcd-online.com/ is the English page where you can get the 30-day trial of Virtual CD 9. I haven't burned the ISO's to DVD and tried to boot from them, but that program did create them just fine.

Basic process: I installed VirtualCD, set up a "virtual burner" drive, then selected the "create and insert blank medium" option in Virtual CD and selected "ISO DVD+R". Then I ran Acer eRecovery wizard. When it asked for another blank disk, I did "create and insert" again (in VirtualCD) and put another "ISO DVD+R". Same thing for the third (application/drivers) recovery option. At the end, I have 3 ISO's that appear to be the same size as the DVDs I burned using a friend's external drive. I can test them sometime in the near future and let you all know i f they burned and/or booted successfully.

Bluetooth module info:

Looks like BCM92046NMD, BCM92045NMD, BCM92035NMD, etc. should all be compatible. With older models lacking some of the features, of course. The the 8-pin connector on the modules is the same, and the cables from Acer, HP, Dell, Lenovo all look very similar. Should be an easy retrofit. DELL J613H also fits.

I'm getting my 1410 today (if UPS don't screw up). Plannig to use a dealextreme sku.11825 adapter for now, since I already have it. If I decide to keep my 1410 I'll probably go for a BCM92046NMD in the future, hopefully they would be cheaper/easier to get.

Vista performance tips:

[...]
First things I did on unpacking and first power up was to go to the MS site and download Vista SP2, once installed, then use Windows update and download the latest service packs and patches.

Next is to update the drivers mentioned on a previous page of this thread in post #1133 - thanks DasFool for doing the work, invaluable.

Next is to "tuneup" Vista - if you want to know more, google Vista Tuneup.

With this done, remove all of Acer's little "extras", and load software. Do not load Apple Quicktime - despite requesting no install of Apples auto updater it installs it anyway and still sucks CPU cycles - get a superior player with minimal overhead - VLC.

Do the same for Adobe products as well, if already loaded, kill the process in task manager, remove the updater via programs in control panel, then kill it again in startup in msconfig. Adobe is one of the worst companies for loading up your startup config, most of it is entirely unecessary at best.

By now the system is lean and reasonably quick, at least as quick as it would arguably be under XP - you just have to be aware of what third party programs are unecessarily robbing from your cpu cycles and either remove them, or not install them in the first place.
[...]

Hardware MOD to improve fan quietness

[...]My first attempt at dampening the fan rattle failed... so I tried to find the real problem by running
the fan by itself and looking at sound levels.
Sound meter
It become obvious that Acer/Quanta messed up big time. There is metal-on-metal contact between the heatsink and fan housing.
They just aligned the two parts and taped the tops together... like they were intentionally trying to make a rattle!! So I put a few layers of electrical tape inbetween to make metal-on-metal contact not possible...
Wrapped part join
This made the sound much more reasonable... more like a normal fan, less like a diesel engine.[...]

Pix of disassembled 1410

[...]
Here's pics of the chassis:
Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3
Usb/ethernet/audio board:
Pic 1
Pic 2
[...]
SSD pic
SSD score
pic of boot up test, no disk/keyboard/battery

See the original set of pics in cause you missed.

[...]
http://imgur.com/B5b1p.jpg
http://imgur.com/jW2qZ.jpg
http://imgur.com/aIHNu.jpg
No markings on either chip:
http://imgur.com/6Iifv.jpg
Floating corner for G45:
http://imgur.com/bYRzR.jpg
Heatsink shots:
http://imgur.com/po1C6.jpg
http://imgur.com/Qx9CA.jpg
http://imgur.com/xE7QR.jpg

SmartFan(control your 1410/1810t(z)'s fan via software)
Link to the original post of SmartFan's author on the Aspire one board:
SmartFan v1.16

@all everyone, who is searching for a fan control:

I was wrong with my first impressions! It works with SmartFan very fine now!
The correct settings are:

0x1F for fan off.
0x1A for fan low mode.
0x1C for fan mid mode.

So far I was not able to find the high mode setting. But therefor the auto mode (0x00) is a good alternative untill the correct value is found.

Now enjoy your silent notebook!

Here are the important code lines from my "options.ini":

[Modes]
Auto=0x00
Stop=0x1F
Slow=0x1A
Medium=0x1C

[Schemes]
Auto="Auto"
Example_scheme="Stop, Slow, 40, Slow, 45, Medium, 50, Auto, 53"

Edit: Unfortunately these values are not correct for the battery mode! For Example 0x1F becomes medium mode.

How to install Windows 7 from a flash drive
http://forum.notebookreview.com/show...82#post5279482

Win7 HDMI audio problems? Try this:

I'd advise this upgrade, as it fixed the HDMI audio for me

Win7 32-Bit v15.15.4.1872 dated 08/20/2009 (Changelog)
Win7 64-Bit v15.15.4.64.1872 dated 08/20/2009 (Changelog)

Is webcam image quality lacking? Check this first:

Make sure you removed the plastic covering the lens. Mine didn't come off when I removed the plastic covering the bezel.

How to disable the automatic fan activation when on AC power: (this does not completely shut down the fan)
Acer Aspire 1410 and 1810T Timeline (single core) 11.6" Thread

Win7 drivers tweaking
How to reduce CPU load and maximize battery life:
Acer Aspire 1410 and 1810T Timeline (single core) 11.6" Thread

I've successfully made a bootable sd card with the newest version of memtest86+ on it using the utility here.

Once you get it to write to the boot sector properly (took me a few tries using vista x64. I finally got it to work by launching an administrator command prompt, navigating to the drive, and running the makeboot.bat) you can switch out the "memtest" file with the newest "Pre-Compiled Bootable Binary" version from memtest.org. Just make sure to extract it from the zip and rename it from "memtest86+-2.10.bin", or whatever name it has, to "memtest" (no extension) so it can be recognized.

BIOS recovery. If you bricked your device, this might help. Works on 8471, other timelines should be similar. Warning!This is experimental! Please report back if it works for you!

bios recovery is similar to the aspire one recovery.
http://macles.blogspot.com/2008/08/a...-recovery.html
just download the correct bios for your unit, then the file must be named "jm31x64.fd"

yeah, it worked for a travelmate 8471 (and of course you need the correct bios for the TM8471)

but follow the instructions. make sure thumb drive is fat32, and rename the file exactly. you will also need the fla.exe on there as well.

Edit: The forum's spamfilter removed a part of the flash program's filename, it's called f_l_a_s_h_i_t.exe

Timeline battery life measurement software

If you are interested in a more accurate measurement of battery life I recommend Battery Bar(thx, Redline). It 'learns' and is much more accurate than Vista, because Vista just extrapolates the momentary power consumption, which is totally useless.

http://osirisdevelopment.com/BatteryBar/

How to enable virtualization on 1410/1810.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/show...18#post5300618

Windows 7 Wireless driver for 1810TZ.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/show...06#post5312806

I did a clean install with xp and everything works except the brightness function.... any ideas?

Install Acer LaunchManager Application.

Help to expand by adding your own tips and tweaks.

[dannylu88]

Install Acer LaunchManager Application.

I did install the launch manager, the volume, standby, mute and etc buttons all work except the brightness... Which is why its weird... Do I need to install the drivers in a certain order to get it to work? I remember having similar issues with my vaios...

[der_mali]

@dannylu88
I'm sorry, I don't know. Maybe it's the graphics driver's fault, just guessing here.
Edit:
Someone on a Chinese board has the same problem. Seems to be XP related. If I find out something, I'll let you know.

[is_you]

how performance of 4810 ?
does it perform well?
any error or bug?
how was it compare with K40IN ?
which one would be better?
as i recently consider few of laptop....

[der_mali]

@is_you
Read here:
Acer Aspire Timeline Owner's Lounge

[dannylu88]

Thanks for your help der mali... I tried googling and couldnt find anything.