Ultra-Thin

[digitaltag]

My laptop was collected on monday and its on its way back to me. I called them to see what the problem actually was and they said that it was a setting which has been corrected. I asked what kind of setting was it and that i didnt know of a setting to "enable intermittent shutdown". I disagreed that this was a setting issue but will let you know if its fixed.

[chronos00]

I have the EXACT same problem.

• This happens only on battery power
• My BIOS version is V2.12
• VGA BIOS: Intel V21371
• Product name: S7-391
• It does happen randomly (looks VERY random, at least until we can figure out the source of problem)
• Fans are working perfectly, and there's no dust in the ventilation (laptop has only weeks of usage)
• I've tried shaking and gently bending the laptop to check for false contacts, but it feels very solid.
• I've tried restarting the laptop and leaving it at the BIOS screen. The problem persisted. I had previously fully charged the battery, and after 20 min in BIOS screen, the laptop shutted down.  I turned it on again, and left it on the BIOS again. It lasted another 5 min. Repeated the procedure one last time, and to my suprise it has been now running for 2 hours... I'll let the battery drain and then boot into OS while recharging and see what I get...

I could not find ANY other indication of an S7 with this problem on internet. Perhaps this model is still too new? I did found similar problems with other Acer models. 

I can't understand what the problem might be. It doesn't make any sense, but perhaps it has something to do with battery calibration? (hence my attempt to let the battery drain).

Any other thoughts about this?

[Surf_Monkey]

I have the same problem and have done since a few weeks after I bought it.

I cannot send my laptop back to ACER as I am doing a very intense distance Learning degree which requires me to hand in assignments and take online exams every couple of weeks.

So far I have had to retake the same exam 3 times because my S7 shutdown for no reason hafway through (as if i didn't have enough work to cram into the few waking hours I have outside my fulltime job).

I had an Aspire laptop I bought about 5 years ago and decided it was time for a new one and wanted to get a top of the range product. I actually trust the old laptop more than this one and wish I never got rid of it.

For now, all I can do is tie myself to a power outlet when taking exams and continuously save assignments while I do them if using battery power.

I am really disappointed in ACER now and will probably end up sending this 'unfit for purpose' laptop back to find something else.

Please, if someone finds a solution to this problem, post it here!

[Dunkx]

Hi guys,

I have been working with our local Acer Supplier to find a fix this issue.

I wanted to let everyone here know how we are going.

First solution. (now current Workaround):

PLEASE NOTE WE ARE AUTHORIZED BY ACER TO DO IN HOUSE REPAIRS. THIS MAY VOID YOUR WARRANTY.

Remove lower case (11 screws on base of the laptop) and remove the case cover. Then remove center screw in battery pack and disconnect the battery from mainboard and reconnect after 3 seconds. Now replace all screws.

This will reset what what ever the problem is, but we have found in many cases the problem has returned 4-8 weeks later.

I MUST STRESS IF YOU ARE UNSURE ABOUT USING DOING THE WORKAROUND PLEASE PRINT THIS OUT AND TAKE IT DIRECTLY TO YOU CLOSEST ACER SERVICE CENTRE. THIS IS A 5 MIN JOB.

Things we have tried:

1) Replacing battery. Did the same as above due to the battery being disconnected. Problem returned weeks later.

2) Replacing mainboard. Did the same as above due to the battery being disconnected. Problem returned weeks later.

3) Upgrading bios. This did not fix the issue. I have copied the Release logs for the bios to the bottom of this post, nothing has been noted about fixing battery or power issues.

So at this stage we are no longer swapping parts within the fleet, we are just using the work around and logging the repairs on acers warranty claims system.

I hope this helps people who are in a bind and have purchased one of acers flagship model laptops are are unable to use them.

But Here is the Release Logs for BIOS updates between 2.09 and 2.14

S7 BIOS Release logs

2.09

1. Fix KB Matrix Issue
2. Update acer ALS/KB_backlight ALS v1.07 behavior

2.13

1.Fix FR of Some port can't boot to "Windows To Go"
2. Update KBC to V1.14
- Updated thermal table
- Add Check EL Backlight CMD
- Remove bFn_Swap_keys function .Update KBC to V1.14


2.14

1. Phase in New ALT+F10 GPT D2D Recovery
2. Update IVB 306A9 Microcode to M12306A9_00000017
3. Change Legacy VBIOS to 21372
4. Update KBC to V1.15
-Add Clear ALT+F10 flag when warm boot and cold boot

[Dunkx]

On a side note. After using the above "Workaround"

We have noticed the following.

Laptop does not hard power off while being used on battery.

Laptop will boot on battery power, while not being pluged into AC power.

Laptop battery life has increased in many cases. (some laptops were reported to have only 2-3 hours of battery life) Now we get above 4 hours on most laptops after the battery has been disconnected and reconnected.

Since I have a few S7 owners here.

We have had a few wifi issues with wifi connections dropping mostly while running on battery power.

Updating to the latest wifi drivers for our fleet the (Atheros 10.0.0.234) has fixed this problem.

Please PM me if you have and questions about the wifi issue so i do not hijack this thread.

Regards,

Dunkx

[chronos00]

i just wantedd to update my post.

I let the battery completly drain at the BIOS screen, and then booted again. I feel the shutdowns have spaced themselves more, but are still there. So this might help, but it doesn't solve the problem.

I havn't yet tried Dunkx propsosed solution. I still don't understand what the difference is between disconecting the battery completely, and using the "hard reset switch" next to the battery, which I assume that it electricaly cuts the connection to the main board. Dunkx, can you please clarify?

[Dunkx]

Hi chronos00,

Sorry I do not have an answer as to why the battery reset button on the bottom of the laptop does not work.

We tried it may times in different ways. It never worked for us. no matter how long we held it for, with power in or out. Nothing fixed the issue.

Sorry i could not help any more on this!

[apbitten]

Sam problm just out of the box. Snt to repir and received it with the same problem. They treat as something that does not exists!! If it is only my problem but the forum show tht there are a lot of clients with the same problem. I give up. First and last acer in my life (now transformed in the mos expensive desktop on planet). Pay to repair and nothing.

[apbitten]

Same problem just out of the box. Sent to repair and received it with the same problem. They treat as something that does not exists!! If it is only my problem but the forum show that there are a lot of clients with the same problem. I give up. First and last acer in my life (now transformed in the most expensive desktop on planet). Pay to repair and nothing, receive the computer back tell that they upgraded the bios and the problem solved. Discovered that it is not true in less than five minutes on battery.(correcting the missing letters fom acer keyboard on last post.)

[apbitten]

Below the report from batterycfg... Windows thought that the computer enters in suspend mode when it turn off suddenly...

Information about each currently installed battery    

	BATTERY                  1
NAME	Li_Ion_4000mA
MANUFACTURER	Acer
SERIAL NUMBER	1234
CHEMISTRY	Lion
DESIGN CAPACITY	35,668 mWh
FULL CHARGE CAPACITY	35,520 mWh
CYCLE COUNT	-

      Recent usage    

Power states over the last 72 hours    

START TIME	STATE	SOURCE	CAPACITY REMAINING
2013-07-19 08:48:57	Active	Battery	86 %	30,643 mWh
08:48:57	Active	AC	86 %	30,643 mWh
10:21:58	Suspended		100 %	35,550 mWh
16:18:51	Active	AC	100 %	35,550 mWh
17:15:56	Suspended		100 %	35,550 mWh
18:43:23	Active	AC	100 %	35,550 mWh
19:00:00	Suspended		100 %	35,550 mWh
19:01:16	Active	AC	100 %	35,550 mWh
19:59:00	Suspended		100 %	35,550 mWh
2013-07-21 08:02:43	Active	Battery	92 %	32,708 mWh
08:48:00	Suspended		73 %	26,085 mWh
09:46:09	Active	Battery	64 %	22,755 mWh
09:51:59	Suspended		61 %	21,837 mWh
09:53:12	Active	Battery	61 %	21,837 mWh
09:53:12	Suspended		61 %	21,837 mWh
09:53:47	Active	Battery	60 %	21,475 mWh
09:56:00	Suspended		59 %	21,120 mWh
10:04:21	Active	Battery	55 %	19,521 mWh
10:04:21	Suspended		55 %	19,521 mWh
10:09:05	Active	AC	57 %	20,254 mWh
10:15:00	Suspended		62 %	21,867 mWh
12:15:36	Active	Battery	95 %	33,907 mWh
12:27:00	Suspended		90 %	32,101 mWh
19:49:19	Active	Battery	81 %	28,712 mWh
19:58:00	Suspended		77 %	27,498 mWh
20:52:01	Active	AC	61 %	21,689 mWh
21:03:40	Suspended		70 %	24,731 mWh
23:13:09	Active	AC	100 %	35,520 mWh
23:31:00	Suspended		100 %	35,520 mWh
23:32:07	Active	AC	100 %	35,520 mWh
23:51:09	Suspended		100 %	35,520 mWh
23:52:01	Active	AC	100 %	35,520 mWh
2013-07-22 00:05:14	Suspended		100 %	35,520 mWh
00:06:27	Active	AC	100 %	35,520 mWh
00:08:57	Suspended		100 %	35,520 mWh
08:04:28	Active	AC	100 %	35,520 mWh
08:21:00	Report generated	AC	100 %	35,520 mWh