Acer V3-772G power issue

Hi All, bought myself an Acer V3-772G-747a321.26TBDWakk laptop and I have the following issue: sometimes it resets completely after unexpected powerdown. When I reported the issue I got a brand new laptop and it has exactly the same problem! So it must be a software problem I guess.

Configuration: original Windows 8 x64 from factory AND brand new Windows 8.1 x64, laptop connected to power supply, battery full, all UEFI based.

Windows events:

Error: The previous system shutdown at 10:04:52 PM on ‎9/‎25/‎2013 was unexpected.

Followed by

Critical: The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.

No events before that.

I have an unusual suspect: it seems like it happens when running java in chrome browser, but not sure yet (i'm not familiar with java)

Chrome version 29.0.1547.76 m

Java jdk-7u40-windows-x64

I'll run some more tests.

Accepted answers

Bertje

Hi Silencer,

just an update from me: I had three new V3-772G laptops with the same issue: power interrupts. BIOS version did influence the severity of it. I bought them at the same shop. Finally I bought my current laptop (same type) at another shop. I have it now for two weeks. Guess what: no more power interrupts or other instabilities (running Windows 8.1)

So it seems to be a bad batch (hardware) that also depends on the BIOS version (software).

The hardware part you cannot solve yourself, so my advice is: report a hardware problem and let it be repaired.

All comments

Bertje

OK guys, follow up: suspect no1 = Adobe Flash! It so happened thatpowerdowns took place during using a browser (IE, Chrome,FF) and during flash activity.So I switched it off now. Let's see whathappens.

Steve Jobs right after all?

I'll keep you infomed

Vince53

Bert, we're talking about a quad-core with 32 gigs of RAM, if I understand your model number correctly. If Java were messing up your rig, it would have shown up in test models. But you can try installing Opera, a bare-bones browser to see if that helps.

I would recommend contacting Acer and asking them why they didn't fix the old one. Perhaps they can tell you what the problem is. I would also recommend a deep scan with your anti-virus program.

I wonder if you haven't accidentally installed a program that is clashing with another program? You can install the free Win Patrol to find out what starts up when you run your rig. Disable (but don't Delete) programs you don't want. Later, if everything is running well, you can go back and delete them.

Bertje

Hi Vince, thanks,

yes it is the quad core 32 gig beast. It is not java and it's not flash either as I suspected earlier. And it also happens on a clean factory installation AND a clean genuine windows 8.1 installation without any additional software installed but chrome. Chance of happening is highest when browsing and using flash, but I think it very rarely also happens without browsing, not sure about that now. So I'm still trying to figure out the root cause.

I am on BIOS level 1.08 still, maybe I should upgrade to 1.11 but there are some posts about problems with 1.11 so I first need to be sure I can find the 1.08 software so I can revert if necessary.

I'll keep you posted.

Bertje

STAY AWAY FROM BIOS 1.11!!!!

After I updated my BIOS from 1.08 to 1.11 the laptop just powers off almost continuously. A managed to get to the loing window, but as soon as I press enter after entering my password the power shuts down.

I managd to get into a command prompt and tried to start the bios 1.08 installer (after setting check bios version flag to 0 in platform.ini) but it needs a subsystem, most probably WOW64.

Now reinstalling windows 8.1, but the power shuts down almost immediately after booting.

I think I need to bring it back to the shop.

Bertje

I notice that Acer withdrew BIOS 1.11. This proves that the power interrupts are caused by BIOS errors. 1.08 has the same issue but it is more or less manageable. Hope they fix the BIOS soon with 1.12 version. But I don't want to be the first person to try a new BIOS. Any heroes here?

BTW: I have a new laptop, same type, I don't give up easily.

Bertje

I brought back my third laptop having the same power interrupt issue after calling Acer and I got a refund from the store where I bought it (I can really recommend buying your stuff at this store if you're Dutch). I opened a case at Acer and got an answer containing the following text (translation follows):

Momenteel zijn wij in samenwerking met het hoofdkantoor aan het zoeken naar een oplossing voor dit probleem

Wij hopen hier spoedig een antwoord op te hebben.
Vermoedelijk zal hiervoor inderdaad een nieuwe BIOS beschikbaar gesteld worden.

Met vriendelijke groet

Translation:

Currently we are working together with our main office to find a solution for this problem.

Hopefully we'll have a solution soon.

Probably there wil be a new BIOS indeed.

Regards.

/Translation

I'll wait a few weeks before trying again.

Bertje

Update: I bought the same type of laptop at another shop hoping it was a batch problem. They had a 14% return on this type (3 out of 25) but it was not clear what the issues were. I received the laptop yesterday and after some positive preliminary tests I decided to go for the real thing: I installed windows 8.1 plus the drivers from the Acer site. It seems that the order of installation matters for the stability of the system. My first attempts resulted in blue screens with the DRIVER POWER STATE FAILURE error which is mentioned on some forums. Finally after several fresh installs I seem to have a stabile system. I wish I had saved the order of driver installation but I didn't. I know however how I checked the 'stability' after each new driver installation: I opened the device manager and tried a Scan for hardware changes. I noted that instability resulted in the scan hanging (not finishing). Before each new driver I created a new restore point so I could roll back if necessary.

I also started with the Intel Display (4600) driver, followed by the NVidia one because I had problems with the intel driver in previous fresh installs.

Result: a stabile system

Next step was checking my original problem: immediate powerinterrupts. Interrupts appeared to happen most often when browsing sites using flash. So I started two sites using flash and had the laptop run all night. Next morning: system was still running smoothly.

My conclusion:

1 - I had very bad luck with 3 laptops from a bad batch.

2 - Order of driver installation on Windows 8.1 seems to matter: start with Intel display driver, then NVidia and then the rest. Create a restore point before each new driver installation and check Scan for new hardware runs ok after each driver.

sri23

Isnt Windows 8.1 still in test / preview state ? The release date is Oct-18th.... What did you mean by brand new 8.1 ??

I recently bought the same model. I am happy that Acer withdrew BIOS 1.11. I had severe issues after I upgraded to 1.11 and so downgraded back to 1.08. I am on windows 8. With BIOS 1.08, Windows 8, there are no issues whatsoever with the order of driver installation. More than 1 month now and no blue screens so far.

The issue might be due to Windows 8.1. Its in its early stages..

Vince53

SRI, Windows 8.1 is a complete, new operating system designed to replace Windows 8. For tax purposes, Microsoft labels it as an upgrade, but it is not. You can get it free if you have a legal copy of 8. Should you do this, however, you will lose your Acer drivers. Fortunately, 8.1 is so similar to 8 that you can PROBABLY install the Windows 8 drivers without a problem.

Some companies are already releasing new computers with 8.1 installed, and it appears to work fine.

I intend to install 8.1 on my desktop, but NOT on my laptop.

silencer

I'm experiencing a similar problem with my new v3-772g-9829. Like the OP, my computer just randomly restarts without warning. Sometimes I can get by for hours without any hiccups but then it powers down and resets out of the blue. It's very frustrating. I've already installed the latest BIOS and drivers from the website and even refreshed the computer twice. Also, there's no BSOD, making troubleshooting difficult, and like the OP all I get is an Event ID 6008.

I'd like to know if this is a known issue with this particular series and if so, is it a software or a hardware problem.

Bertje

Hi Silencer,

just an update from me: I had three new V3-772G laptops with the same issue: power interrupts. BIOS version did influence the severity of it. I bought them at the same shop. Finally I bought my current laptop (same type) at another shop. I have it now for two weeks. Guess what: no more power interrupts or other instabilities (running Windows 8.1)

So it seems to be a bad batch (hardware) that also depends on the BIOS version (software).

The hardware part you cannot solve yourself, so my advice is: report a hardware problem and let it be repaired.

Vince53

Silencer, there's an obscure possibility that you have physical probems with your RAM. While RAM will normally outlive the computer, there may be a crack in a RAM chip or in the area where the RAM is attached to the motherboard. There also might be a piece of crud stuck in there.

steliosfran

Hello everybody,

I'm experiencing the exact same problem with the author of this topic.

I have the exact same model (Acer V3 772G) and I'm experiencing random restarts without any BSOD or memory dumps. The restarts happen mainly when I'm browsing, especially when I use websites with online videos (such as youtube and imdb). However it can also happen in some other random times as well, but more rarely. This is happening from the moment I bought this laptop, without downloading any other content or upgrading the OS. I use Windows 8.

I have tried everything but still no clue what is causing the issue.

1. I have both the battery and the AC adapter plugged in.

2. Heat is not the issue. My temps are fine and I'm using a cooling pad.

3. RAM seems ok. I have passed 3 of 4 tests of Memtest86+, running the test for 11 hours.

4. I tried removing flash player, java plugin, every other chrome plugin, but the problem persists.

5. Updated the bios version from 1.08 to 1.13 but the problem persists.

6. I have updated twice the nvidia driver but in both versions the problem persisted.

7. I tried also running a video game and I got a restart after 15 minutes of play.

8. I ran scandisk (windows built-in) but no errors

9. Ran prime95 which burns-in your CPU, but there wasn't any error or restart

10. I ran driver verified (windows built-in) which actually gets me a bsod on the nvlddmkm.sys which is the driver of the nvidia graphics card. I disabled the graphics card, I deleted the sys file, so the laptop used the built-in Intel HD. However after some minutes of browsing I got a restart again.

11. The weird thing is that when using Chrome the restarts happen every 10-30 minutes, however when using Internet Explorer, it might run for 8 hours without any restart.

12. I have installed all latest windows updates.

13. I did a GPU burn-in test with Furmark. The test was performing fine, without any issue. I left it running for 20 minutes and the max GPU temperature was 55°C.

14. In safe mode with network, it seems that the problem is not happening. I used the computer for several hours and I did not experience any issue.

15. I finally performed a Windows Refresh, but no luck, I'm still getting restarts.

So, any idea what's causing the issue? Since the author (Bertje) had the exact same issue, does Acer has an answer to that? By the way I am using the exact same model (Acer V3-772G-747a321)

I'm thinking of upgrading to Windows 8.1 and trying installing the drivers with the same order as Bertje did. Do you think that will make any change?

Any ideas are welcome

Bertje

Hi Steliosfran,

like I mentioned in my story above I had the problem with THREE brand new laptops of this type from the same shop. Finally I bought my laptop (same type!) from another shop and this one has no problems whatsoever. So my conclusion was (is) that it is a hardware problem with a specific batch. I don't know which hardware part is to blame. Your research is very thorough and doesn't pinpoint any hardware.

My advice: bring it back and make sure you get another one from another batch, so probably from another store. Even Acer won't be ableto fix your laptop, only full replacements can.

Good luck!

steliosfran

Hi Bertje,

Thank you for your advice. I upgraded to Windows 8.1, installed all drivers and the problem persists. So I guess it is indeed a hardware fault. But it's weird that Acer doesn't have a clue about this problem. I guess I'm gonna return the laptop to the shop where I bought it.

Thanks!

D81

Hi to All

I have some problem. How to prove for shop, that the laptop is faulty?

Bertje

How long ago did you buy the laptop? You can always show them this thread. I didn't need to prove anything. I went back within a week after getting the new laptops (I had three! new laptops at the same shop (in the Netherlands), all suffering the same issue, so in all it took me almost a month before I had the fourth one from another shop).

If they persist on some proof do a fresh install from the repair disk and install NO other software and show them the issue in the shop. Note that every instance of the issue shows in the windows event log with some message about unexpected power down. So you can show them thosemessages if it doesn't happen frequently enough to wait for it tohappen in the shop.

Hope this helps.

D81

Hi Bertje

Thx for answer. Windows event log is good idea. I will try to mention about it.

More than a month since I bought this laptop.

What do you think? Laptops with Linux have the same problem?

Bertje

I am convinced that it is a hardware problem so it dont think it will matter what OS you run. But you can try. It will only prove more you're right.

Cory-Acer

Hi everyone,

I apologize for the late entry into this thread. We've recently introduced BIOS v1.15 for the V3-772G and our testing shows that this version should resolve most issues related to instability. We'd love to get any feedback on how this new version affects you, so please feel free to share.

Here is a link to the BIOS.

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