Can't read serial number or SNID on Aspire 5100 label.

Hi,

I did use the search function but could not find a question quite like this - bit surprising?

A family member gave me a Aspire 5100 laptop that will not power, fear the system board. Seem to be receiving a spate of computers lately with bad system boards. The label on the back of the laptop with serial number & NSID is faded & I cannot make out all the numbers.

Since I will most likely be pulling it apart anyway is there anywhere else, perhaps inside, that the serial number or SNID might be printed?

The manual lists this laptop as using ATI Radeon® Xpress 1100 or Xpress1200 chipset - I'm having trouble telling the difference between the two. All the system boards for sale seem to only list chipset Xpress 1100 which will most likely work but a little clarification on Xpress 1100 vs 1200 would be nice.

Thank you

Accepted answers

padgett

Might try scanning it, you would be surprised what even an inexpensive HP scanner/printer can pick up.

All comments

SrinuVasu

The serial number is located on the bottom of the notebook on a white label and is 22 characters long.

Alternatively, the serial number may be found in the notebook's BIOS which can be accessed by tapping the F2 key during POST.

Older notebooks may have serial numbers that start with "91" and will be 20 characters.

To check the genuinity of the serial number, you can check at this link:-
http://us.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/system-information

Smiley Happy

newpgm

The white label on the bottom has faded to the point it is unreadable & the laptop will not boot, in fact will not power at all.

Guess it doesn't matter since I'm going to purchase a new system board anyway & will just assume that chipset ATI Radeon® Xpress 1100 is the correct decision.

padgett

Might try scanning it, you would be surprised what even an inexpensive HP scanner/printer can pick up.

Vince53

New, you do realize that this is a budget laptop designed for Windows Vista. How much are you willing to spend on it, when you can buy a better one, with Windows 8, for $200?

newpgm

Hmm, I think my neighbor has a hand held scanner - that is worth a try.

$20 on eBay for a system board is what I'm willing to spend. It will be running Ubuntu going forward.

thanks

padgett

BTW " spate of computers lately with bad system boards" - have you been having power surges lately, I have seen even a 10% surge fry components but is usually the power supply.

I have a surprising number of APC UPSs on all major equipment plus a power conditioner on the mains input. Unlike some places, in central Florida you do not take stable power for granted. Systems in automobiles are even worse. Is becoming a major problem as home grade systems are finding their way into cars. I keep a supply of 12v-12v devices around for protection.

newpgm

I used to live in Orlando, the lightning capital of the world!! 20 years ago, when I arrived there coworkers told me not to rely on surge suppressors & just unplug equip when not in use. There have been some advancements in power protection since then.

Live in a mountain state now with very solid power - but still have a UPS on my desktop Smiley Happy My niece was using this PC & her mom gave it to me to fix - if I feel like it. So I really have no idea what caused it to stop. System boards for these old laptops are cheap.

padgett

Where I live, the utilities are underground and as mentioned I have layers of protection. That said my 120v is usually 122-125v and have seen 130v. I have an autoransformer in the closet with the modems and routers clamped to 110v. I also tend to keep a spare for everything replacable so they are rarely needed.

On my main system there are two stacked "data shield" power consoles connected to an APC supply. When I switch off, all power is physically disconnected (I do set the "towers" to boot on power including to the Trndnet hub.

Also have a KVM that also switches audio and microphone though can lock the headset on one device while working on another. And then there is the "test bench".