W510 teardown or crack open

Has anyone opened up a W510 yet?

The real question is:

Has anyone reset the BIOS password?

After installing the latest driver package, which seems to have a BIOS upgrade with it, it now requires a pw to get into BIOS.

After 2 frustrating hours on the telephone with Acer, they insist on charging me $99 to reset the BIOS pw.

I clearly told them that after receiving instructions from them to install the latest drivers to resolve lock up issues after closing the tablet/keyboard that it now wants a PW.

I never set a BIOS pw!

They say they hear me but insist the driver/BIOS upgrade did not set a pw.

I can almost agree with that but maybe, just maybe, some bit was flipped or a register was set in error during the BIOS upgrade.

I refuse to pay them for a warranty service item and will smash this thing before they get another penny from me.

Thank you Acer for the excellent customer service.

Accepted answers

All comments

Damreal

The sad thing is even above all that they requested a dam fee which to me is outrageous !! The dam W510 never came out in North America until mid Nov. And you are within your time frame of one year free of costs from tech support over the phone or online or anthing that needs fixing under the warrenty issued within 1 year of purchase!!

angry_user

Forget the BIOS pw reset.

Now the thing just goes from 'Preparing Automatic Repair" to "Diagnosing Your PC".

Back and forth it goes, and goes and goes....

angry_user

After one more telephone call Acer did give me a prepaid FedEx shipping label for the return.

But again indicated that if the technician deems a pw was set they would call me to get authorization for $99 for the pw reset.

I promptly told them, again, that I will not pay for that service as I did NOT set a password. To which their reply was that they would send me the device back.

Please listen to me Acer; I installed your drivers/bios upgrade to remedy a problem with the device locking up after opening the display from the keyboard/dock.

I purchased this new and the box was unopened.

No one at the store messed with it, at least the best I can tell since the box was still sealed.

I installed your drivers via your Acer Explorer

After installed and a prompted restart, it wanted me to install the AC power supply

Then the BIOS upgrade began

Then the machine would not work any longer

Then I called you

Then I was denied service

Then I was here looking for assistance from other users

Thx

padgett

Normally when this happens you would pull the main and CMOS battery and reset the BIOS but I do not see a CMOS battery (see disassembly picture in http://www.anandtech.com/show/6529/busting-the-x86-power-myth-indepth-clover-trail-power-analysis). Most motherboards even have a "CMOS reset" jumper.

So if I were that desperate, I'd open the case (may be some hidden screws) and pull the battery connection at the top of the picture to see if that would reset the CMOS. I am sure that if you open the case like that it will void the warrenty though.

Looking at the picture it appears that the RAM is the Elpida SMD and the SSD is the 1.8" Sandisk both appear to be soldered in but I would really like to know what is supposed to go in the rectangular opening with four mounting holes near the top. Real GPS maybe ?

Damreal

just return the darn thing. Or buy a new one and swap it out and get you money back swaping the returned one with the screwed up one

padgett

#2 is a bad idea. Other than the legal and moral implications, sellers usually record the serial number of the sold device. Mine is on my receipt.

whiskey

In case anyone is reading the OP and fears that the lastest BIOS update will create an active BIOS password:

I decided to check and had no such security blocking me from entering the BIOS.

This is on a system that has been updated from the 1.03, 2.04, and latest 2.08 driver packages which included and applied their BIOS updates.

The OP has other issues wit is system and his security issue is unlikely to solely be attributed to a driver/BIOS update.

Damreal

bad idea how? This is no different than swapping one out in an exchange at the store. Abeit it is only in a last ditch wffort if the store won't return. And fyi nobody needs moral jargon ummmmmaky

whiskey

Damreal wrote:
Or buy a new one and swap it out and get you money back swaping the returned one with the screwed up one

That is illegal.

You are suggesting one to switch items and thereby fraudulently fail to return a specific product that is expected by the seller and not the item falling under their terms and conditions of a sale.

As dishonest as you are attempting, this fraud of yours could be used to refresh for a new product whenever you wish for as long as that product remains for sale. Not cool.

Damreal

well at least it would be a straight exchange! At least i'm not suggesting placing with an actual brick which is what i got from Best Buy when bought an Acer laptop. A real actul brick. I thinks it should be illegal from stores not to exchange broken merch ! Or only put 15 day return policy on it even when you paid a warrenty for them to basicallly be a middle man between you and the item company. This new electronic bs short window return is just that bs. When everything else ranges from 30 to 90 days!!! I could care less you spend and arm and a leg on these products i'll be getting one that works any means i deem fit!!

angry_user

Just got my tablet back today.

The Diagnosis/Repair was:

Removed bios password, reloaded OS.

Excellent work Acer Service Corp - US!

It works great and they did the right thing and repaired it at no charge.

boyonfire89

Well I also updated my Bios and now it's locked, what am I supposed to do now. I called acer, they want 99$ first. psh that is messed up they want to charge me for a service they are doing for other customers for free, since it was their mess up.

Damreal

Not cool É Really this is the best you could come up with in response For starters any returns via most stores including Walmart donèt go back out on the shelf they are escrowed to the maunfacture if defective. They do not sell returned items like Staples , Futureshop and or Best Buy with a sticker that says open box or refurbished( when no actula refurb was done ! ) If a product is not working as it should why would through hassle of sending it direct to the manufacture and waiting for weeks if not a month for them to not only recieve it but fix any issues and than return it back to me. When i can go to the store I bought it and swap it out either straight exchange and or buy a new one and return the defective one. Returning it and saying it is defective is not a lie it is true the only difference is the serial number but Walmart does not check that nor do they care if the box is intadam manufacture in this case Acer! And the consumer gets their mony and or item exchange. To say it is fraud is laughable as it is not. It is a common practive for hurrdles such as time frame returns on electronics some say 14 days , others say 30 while some say 90 days. If at no fault of you own why shoudl any consumer be mucked down by red tape returns to the manufacture or pay some big box sotre a fee ( warrenty ) to play monkey in the middle and them send it off for you. When the consumer can just do a simple exchange!!!

boyonfire89

A Look on the Inside

Opening Acer Iconia W510

I myself am another Acer Customer who ended up getting locked out of my BIOS after the last BIOS update I did. I called ACER, the guy that barely spoke fluent English didn't seem to understand me. I explained that "I ran the BIOS update and after there was a password set" Simple as that. Like others have said he wanted to charge me $99 to get this fixed. I called back and tried to plea with another Customer Service rep, which had better language skills. They insisted that their bios update could and would not set a bios password and that there was nothing they could do unless I was willing to pay the $99 fee. So after that I had had it with Acer's SO CALLED Customer Service. I can't believe that ACER wants 1/4 of the amount of money you spent on the whole device just to unlock your tablet that you paid fully for.

So being as stubborn as Acer, I myself being pretty tech savvy. I have gone to a little bit of school in the study of PC Hardware and OS's. I know, or at least thought I knew how to fully reset any computer by carefully tearing the device apart, locating the CMOS battery, removing the battery and hitting the power button to drain any held charge. That is an excellent idea!!! Right?? Here's the risk I take. #1 I VOID my precious warranty that served me no purpose in the first place, #2 I risk breaking my device. On the other side I get my benefits. #1. I get to discover and get personal with this tiny micro device and absorb every detail of a learning experience on what makes this device run . #2 Possibly clear the CMOS so that I can access my BIOS, #3 Help others having the same problem and have more knowledge about this tablets workings in case of future problems.

I'm rather impulsive and impatient, but I take care when It comes to projects. I take the Iconia W510 off of the lapdock, Shut the tablet down, turn it upside down and carefully pry open the back, where the docking holes are. Go slow you don't want to crack the plastic or a hinge that holds the backing on, so pry inch by inch around the tablet. You will here it coming undone. Don't force or pull to fast or you will break the cover so that it don't snap back on properly. Once the back has been removed, unplug the battery from the Motherboard. Don't bother removing the battery, there is nothing fun under it. Take care to unplug your Wi Fi cord before you start unscrewing the Mother board, and also disconnect the two connections that go to the Motherboard.

It is real neat, where your micro SD card goes there is a chip holding the micro SD card slot and the main memory chip. This external chip is then put into place with a socket and then screwed in tight. The first time I put the device back together, my stomache dropped for I feared I bricked something, but it turned out that I didn't have that screwed onto the main board tight enough. In my eyes seeing this gave me reason to believe that if you did want to update you Acer Iconia W510's internal memory. It wouldn't be that big of job or problem. But good luck getting a hold of larger hard disk to install, Im sure acer does not provide them.

Ok so I have all screws out so that I can remove the MotherBoard (be careful to support and not break the cam) and get an in debt look at this baby. There is a metal shell covering the top of the MB. You can CAREFULLY remove without bending it too much or it wont fit back on right. Also be very aware of all of the components around you. You don't want to scratch or break anything off.

In my mind under this metal shell would be the cmos battery I wanted to pull. But as I look, look, and carefully poke around. To my suprise. THERE IS NO CMOS BATTERY OR SWITCHES ANYWHERE TO BE SEEN ON THE Acer ICONIA W510. I even carefully removed the metallic tape cover off of the bottom of the motherboard to read labels on the board and got nothing. Of course I reapplied the metallic tape to keep it protected.

I obtained pictures of the W510 motherboard and insides. I signed up for subscription to ehow, which they usually have a lot of answers. I went through three representatives helping me, I showed them pictures, and they had no clue. They finally gave me a link to acer which the page stated that Acer has special tools to fix or reset a bios password. "Yea that really helped"

So to sum it up. The Acer Iconia W510 has officially been Toredown and Cracked Open.

If Your BIOS has been locked due to an acer BIOS update or due to you own fault. THERE IS NO REASON TO CRACK OPEN YOUR ICONIA. The BIOS password CAN NOT be reset from the inside.

****PLEASE SOMEONE FEEL FREE TO FILL ME IN ON HOW THIS DEVICES CMOS/BIOS/UEFI SETTINGS ARE STORED******

****WHY DOESN'T THE ICONIA W510 HAVE A CMOS BATTERY****

****WHAT TYPE OF SECURITY DOES THIS ICONIA W510 HAVE, HOW DOES IT WORK AND HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM OTHER SECURITY FEATURES***

TOP QUESTION

SOMEONE SMART PLEASE HELP.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO RESET YOUR OWN ACER ICONIA W510'S BIOS OR UEFI PASSWORD WITHOUT SENDING YOUR DEVICE OFF AND PAYING ACER 99$ TO UNLOCK YOUR OWN DEVICE.

THE ONLY REASON YOU WOULD EVER WANT TO OPEN YOUR ICONIA W510 IS IF YOU HAPPENED TO OBTAIN A LARGER MEMORY CHIP UPGRADE. THESE MEMORY UPGRADES CAN BE OBTAINED BY UNKNOWN SOURCES.

^^^^^

If anyone has any information on Acer Iconia W510 Memory chip upgrades PLEASE SHARE

By the way my iconia w510 is still in perfect shape. The discovery was somewhat successful for the reason my acer looks like it hasn't been touched. I love this device and am proud to now have an idea of what makes it run. Oh well .. I did void the warranty but it sure wasn't doing much for me anyhow. "Thanks Acer"

I still have a darn locked down BIOS or UEFI. It doesn't make much difference having access to it anyhow. Not much you could do in there anyhow. The W510 sadly wont support a dual boot of android. Praying for someday Smiley Happy May be by then some smart individual will imply the secret technique to resetting the Acer Iconia W510's UEFI password.

WHEN THERE'S A WILL THERE'S A WAY!!!!

padgett

The problem with memory expansion is that the Intel chipset used in the W3 and W510, a z2760, only supports 2GB of memory so you are maxed to start.

Bay Trail devices with z37xx chipsets that do not end in a "D" will support 4GB of Ram so if the W4 ever comes out...

BTW Staples is now (pre Black Friday) having a $50 off coupon for most new Windows tablets.

Most PCs that do not have a removable CMOS battery have either a jumper or two posts to short to clear the BIOS memory. I have not seen a W510 or W3 service manual and have not had one open so do not know.

Svetlana

This topic has been a year old.

Does anyone have a solution?

There was noone who setup a BIOS password on my W510.

I only discovered it now because I wanted to change UEFI settings. I wish I discovered it had a password much earlier.

yuroktold1

apparently, there is no easy solution...i spent 10 days already trying all different things to no avail. The worst part is that if you can't boot from usb...period.

checoimg

Can you tell exactly how to open it. I;m trying in the docking places and it's really hard. And I don't want ot cause daamage

TY

yuroktold1

downoad SG_ICONIA Tab W500_BOOK.pdf from internet, p.72, i think. worked for me.

syedanab

I am not sure how related it is to this topic but recently i encountered the same issue, I was using Iconia w4 & w7 tablet and had set the supervisor password in order to diable secure boot access for the sole purpose of booting from USB which by the way never works.

Anyhow, when i couldnt remove those supervisor password and i read on a toshiba help forum that:

*Removing a Supervisor Password:

1. Turn off the computer and wait at least 5 seconds.
2. Start Easy-Setup by pressing and holding F1 and then turning on the computer.
3. When the power-on prompt appears, type your current supervisor password; then press Enter.
4. Select the Password icon from the Easy-Setup menu.
5. Select the Supervisor icon; then type your current password and press the Spacebar.
6. Press the Enter at the blank box.
7. Press the Enter again at the verification screen.

Darn thing actually works for Acer as well;
Thought you have to remember your supervisor password if you want to clean it.
Go to Supervisor password,
Enter old supervisor password,