I have an Acer Aspire 7740-6656, recently the screen turned black and i can't even get into BIOS.

hearwz7

I am unable to do anything with the laptop.  I can't boot into BIOS, or reset the cache.  It keeps coming back after a long while and say installed hardware or software should be removed.  I can hit enter or ESC.  When i hit either of them, it takes me back to the same screen.  I noticed in another thread i read that it could be the motherboard is bad.  How do i determine this without all the gadgets the tech geeks use?

 

Thanks

Walter

JackE

>>>It keeps coming back after a long while and say installed hardware or software should be removed.>>>

 

Press and hold the power button till the machine shuts off. Then turn the machine back on and *immediately* start tapping the F2 key for about 10 secs to try to enter the bios menu. Do you see any screen activity at all? If not, do you recall any changes or software installations you made just before this problem appeared? 

 

Jack E/NJ  

hearwz7

Good morning Jack, i was able to press the F2 key and got into he setup.  However, i did not see anywhere to make any changes.  Afterwards, i removed the battery, the power and hard drive.  Then i plug in the power and pressed the power button.  Nothing happened.  Then i put in one of the memory chips.  I started to see output.  It told me no OS was found.  So i put the hard drive back into the bay and turned it on again.  I got the phoenix in the bottom right of the screen.  Then it went into a black screen and nothing happened after that.  So, i was thinking maybe i need to replace the hard drive.  So, i will get a new hard drive in the next few days.  But when i do, where do i get a copy of windows 7? 

 

Thanks for your response

Walter

JackE

>>>i was able to press the F2 key and got into he setup. >>>

 

Hold it right there Walter! Put the HDD, memory and anything else you removed back into the machine. We need to get back into that bios menu pronto with everything attached as it was. Then we can proceed to the next step to try to get you up and running again.

 

Jack E/NJ

hearwz7

I will do that this evening when i get home

 

Thanks

Walter

hearwz7

Good morning, i added an image today of a screen shot i took after pressing F2, sorry it's upside down.  I also noticed, i got nothing after i added the second memory stick back.  So i remove the second stick and pressed power and F2.  After i exited the setup screen, i got the following output after it sat about 3 minutes.

 

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem:
1. Insert windows installation disk and restart.
2. Choose your language setting, and then click next.
3. Click repair your computer.

If you don't have this disk, contact computer manufacturer for assistance

 

To my knowledge nother was install, no hardware or software, unless it was a windows update.  I think i had it set to automatically download and install without prompting.

 

Walter

JackE

Hi again Walter. Is everything back into the computer now? Is the hard disk installed still the same one that came with the machine when you purchased it? Jack E/NJ  

hearwz7

Hi Jack, i put everything back except one of the memory sticks.  When i put both of them back in their slots, nothing happened.  When i removed the second one, i was able to hit F2 to get into setup.

 

Walter

JackE

OK Walter. Go to the main menuitem in the bios menu. Make sure the F12 and D2D are enabled. Then F10 to save and exit. Also remove all memory sticks for now. Jack E/NJ

hearwz7

Hi Jack, i put everything back except one of the memory sticks.  When i put both of them back in their slots, nothing happened.  When i removed the second one, i was able to hit F2 to get into setup.

 

Walter

JackE

Yes, Walter, I saw your earlier message. Please remove ALL the USB memory sticks. Then go back into the bios menu and click the MAIN menuitem. Make sure the F12 boot key and D2D are both enabled. Then F10 to save and exit. Don't attempt to do anything more right now without getting back to me on what happened after doing this. Jack E/NJ

hearwz7

Jack, i will try that tonight.  I'll let you know the results tomorrow.

 

Walter

hearwz7

Good morning jack, last night i went into the acer setup and enabled the 2 things you said.  Afterwards, when i booted it, it came up to ask where i wanted to boot from.  I selected the hard drive.  After about 3 minutes, it came back and gave the same message about hardware or software being installed.  But this time at the bottom of the screen, it said boot device was inaccessable.  So with that, i think i'm just going to can this laptop.  I have 3 other Acers in use to take it's place.

 

Thank you for all your help

 

Walter

JackE

Hold on again Walter!!! We're not done yet!! We needed to have that information you just posted in order to take the next step. Now please follow this video to try to restore your machine to factory-fresh condition.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2xoMEPfiPQ

 

Jack E/NJ

hearwz7

Thanks Jack, i will give that a shot today on my lunch hour.  I will let you know the results this afternoon.

 

Thank you

Walter

hearwz7

Jack, at lunch today, i started the restore process using the key combo identified in the youtube link you sent me.  When i left it had the screen up Restore Progresss.  I had to come back to work so i couldn't watch it until the end.  I will let you know the results tomorrow.

 

Again, thank you so much for your expertise and patience.

 

Walter

hearwz7

Hi Jack, the restore completely successfully.  I'm now logged in.  Here's my next issue.  The restored an evaluation copy of Windows 7 and i don't have the key from when i purchased the laptop 5 or 6 years ago.  I bought it at Fry's, so i will call them tomorrow to see if they have the key or a key.

 

I really appreciate your expertise in getting my laptop back to this point.

 

Walter

JackE

Hi Walter---Congratulations. I think? Maybe? 8^/  Evaluation copy, eh? If the machine is up & running now, and  connected, you may not need a key. Cuz the copy ***should be*** a bona-fide Microsoft release specific to your Acer machine. However, in about a week or so you may get a boot message to call a Microsoft 800 number in order to register and continue using this particular copy. It's usually a painless registration process taking only a few minutes. To be on the safe side, though, also try to get the key. Jack E/NJ

hearwz7

Good morning Jack, i've had this laptop for 5+ years, it has served my wife very very well, but with that said, i don't remember if it came preloaded or if they gave me the key.  So, i'm going to start looking to buy Windows 7.  I saw somewhere, that maybe this acer model does not support Windows 10.  I saw windows 7 on amazon for a little over $100 bucks.  At any rate, i want to thank you.  You really know your stuff.  Like i sain in another email, i have 3 other acer laptops.  Since this happened, i've created a repair disk and an image in the case this happens again.

 

So thank you very much for getting me back up and running.  I was thinking i needed to buy a new hard drive or motherboard.

 

One last question, the laptop currently had 4 GB of memory, i saw something that says it can hold up to 8 GB, is that correct?

 

Thank you

Walter

JackE

Good morning Walter. Yes, your machine must've been pre-loaded with that particular Windows release copy or you never would've been able to restore it like you did. That's because the Windows installation copy essentially resides on a hidden hard drive partition. The Alt+F10 recovery procedure activates the installation process from that hidden drive partition.

 

As for memory, the advertised max is 8GB DDR3-type with two 4GB modules. However, the BIOS might even recognize 16GB with two 8GB modules but with no guarantees   

 

Jack E/NJ

hearwz7

Hi Jack, sorry for the silence.  Everything you recommended was helpful, However, after i was able to use the key combination you gave me to restore the OS.  I've decided to scrap the laptop.  The reason, is because the restored OS is an evaluation copy, and i don't have the product key to make it a legal copy.  At your recomendation i did call Microsoft but they wanted to charge for a the product key.  In addition, one of the ram slots doesn't work.  The laptop initially came with 4 GB, 2 slots with 2 GB each.  After removing the hdd, memory, battery to flush the cache, the memory when put back in the laptop didn't work.  I tried stiching the sticks around but the laptop would not boot up.  It did not display anything on the screen.  I even went out and bought 2 new 4 GB memory sticks, but the laptop wouldn't do anything.  So, with that, i've just decided to can the thing.  Besides, it is 5 or 6 years old.  And besides that, i have 3 other Acer laptops.  I have made sure to create repair disks and restore disk for each of them.  So Jack, thank you for everything, i really appreciate your time and support.

 

Regards,

Walter