PH315-51 showing black screen after one hour of web surfing

sri369

Disable "quick start up" in power settings. This option would never allow laptop to shut down properly.

Try the update and restart, and see if the problem still persists.

NISHANT_7

sri369 said:

Disable "quick start up" in power settings. This option would never allow laptop to shut down properly.

Try the update and restart, and see if the problem still persists.

Tried that but still it shows the same options. 

therealsujith

Hello Everyone
Any issues after bios update?
My system is working fine after updating the BIOS. Till date no freezing issue.
Slightly overheating but can be managed with Intel XTU (for - 0.100V undervolt) and predator sense (Max fan during gaming). 

Marathi_Manus

I still think Acer needs to pay us for all the testing we did here and for keeping this thread alive. :P 

BTW, since no one is complaining, it looks like the issue is sorted out. Just glad that ppl are out of fustration.

Acer seriously needs to test things before they release. 

Peace

ManasK

Roland_Lorinczi said:

Hi All!
So NEW BIOS IS IN! 
You'll find them under the following links ( for PH315-51 & PH317-52 respectively. If you have a different model, click "Find another model")
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/7603?b=1
https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/7602?b=1

For PH315-51 you'll find the New BIOS by clicking on ALL rather than LATEST. For 317-52 by clicking on LATEST rather than ALL.
The BIOS name is: "1. Fix system hangup issue".

📝 Steps to update:

1. Download the BIOS for your system
   
2. Unzip File
3. You'll find an executable (.exe) and a readme.txt hat shows you that your next instruction is:
4. Click the .exe file while in windows
   

Just finished mine. So far so good 😊

The process is the same as before when windows update flashed it:

• Follow the executable's instructions to the letter!
• Have your laptop plugged in!
• The fans will ramp up to max while flashing the firmware.
  Then it will do 2, seemingly boot loops where keyboard lights go on and off but system won't start yet (presumably some checks)
  Then the system should boot.

Good luck all! Let me know if anything is unclear or you're stuck with something - glad to help.

❓ Windows Device Manager however shows BIOS to be v1.12 still. Will check what it says INSYDE (pun intended-get it? cause the BIOS is by Insyde corp? :P) the BIOS and report back.



So far so good though. My system used to have some mini-hangs upon boot while if i wanted to start something like chrome too soon or something it would freeze for a split second along with the mouse and that seems gone...so I'm optimistic  

Hi Roland,
I just experienced my first black screen with PH315-51. Now its not booting up. Only the keyboard lights up when i hit the power button. I saw the post and dow loaded the BIOS fix on another laptop. But how do i boot my predator to install it?
I have tried resetting the battery with a pin as an earlier post had suggested. But no luck.
Will appreciate the help.
Thanks.

ManasK

vkmbca29 said:

i purchased predator helios 300 model number -PH315-51 on 16 may 2018 .After one hour of browser use screen get hanged and keyboard and track pad become irresponsive. I forcefully restarted but now its neither strating and black screen is showing with backlit key light on.

Hi, I am facing the same problem. How did u get ur laptop to boot?

sri369

@ManasK

Did you disable the "fast startup" option under power settings?

ManasK

sri369 said:

@ManasK

Did you disable the "fast startup" option under power settings?

The laptop froze 3 hours ago and i had to force switch it off. Its not booting since. Just the keyboard is lit up. 
I never faced this issue before so didnt check or tinker with the power options.

Marathi_Manus

ManasK said:

sri369 said:

@ManasK

Did you disable the "fast startup" option under power settings?

The laptop froze 3 hours ago and i had to force switch it off. Its not booting since. Just the keyboard is lit up. 
I never faced this issue before so didnt check or tinker with the power options.

https://us.answers.acer.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/34843/~/acer-internal-battery-reset

Reset battery using pinhole

Roland_Lorinczi

@ManasK Yep, like @Marathi_Manus said, reset battery by pressing the pinhole button on the bottom of the laptop.
Then update your BIOS.

JohnCena

Helios 300 is so laggy and having so much errors.

ManasK

Roland_Lorinczi said:

@ManasK Yep, like @Marathi_Manus said, reset battery by pressing the pinhole button on the bottom of the laptop.
Then update your BIOS.

@Roland_Lorinczi.
I reset the battery, booted it up and installed the BIOS fix. Version changed from 1.05 to Insyde 1.15.
Earlier i wasn't waiting after resetting thr battery with the pin..this time i waited a while, and that booted up the system.

Anything else i need to update ? Like Nvidia or UHD driver? Or will this BIOS fix suffice?

You guys have struggled alot with this issue. Salute your patience.

Roland_Lorinczi

@ManasK With regards to the system hang/ black screen issue, the BIOS update seems to be the fix. No driver changes or using UHD vs nVidia (with the other disabled from device manager) seemed to help.

That being said I think after having solved that main issue it's worth upgrading everything to the latest version.
Worst case scenario if something misbehaves you can manually install an older version and report back here and we can help figure it out.

But so far I've updated both our 15 and 17 inch predators to latest in everything and they're behaving well.

I do experience some weird window hanging with like 50% opacity for a second or two while I close it, like chrome or anything really but that I assume is more a windows problem...but with that I can be patient with for now.

Let me know how it goes. Happy to keep helping

And thanks for the salute. This is exactly what made it worth it :')

Knowing we were the first of many to buy this system and fighting for a fix would help many others not just our cases. That's partly what kept me from rushing to return it...Having seen the white version's launch very recently meaning even more units will be bought very fast and just knowing how great of a bang for buck ratio it has (the other reason that kept me...) so yeah, many new owners to shop up in this thread I thought...

...So seeing you not having to go through a week or so of silence and testing and being in the dark with what will happen is the best satisfaction I can get for pulling through this all personally (in addition to of course the issue actually being solved...)

praveen001

my pc also get hanged for a second sometime after updated to 1.15 but working fine

tidusleonart

I am planning to buy the Helios Ph315 but after seeing this thread, makes me kinda hesitate. I wonder should I check for the BIOS version first, if it is in 1.05, I would ask the store technician to upgrade to 1.15 before buying it ?  Or I just wait til the problem comes up and then update the BIOS ? Any advice in purchasing Helios at this point ? Thanks 

 @Acer-Manny : If during updating BIOS (plugging in of course), there are power cuts, should the process still continue on battery ? 

Arpit_Porwal

 Hello Guys,

Came across this discussion related to the black screen on predator Helios. Recently purchased a Helios 300 G3- 571 from Amazon, I have the same issue of continuous screen flickering and black screen. There is no Bios fix available on Acer product support page for G3-571 similar to PH315.

I have already installed the latest available VBios version 1.13 and VGA driver from Intel version 22.20.16.4691 but the problem has got worse.

Can you please help @Acer-Manny @Roland_Lorinczi


  

Arpit_Porwal

Arpit_Porwal said:

 Hello Guys,

Came across this discussion related to the black screen on predator Helios. Recently purchased a Helios 300 G3- 571 from Amazon, I have the same issue of continuous screen flickering and black screen. There is no Bios fix available on Acer product support page for G3-571 similar to PH315.

I have already installed the latest available VBios version 1.13 and VGA driver from Intel version 22.20.16.4691 but the problem has got worse.

Can you please help @Acer-Manny @Roland_Lorinczi


  

a Google drive link for screen issue:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1L9GjoAI8vhfPJfem_-2v2vAMnJtZuq4X

Roland_Lorinczi

@Arpit_Porwal hi there. Sorry to see you having issues with your brand new unit as we were .
It seems pretty bad too

But i'm not sure it's the same issue/ same type of issue as the symptom is somewhat different from ours.

I'd first try to prove/rule out hardware/software.
Try starting the computer and entering BIOS.
If the screen flickering persists there as well at least you know for certain that it's either hardware or BIOS.
If it doesn't, it could be just driver issue.
But it can still be BIOS as well to be fair...
You can also test a linux, maybe even just from a usb drive...anyth anything that can narrow down what the issue might be...

Try to search for threads with your model, see if it's a widespread issue perhaps as ours was or maybe it's just a faulty unit.

To be fair if you are within your return period, i'd consider that especially if you don't find other reports of the same exact issue. I kept mine because I knew it was widespread enough that they'll have to do something about it...If that wasn't the case i would've returned it and Maybe bought the same unit again if i saw they happened to have fixed it (but would've more probably gotten another model and not waited...hard to let go though of the nice bang for buck offer...thankfully ours was a widespread BIOS issue they solved pretty fast ^_^ )

Let me know of your further results and thoughts. I know in my case the silence was what hurt the most while experiencing the issue and being on the forum...so I'm here and I'll help as best as I can ^_^

Red-Sand

There's a few Helios models that come with a similar issue while on battery.

There's a pin hole reset on the bottom of the laptop.
Turn your laptop off and unplug its power supply and press and hold this reset button for 40 seconds (holding it down) then test and see if it fixes.

Manny-Acer_Retired

Hi Arpit_Porwal,

I am very sorry to hear and see you having problems with your G3- 571, because this is a different model i can recommend to create a new thread with your concerns to received a better exposure to the community.

After reviewing the video you posted i think it is better to contact your local Acer support to have the unit diagnose and repair in our Service Center.

Thanks,

Acer-Manny