Acer Aspire v15 Nitro Black edition - please help identify part

Hello everyone,

My name's Tom, I live in Oxford and up until recently I was a very happy user of Acer Aspire v15 Nitro Black edition. It doesn't boot now, I have no idea why and would greatly appreciate your help. I've been having booting problems for a couple of weeks - HD working OK, i.e. no strange noises but black screen and both fans working like crazy for a while and then turning off. I could usually make the laptop work again by switching it off and holding the power button for 60 seconds or so but this is no longer the case. I think I've eliminated some of the common causes. It is not the screen because it is the same with an external monitor, it is not the battery because I installed a new one to make sure, it is not the HD because it makes the usual noises and doesn't seem to be stuck or anything. One thing out of ordinary is a very quite clicking noise coming from the plastic thingy right next to the HD. There is a similar one on the other side, right next to the battery. Anyone knows what it is and could it be the cause of booting problems? Thanks.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/n8/tluddm43zroa.jpg

Accepted answers

JackE

At this point, can't hurt to disconnect and find out. Jack E/NJ

All comments

JackE

>>>>One thing out of ordinary is a very quite clicking noise coming from the plastic thingy right next to the HD>>>

What is your full model number VN7-????. On some models the "plastic thingy" is just a protective cover for mainboard circuitry underneath. It may in fact physically touch the HDD case. If that's the situation here, there's a possibility that the plastic is resonant with the clicking noise that's in fact originating from inside the HDD case. Perhaps if you temporarily acoustically isolate the HDD case from the plastic & mainboard it might help determine where is click is coming from. Jack E/NJ

vexillifer

Thanks for this, JackE. Model number is VN7-591G-56JG. I removed the plastic cover and the HDD casing and the hardly audible clicking is definitely coming from the former. There must be some circuitry in the cover itself because there are cables going into it on each side. One of the cables is plugged into a slot on the motherboard. When I remove it there is no clicking but still no booting. The problem is that the cover is solid plastic so there is no way to access the circuitry inside. It looks that the whole unit must be checked for conductivity and possibly replaced but what is it exactly?

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/s9/ofimei5l6yn8.jpg

JackE

I'm gonna guess it's the touchscreen controller that plugs into # 10 connector on the mainboard image below. Perhaps you can compare it with what you've actually got in front of your better than I can. Jack E/NJ