Aspire AM3450-UR12P Boot Failure

JimBob1942
JimBob1942 Member Posts: 3 New User
edited March 1 in 2019 Archives
My Aspire M3450 has been my,"Old Faithful" workhorse for a long time. I think it's sudden refusal to boot is due to the failure of a, "Lazy" component, ME!

After a recent power outage due to a severe weather event (an almost daily event here in Texas) it will not re-boot:
 * The Power Switch lights.
* A USB drives indicates that it is receiving power (light on unit is illuminated)
* The system's HDD Activity Indicator (led) flashes for an instant (if you blink you will miss it)

Nothing further happens, no screen messages, no beeps, no indication of any activity anywhere. Every other piece of equipment in my office is functioning properly.

The, "Lazy" components are:
 * I didn't program the UPS to preform an ordered shutdown during an event. When the UPS reaches it's limit it just shuts off.
 * I left a non-bootable (non-system) diskette in the optical drive (DVD-Super Multi Drive).

I believe it is trying to boot from the non-system diskette. Okay, lets eject the diskette. None of the usual functions work, (press Eject Button, hold Eject Button while pressing Power Switch, etc.)

Okay time to Force Eject it. I rotated the from cover down, had my trusty Paper Clip configured and in hand and... NO EMERGENCY EJECT PINHOLE anywhere in sight.

The only information on the Optical Drive was on the box the computer was shipped in, DVD-Super Multi Drive. Somewhere in some ACER publication it says Drive Specs, Mfg part id etc can be found in the, "AVLC." What ever the heck that is.

So how can I eject the diskette without having to disassemble the computer, and even then how would you remove the diskette.

Sorry to be so long winded, but I'm a retiree. :-)  Any help will be appreciated.

Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,856 Trailblazer
    A paper clip used to be fine...
    To unstick a disc in an old DVD design...
    But when you gotta stuck disc in the super-multi kind...
    What you gotta do is push button number nine.
                                                   ---BurmaShave





    It might solve the boot problem, but I have doubts. Report back.  :)   Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 33,937 Trailblazer
    It's very possible the front bezel is hiding the hole for your paper clip. All you have to do is open it, remove the bezel and then you can open it with the paper clip. Pretty much a catch 22 there! Pop the side cover off and disconnect the SATA cable from the ODD and you'l be able to see if that works. I'm guessing though that's it not the disc in the ODD, since you'd still see POST messages before trying to load the OS. More likely the video got zapped and it's just putting anything out to your monitor. How old is your UPS? The MOSFETs on those that filter power surges go bad over time...
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • JimBob1942
    JimBob1942 Member Posts: 3 New User

    BurmaShave. Wow that takes me back. Anyway yes  I pressed ol Number 9.
    I pressed it with the Power Button lite,
    I pressed it with the Power Button not lite,
    I pressed it and held it while the unit was (supposedly) booting,
    I disconnected the power and pressed and held the Power Button for 30 seconds which is (again supposedly) supposed to reset/recharge the CMOS.

    I repeated the above procedures while chanting and standing on one foot, etc. and nothing worked.( I can't repeat the words to the chant as they are X Rated ;-) )  That was why I was looking for a Emergency Eject Procedure (e.g. Eject Pinhole). 

    Weird that there is no longer a way to manually eject a diskette.

    Thanks for response,
    JimBob
    =================================================


    The UPS is about 5 months old. I realize that it really doesn't mean much in the way of a test but there are four other PC's on the UPS and they all seem to be functioning okay.

    I was hoping that I wouldn't have to get into the box as it is difficult to find a horizontal surface in my office on which I could work in it. LOL.

    Thanks for response,
    JimBob
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,856 Trailblazer
    billsey >>>t's very possible the front bezel is hiding the hole for your paper clip. All you have to do is open it, remove the bezel and then you can open it with the paper clip. Pretty much a catch 22 there! Pop the side cover off and disconnect the SATA cable from the ODD and you'l be able to see if that works.>>>

    JimBob>>>I was hoping that I wouldn't have to get into the box>>>

    Bite the bullet...
    Pop the cover...
    Grab the plug...
    And just pull it.

    Sometimes I can't myself.  :)   Jack E/NJ





    Jack E/NJ

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