Acer Switch Alpha 12 - boots to Acer Logo - then is stuck - SA5-271

Bardi
Bardi Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter
edited November 2023 in 2020 Archives
Model Name: SA5-271  Part Number: NT.LCDAA.007

Twice now :s , this 2-in-1 has been stuck at the Acer Logo during boot.  Not sure how I got past this issue before (a few weeks ago).  This time, did a hard-shut-down, then disconnected everything including the Acer keyboard & power supply;  then did a [Power+VolDown] press & hold until the screen wakes up, then release the [Power] but continue to hold [VolDown].  It booted to Windows 10.  :)

Now, we're all happy it booted to Windows 10 but NOT happy that twice  :# this lovely hardware locks up even before being able to access the BIOS.  BTW, currently on 1.06, which I see as the most recent BIOS for the SA5-271.

Is there a repair in the future for this weird bug?  

HELP!!!   :o

Answers

  • Have you checked if there are any drivers with device manager problems?
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  • Bardi
    Bardi Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter
    There are no driver issues.
  • Was an error code displayed or did the notebook simply shut down suddenly?
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  • Bardi
    Bardi Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter
    No, the Acer was rebooted using "Restart" option from Start Menu\Power.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    >>>twice now  this 2-in-1 has been stuck at the Acer Logo during boot. >>>

    Try unhiding and unchecking 'fast startup' in ControlPanel's 'change what the power buttons do' app. See how it goes. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Bardi
    Bardi Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter
    Again today, sss , this 2-in-1 was stuck at the Acer Logo during boot

    This time, did a hard-shut-down, then did a [Power+VolumeUp] press & hold until the screen wakes up, then release the [Power] but continue to hold [VolumeUp].  It booted to Windows 10.  


    Is there a repair in the future for this weird bug?  

    Thanks for comments - - to respond: 
    • egydiocoelho - the Acer does not shut down unexpectedly
    • JackE - the issue isn't related to using Restart or Shut Down\Reboot - not sure what you are suggesting
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    Open ControlPanel. Search 'button'. Click 'change what the power buttons do' in the left pane. Click 'change settings that are currently unavailable'. Scroll down an uncheck the box to turn off fast startup. Shutdown. Turn the machine back on. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Bardi
    Bardi Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter
    JackE - that did not make a difference. 

    However... EUREKA  B)  A bit of luck and further experimenting identifies a Vantec USB expansion hub [Model UGT-AH100U3] as the culprit.  When the boot (or restart) hangs at the Acer logo, simply unplugging the cable from the Vantec Hub at the Acer hybrid's USB-C port allows the logo to clear and the boot to resume and soon after the Windows lock screen is up.

    Note that I had not paid enough attention to unplugging every attached device, including the Acer cover/keyboard and the AC power block, before attempting the convoluted reboot with [Power/VolumeUp or Down].
    • So my question  :o  for a FIX persists.  Since I see other Acer owners & users complaining about the boot freezing at the Acer logo, is there a problem with the BIOS or the hardware??
    BTW - I will update this after testing if the expansion hub with nothing attached shows the same boot-blocking habit.  I want to resolve this so that I do not have to unplug anything each time the system boots or restarts.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    Please note that Vantec has discontinued that hub model for some reason. If you haven't done so already, I suggest reviewing Vantec's 4 pages of FAQs https://www.vantecusa.com/faq.php?fc_id=3 and if  nothing relevant turns up then contacting them directly https://www.vantecusa.com/contact.php. In my opinion, it is certainly not worth the risks of messing with the BIOS firmware to try to accomodate the quirks of a port expansion hub. Jack E/NJ


    Jack E/NJ

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 31,436 Trailblazer
    I wonder if their hardware had the bootable flag set, and your system was expecting to be able to boot from the hub...
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    Maybe pressing F12 at boot time will reveal this possibility? Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Bardi
    Bardi Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter
    FYI:  Not sure if this is solely an Acer issue, but will check further.  But, it IS NOT the hub.  It is the USB floppy disk drive:



    Indeed, with nothing plugged in to the hub, the Acer booted with the expansion hub connected.  When this external floppy disk drive was plugged into the hub, the Acer boot would freeze again at the logo - and, if the diskette drive was unplugged while the boot was frozen, the boot would resume

    I will run some further tests to see if other PCs complain when this device is plugged in, but this Acer has no USB 1.1-3.0 ports, only the USB-C.  Will update.

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 31,436 Trailblazer
    Ah, we used to see that often back in the DOS and early Windows days... The floppy disk had first shot as a boot device and if any disk was inserted it'd try to boot from that before anywhere else. You might try popping into the BIOS with the drive connected and seeing whether it's showing up in the boot order. If it is just make sure it's after the HDD or SSD in the boot order. I'm guessing the USB floppy drive is saying it's got a disk in even when it's empty.
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  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,330 Trailblazer
    >>>When this external floppy disk drive was plugged into the hub, the Acer boot would freeze again at the logo ->>>
    Yup. Wish we had know about this little detail earlier.  =) Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Bardi
    Bardi Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter
    So, still no *answer*?  It worked fine for years, then suddenly, Hello! 

    Now that it's working, I've passed it back to its main user.
  • Do you know if hdd is recognized in the bios info tab?
    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
    Se você gostou da minha resposta, marque como solução clicando em sim! If you liked my answer, mark it as a solution by clicking on yes!
    Aceite somente a resposta que ajudou a solucionar o seu problema! Please accept only the response that helped to solve your problem!
    Detection tool click here to find the serial number or partnumber of your model!                                                          

               
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  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 31,436 Trailblazer
    @Bardi, since you originated the thread, you need to be the one to mark as the answer. The problem was obviously with the floppy drive, not the computer or USB hub.
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • dgbystrom
    dgbystrom Member Posts: 1 New User
    Bardi said:
    FYI:  Not sure if this is solely an Acer issue, but will check further.  But, it IS NOT the hub.  It is the USB floppy disk drive:

    Indeed, with nothing plugged in to the hub, the Acer booted with the expansion hub connected.  When this external floppy disk drive was plugged into the hub, the Acer boot would freeze again at the logo - and, if the diskette drive was unplugged while the boot was frozen, the boot would resume

    I will run some further tests to see if other PCs complain when this device is plugged in, but this Acer has no USB 1.1-3.0 ports, only the USB-C.  Will update.
    Thank you soo much! I had the same issue with my Acer Switch Alpha 12 N16P3 boot to the Acer logo then screen freeze blank before booting to windows also related to a USB device. I found that if I had my wireless mouse receiver plugged into the USB 3.0 port before the switch alpha 12 was turned off (user shutdown via windows or dead battery), then it had this boot problem if that device was removed while the computer was powered down. It was able to boot to windows with the USB device returned plugged in before attempting a startup.

    Perhaps this PC's model motherboard or ports have some issues with checking their last known devices or drivers in bios prior to Windows startup.