How can I reset my Acer Aspire 1355LC??

EliaCSwiss

Hey guys, hope all is well.

Sounds odd, but I’m trying to recover an old Acer Aspire 1355LC laptop I have at home.

I was able to turn it on at first and tried to look at a few connection settings. However, I wasn’t able to exit the settings menu and decided to turn the computer off by clicking the turn on/off button of the hardware.

Now I’m not able to turn it on again... as soon as it turns on I see a black menu with white text saying to eventually choose to activate Windows normally or use the latest working settings.

When I try to select the settings with the tabs and buttons, after a while they start playing a beeping sound ahahah.. 

Is there any expert here who could help me recover this old dinosaur?

Thank you very much and greetings from Switzerland.

Elia

JackE

That machine probably originally shipped with a WinXP installation DVD/CD. The BIOS chip coin cell is very likely dead. Thus to start the machine, you probably must first press & hold the F2 key. While still holding the F2 key, press the power button on. A BIOS menu should appear to re-initialize all the basic input output devices like the keyboard, hard drive, dvd/cd tray. etc.  Then press F10 to save these settings and exit the BIOS menu. Hopefully the machine will then boot into WinXP. Until the coin cell is replaced, you'll probably have to go thru this routine everytime to restart the machine after it has been off for a few hours. Jack E/NJ

EliaCSwiss

JackE said:

That machine probably originally shipped with a WinXP installation DVD/CD. The BIOS chip coin cell is very likely dead. Thus to start the machine, you probably must first press & hold the F2 key. While still holding the F2 key, press the power button on. A BIOS menu should appear to re-initialize all the basic input output devices like the keyboard, hard drive, dvd/cd tray. etc.  Then press F10 to save these settings and exit the BIOS menu. Hopefully the machine will then boot into WinXP. Until the coin cell is replaced, you'll probably have to go thru this routine everytime to restart the machine after it has been off for a few hours. Jack E/NJ

Hey, thanks a lot for your reply.

I was able to get into the BIOS menu and press F10.

However, the screen is black now - I hear the disk going but nothing is happening.

I’ll wait now for some time and will keep you posted.

let’s wait thank you

Elia

JackE

>>>I was able to get into the BIOS menu and press F10.>>>

A good sign. Do you have the original WinXP installation DVDs? Jack E/NJ

EliaCSwiss

JackE said:

>>>I was able to get into the BIOS menu and press F10.>>>

A good sign. Do you have the original WinXP installation DVDs? Jack E/NJ

Hey, actually the screen now has turned to full black yet the computer is on. I couldn’t find a DVD sadly... I know that’s pretty impossible to recover but is there any other solution? If not, don’t worry.

elia

EliaCSwiss

Now it turned back to life. There is a loading bar below on the screen - it’s white and it’s loading very slowly let’s seen what happens. Still looking for the dvd btw

EliaCSwiss

Sorry it’s in Italian - that’s what I see but it’s stuck on 0% below.

Elia

JackE

Some areas on the hard disk seem to be damaged. Doesn't seem to be enough good areas left on the disk to recover. but it's still checking for good areas. This is a slow process especially with a damaged disk.  I recommend letting it continue to try to repair. If it's successful, you probably should purchase a new hard disk to try to transfer the WinXP if you can't find the installation DVD/CD. Jack E/NJ

EliaCSwiss

Ok, it’s up to 7% ahah! Let’s see what happens next, will keep you posted.

elia

EliaCSwiss

Ok, loading finished: now it’s telling me “NTLDR missing - press a button to restart”. I pressed different buttons but it doesn’t do anything

JackE

You must remove all USB devices including a mouse. Then press & hold the power button to shut the machine off. Then cross your fingers and turn it back on. Jack E/NJ

EliaCSwiss

tried - same “ntdlr missing” view appears. However, before appearing, I see briefly a blue screen with “Acer” logo where I can eventually press F2.

JackE

With the machine off, press and hold the F2 key again. Then turn it back on to get into the BIOS menu. Check to make sure the HDD is recognized and described in the Information tab. Then go to the Boot tab to see if it's also listed in the boot priority order. If it is, try to put it first in the boot order. Then press F10 to save setting and exit. Jack E/NJ

EliaCSwiss

Did it - everything was recognised. However it still brings me to the NTDLR black screen... Elia

JackE

That's the bootloader. It's written to a section of your hard disk that may be damaged and not be recoverable. However, there are many possible ways around this some of which, unfortunately require the WinXP DVD/CD. Go to this link and try some of the solutions listed https://www.partitionwizard.com/partitionmagic/ntldr-is-missing.html. You may also google 'ntldr missing' for other links. This is a common issue with Windows computers. Jack E/NJ

EliaCSwiss

Thank you! Will try and in case get back to you in a few days! You were very helpful

best regards

Elia