Aspire E5-475-Got freeze and goes to black screen after Acer logo and 'Preparing automatic repair'.

Hello

My laptop (Acer Aspire E5-475) running Windows 10 froze while I was using it, so I shut it down by holding down the power key for 5 seconds. When I turned the laptop back on, I got to the 'Acer' logo, but the screen then went black. I shut it down and turned it back on. The message 'Preparing automatic repair' was displayed but then went back to a black screen.

Background: I installed some updates (not sure which ones) about a week before the incident. I had been using the laptop since those updates with no difficulties at all so not sure if it is relevant.

Things I've tried:

Pressed F2 after turning laptop on and enabled D2D and F12 Boot menu. This didn't appear to change anything
Turned laptop off, and when turning back on pressed Alt + F10. A 'Please wait' message and a spinning disc displayed but then the screen went black again.
Turned laptop off and unplugged it from mains, inserted a paperclip in the battery reset hole at the base of the laptop. Left for a few hours, plugged back in and turned on. The 'Acer' logo displayed and then the screen turned black again.
When the black screen appears, I connected the laptop to a TV using a HDMI cable to make sure the screen wasn't faulty. 'No Signal' being displayed on the TV

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Accepted answers

All comments

JackE

Get back into the BIOS menu and make sure the D2D and F12 options are still enabled. Then set and save a supervisor password in the BIOS security tab. Then re-enter the BIOS with the supervisor password and disable secure boot. Then shut the machine off. Then turn it back on and immediately start tapping the ALT+F10 to access the hidden recovery partition and try either a refresh while saving your personal files. Jack E/NJ

Ace249

Thanks for your reply. I have tried the above but upon pressing alt + f10 I get the 'Please Wait' message and then a black screen again, just like before. Anything else I can try?

JackE

(1) Does the BIOS menu screens seem to behave OK?

(2) Do you ever get an options menu with the ALT+F10 cold boot method before the screen goes black?

Jack E/NJ

Ace249

The BIOS menu seems to be OK although I'm not very tech savvy.
Never got an options menu, goes from 'Please Wait' straight to black screen

JackE

OK. Go to this link and prepare a USB installation stick using Microsoft's media creation tool. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Tap the F12 key on startup to select the USB installation stick to see if you can boot to a recovery menu options screen instead of a black screen. We'll go from there if you can at least get to a recovery menu options screen.

Jack E/NJ

Ace249

I followed the instructions and prepared the USB installation stick. It appeared in the F12 boot menu but when I try to boot from it I am stuck on the 'Acer' logo screen with a spinning disc. Anything else I can try?

JackE

Try another USB port. If you used the USB port on the right side, this is a slow port and may take as much as 30 minutes to load. Jack E/NJ

Ace249

I plugged into the right side port and left for around 90 minutes. I have also tried the left port for about 30 minutes but I am still stuck on the 'Acer' logo screen

JackE

Press and hold the power button till the machine shuts off. Unplug the charger. Remove the USB stick. Gently press and hold a paperclip into the battery reset pinhole on the bottom for about 30 seconds. At the same time, press and hold the power button. Then plug the charger and Win10 installation stick back in again. Then turn the machine on and try the F12 routine again. Jack E/NJ

Ace249

Hi. I've tried the above but I still am stuck on the acer logo with spinning disc. I tried all 3 ports. Is there anything else I can try?

JackE

Re-check the BIOS Boot tab to make sure secure boot is still disabled and the USB stick first in the boot order even ahead of WinBootMgr. Jack E/NJ

Ace249

Secure boot was already disabled. I moved the USB stick to the top of the boot priority order but still no luck...

JackE

Disconnect the HDD and try to boot to an error or install screen from the stick. Jack E/NJ

Ace249

How do I disconnect the HDD? Would disconnecting it delete all my files?

JackE

Whatever files are still on the drive remain intact with the HDD disconnected. Unplug charger. Remove 4 screws from HDD cover and slide cover off. Then remove HDD cable. Put cover back on. Jack E/NJ

KillingKanzaki

To resolve the issue proceed with the following steps:

Go into Safe Mode
Delete the Intel Graphics Driver & Software (by ticking the box during deletion and ensuring the driver reverts to Microsoft Display Adapter)
Reboot back into Windows
Update the BIOS
Use the latest Intel Graphics Driver from the Acer website
Update to Windows 10 20H2 minimum