Acer A5600U-UB26 won't boot it was working fine until I tried to upgrade, what I can do?

Hello,
I was having a problem with a Acer A5600U All in one Computer. It came with a bunch of original Acer software and had a ton of virus and malware when I first got it. I tried putting Windows 10 on it, but it kept freezing. I decided to instead just refresh the Windows 8.1 that it had on it originally. All the Acer software on it is gone. Whenever I do a shut down the computer will not boot. It doesn't even get to the POST Beep. When I turn it on, the backlight of the screen turns on and then goes dark. There is no ACER logo or anything.
I've gone thru various troubleshooting techniques from various posts that I found online. I found that moving the jumper for the CMOS battery (holding the power button for 10 seconds to discharge residual power) would on occasion get it to POST beep, let me get into the bios and boot into Windows 8.1. I can then do anything and even reset. However the moment the unit is unplugged or loses power I'm back in the same boat.
The BIOS its on is P11.B0. I've tried replacing the CMOS battery, I've tried a different HD (It was a Windows 7 Drive, that with the CMOS battery jumper reset was able to log into one time to the same problem).
The thing is, it was working fine until I tried to upgrade. It booted up fine as well. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do?

[Edited the thread to add issue  detail]

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StevenGen

Mycanthus said:

Hello,
I was having a problem with a Acer A5600U All in one Computer. It came with a bunch of original Acer software and had a ton of virus and malware when I first got it. I tried putting Windows 10 on it, but it kept freezing. I decided to instead just refresh the Windows 8.1 that it had on it originally. All the Acer software on it is gone. Whenever I do a shut down the computer will not boot. It doesn't even get to the POST Beep. When I turn it on, the backlight of the screen turns on and then goes dark. There is no ACER logo or anything.
I've gone thru various troubleshooting techniques from various posts that I found online. I found that moving the jumper for the CMOS battery (holding the power button for 10 seconds to discharge residual power) would on occasion get it to POST beep, let me get into the bios and boot into Windows 8.1. I can then do anything and even reset. However the moment the unit is unplugged or loses power I'm back in the same boat.
The BIOS its on is P11.B0. I've tried replacing the CMOS battery, I've tried a different HD (It was a Windows 7 Drive, that with the CMOS battery jumper reset was able to log into one time to the same problem).
The thing is, it was working fine until I tried to upgrade. It booted up fine as well. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do?

First, can you get into the BIOS by pressing F2? Also, if your BIOS is the P11.B0 (which btw is not on the Acer Aspire 5600U BIOS upgrade page) IMO, it must be an OEM UEFI BIOS that came stock with your Aspire 5600U, as your Aspire 5600U has a UEFI BIOS. Note, the last BIOS version P11.A4 titled “BIOS - UEFI for Windows 8 (Not for Upgrades)” is a UEFI BIOS, so you will need a UEFI installation USB to install Win-10 with, do that first.

Also, you will have to create a Win-10 bootable installation USB for the UEFI type BIOS and download and “Create Windows 10 installation media” from the MS site but, it will have to be created in a way of a UEFI Bootable Windows 10 USB Drive Installer as your BIOS is a UEFI type and an MBR/Legacy type installation USB will not or putting a Win-7 MBR type HDD will work or boot also.

Taking the CMOS battery out, only resets the BIOS and putting a Win-7 spinner HDD will not work (btw a new 2.5” SATA-3 at 6GB per sec SSD will be a much better option) as an old spinner 5200 rpm HDD is not ideal and could be faulty, also, the Win-7 HDD is formatted in MBR/Legacy type format and it won’t work with your UEFI type BIOS. Try the option(s) I’ve suggested above first and then you will be able to boot with the proper USB installation Win-10 USB and install a Clean Install and the latest Win-10, version: 20H2 OS built: 19042.746, it’s a very simple process.

Note: and after you have installed Win-10 and everything is working 100%, I would upgrade to the last Aspire 5600U BIOS version P11.A4 and be very cautious, as Acer warns you that "Upgrading your system BIOS incorrectly could harm your Acer product. Please proceed with caution"! As after you download the new BIOS version P11.A4, you will have to use the "WIN folder 64 BIOS" and read the PDF "Readme" guide on how to upgrade the BIOS of your Aspire 5600U, that is very important, so be very cautious and only attempt a BIOS update if you have experience and you know what you are doing, otherwise you will brick your computer!

Mycanthus

Hello! Thank you for your response!
To enter BIOS it has you hit the delete key. The BIOS option under boot option (Has Launch CSM Enabled). I think that's why when I put a Windows 7 HD I was able to fully boot and get into it. I logged on and was able to post (the initial message).
I did the CMOS battery trick again with the Win 8.1 HD in there and was able to log in and respond right now. I will use this time to make a UEFI Bootable USB Drive and install it. I will also see if I can get a SATA drive.
I had also seen the P11.A4 BIOS option on the website. It has a later date than the current BIOS I have. The release date is 05/17/2013. Will I be able to go back to a earlier BIOS?

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/gp/liw5ttcxhfyz.jpg

If I don't do the CMOS Battery trick it will hang on a black screen and I cannot get into the BIOS. IF I do end up doing it, I can sometimes get to the screen in the above picture. F1 doesn't do anything, delete lets me get into the BIOS. From that point I just exit and leave the BIOS with/without any changes and it boots up normally.

Like I said I will try the above way to get WIN 10 on the machine and go from there. Thank you.

billsey

Yes, you likely need to rebuild the entire environment, my guess is the EFI image is corrupt or compromised. You want to have the BIOS in UEFI mode, not Legacy. You want Secure boot disabled. You want the F12 boot menu enabled. With that environment you should be able to boot from the Windows 10 install flash drive. As you step through the install process, when it comes to the screen where it shows all your partition and ask which to install to, manually remove all of them, then select the unallocated area and ask to install there. The installer will then recreate all needed partitions and rebuild the UEFI environment.

tekboy

Hey guys, I hope you are still active here as I have the exact same problem. My acer aspire 5600U boots and shows a black screen for a couple seconds then nothing. After multiple attempts I can get in to the bios and boot to windows 10 and from there I can do anything. I have swapped CMOS battery, Done a clean install of windows via media creation tool. Did you find a fix for this? What else could I try?

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