Possible to Get the Official Acer Documentation, BIOS Update, Etc. Files for the Acer Aspire AS4740?

duststuff

I recently obtained an Acer Aspire AS4740 laptop, serial number LXPMH0C05XXXXXXXXX, and would like to obtain the related official Acer documentation (manuals, user guides, etc.), BIOS update files and information, and any other information and files that might be useful. (I'm not currently interested in driver or app files unless they are Linux-compatible.) Back in May the Acer website had a support page for this product with pretty limited items available, at which time I picked up the related 'Quick Guide' doc; however, now the link to that page I accessed doesn't work and nothing comes up on the relevant area of the 'Support' page for this model name or serial number.

I saw a suggestion somewhere to contact Acer support about getting these, but couldn't find any information on the website of a way to contact them directly, so I figured posting here would be the next-best solution. I'd prefer to find a way to get the official files, but am also open to ideas for third-party sites that might have them.

I realize that Acer no longer supports many of their legacy products that are still usable and in working condition, but I find it odd that they have chosen to delete the related files from their website, which would enable users to do their own self-help without trying to contact Acer or revert to third-party sites with a higher degree of risk. But it is what it is, I guess.

[Edited the content to hide sensitive information]

JackE

>>>I find it odd that they have chosen to delete the related files from their website,>>>

Since the new drivers/download pages are still in development, they may re-appear at some point but can't predict if/when. Priorities likely favor newer models. Sometimes they might appear sooner in some countries than others. So, like the rest of us users, you should click this link and check support pages for other regions from time to time.

Commodore_1995#

I found this site: https://www.driverscape.com/manufacturers/acer/laptops-desktops/aspire-4740/12543

Maybe I can help you.

duststuff

>>>I find it odd that they have chosen to delete the related files from their website,>>>

JE: "Since the new drivers/download pages are still in development, they may re-appear at some point but can't predict if/when."

Thanks, @JackE for this helpful info and the link and advice you gave; will keep it in mind.

Thanks, @egydiocoelho for your search and the link. I'm running a Linux system, so unfortunately the Windows drivers are not useful to me. What I'm hoping to find is any/all relevant documentation, and files/info related to any available BIOS updates in case that would be necessary for the troubleshooting I'm doing. I'm currently especially interested in determining whether one or more BIOS updates addresses the system doing a hard power-off when there is above-average CPU usage.

JackE

>>>I'm currently especially interested in determining whether one or more BIOS updates addresses the system doing a hard power-off when there is above-average CPU usage.>>>

Unlikely. The symptom you just described suggests that the CPU/GPU is overheating. Probably because the thermal ducts and heat sink have never been cleaned & repasted. The CPU/GPU can be fried with too many excursions into overheating-induced hard shutdowns. So I suggest not pushing things until you address this possibility.

Another heat-related issue with these older laptops is that the air intake & exhaust vents often don't allow adequate convective or fan airflow for high processor loads encountered with apps running on newer GUI OSs like Mint19 and above. I've actually had to raise older laptops about an inch above a hard surface and add more air vents to promote better airflow and keep temps down into the comfortable 70-80*C ranges under high CPU/GPU usage.

One final point on drivers. In most cases, Acer site downloads are primarily directed at Windows not Linux. Only machines with original factory installed Linux distros like Linpus might have downloads in other than US or Canadian markets.

duststuff

>>>I'm currently especially interested in determining whether one or more BIOS updates addresses the system doing a hard power-off when there is above-average CPU usage.>>>

JE: "Unlikely."

Thanks, @JackE . Perhaps, but a change-log on any BIOS updates would seem to be a good way to confirm that. :-)

JE: "The symptom you just described suggests that the CPU/GPU is overheating. Probably because the thermal ducts and heat sink have never been cleaned & repasted. The CPU/GPU can be fried with too many excursions into overheating-induced hard shutdowns. So I suggest not pushing things until you address this possibility."

Yes, this was my first thought, but in my various searches on this and in my own observations, I've noted that there is at least some possibility something else is going on. I do have on my to do list to use a utility to monitor temps to see if this will provide some confirmation one way or another on this.

JE: "Another heat-related issue with these older laptops is that the air intake & exhaust vents often don't allow adequate convective or fan airflow for high processor loads encountered with apps running on newer GUI OSs like Mint19 and above. I've actually had to raise older laptops about an inch above a hard surface and add more air vents to promote better airflow and keep temps down into the comfortable 70-80*C ranges under high CPU/GPU usage."

Because of my initial thought about overheating being involved, I have gotten in the habit of raising this laptop up like you mentioned, something I've used for other laptops as well.

JE: "One final point on drivers. In most cases, Acer site downloads are primarily directed at Windows not Linux. Only machines with original factory installed Linux distros like Linpus might have downloads in other than US or Canadian markets."

Yeah, I'm not too surprised, but I'm not really interested in drivers at this point, just docs and BIOS-related info/files. I've managed to get a 'Quick Guide' and a 'Service Guide' and also have the 'Resource CD' that came with the system, which (if it's readable) probably has some other docs on it. I haven't taken a look at the Service Guide yet, but I'm guessing that's where I'll find some of the more useful info for troubleshooting and fixing this. So it's possible I already have all the docs I need. I guess I just like to collect all the possible information and files I can before going too far down any particular path, so that I can make informed decisions about which path makes the most sense to start with. Based on what I currently know / understand, I'm guessing reading the service guide and monitoring the system temps are likely the best next steps.

In any case, your input here is much appreciated, and will be helpful as I keep moving forward with troubleshooting this.

JackE

>>>Yes, this was my first thought, but in my various searches on this and in my own observations, I've noted that there is at least some possibility something else is going on. I do have on my to do list to use a utility to monitor temps to see if this will provide some confirmation one way or another on this.>>>

Sure there are other possibilities. But overheating is at or near the top from your description. If it's not already installed by the distro's installation media, I suggest that you Google search and install "system profiler and benchmark". AKA ubuntu's "hardinfo" , One of the nicest GUI tools out there for monitoring a whole bunch of hardware. Mine's on temperature watch most of the time.

billsey

In general we have found that BIOS updates have little or no documentation as to the changes, other than a single sentence with potentially some relevant data. Nothing like the full change log you might expect.