Acer Aspire 5 A515-55 starts only by holding down a key a pressing F2

1C_RT

My laptop doesn't start normally and doesn't shutdown properly.

The only way to get it to start is to hold any down and repeatedly press the start button - 10 to 30 times

When it starts, you cannot input the password fully - it will only accept 6 digits and also starts in Airplane mode. If you press F2 once the logo appears, it will allow you to input the password and you can use the laptop normally. If you let go of the key that you are holding down, the screen will go black in two seconds and you have to repeat the start-up.

I have tried:

pushing the battery re-set button underneath the laptop for 30 seconds ( several tries )

In the control panel, uninstalling the keyboard and restarting

Pushing the F2 button before the logo appears on the screen, pushing F9…OK, the f10 to save..restarting.

Updating all software including a "repair" program.

Doing a full shut down doesn't help, If you unplug the power cord, the fan and both blue and orange lights come on for a second than shut off.

Pushing the power button for 30 seconds to one minute doesn't shut it down. ( The screen is black and it is technically shut down but the fan and light thing keeps happening ).

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

[Edited the thread to add model name to the title]

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/706702/acer-aspire-5-starts-only-by-holding-down-a-key-a-pressing-f2

You have to Reset this PC losing all your data, but backup your entire boot drive to an external USB backup drive first. In Windows type Reset in the Search box and in the Troubleshoot menu select losing your data, this will reformat the boot drive. You also may have hardware issues with your boot drive/RAM but probably the system is corrupted or attacked by malware.

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/706702/acer-aspire-5-starts-only-by-holding-down-a-key-a-pressing-f2

Try to do a Hard Reset first that resets the EC chip and Chipset chip which govern 95% of the functionality of your laptop and the issues that you are having problems with, as these chips could be frozen and/or need a hard reset (or these chips are faulty) which in case of the EC chip it can be changed and reprogrammed but with the Chipset chip Acer does not sell and/or distributes thee chips and you will need to buy this chip second hand from China which is a big gamble to get a good chip, as they are taken from used laptops and allot are faulty but still sold on the web, so be careful with parts from China!

To do a Hard Reset first unscrew the back cover of your laptop and take the main battery out, then disconnect the RTC/BIOS battery and shot its +&- pins at the mainboard plug to clear CMOS, then take the ram out and leave your laptop like that for at least 1 hour (preferably overnight) afterwards, reconnect all components and try to boot the laptop as if these chips were frozen this should reinstate your laptops functionality to its oem state. if it doesn't then try the reset of the system like above and see if it works, as if that doesn't work then you have hardware issues with the Aspire 5 laptop that you will need to send your laptop to either Acer Tech Support or an experienced technician in your area. Good luck and hope this helps you out further,

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/706702/acer-aspire-5-starts-only-by-holding-down-a-key-a-pressing-f2

You have to Reset this PC losing all your data, but backup your entire boot drive to an external USB backup drive first. In Windows type Reset in the Search box and in the Troubleshoot menu select losing your data, this will reformat the boot drive. You also may have hardware issues with your boot drive/RAM but probably the system is corrupted or attacked by malware.

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/706702/acer-aspire-5-starts-only-by-holding-down-a-key-a-pressing-f2

Try to do a Hard Reset first that resets the EC chip and Chipset chip which govern 95% of the functionality of your laptop and the issues that you are having problems with, as these chips could be frozen and/or need a hard reset (or these chips are faulty) which in case of the EC chip it can be changed and reprogrammed but with the Chipset chip Acer does not sell and/or distributes thee chips and you will need to buy this chip second hand from China which is a big gamble to get a good chip, as they are taken from used laptops and allot are faulty but still sold on the web, so be careful with parts from China!

To do a Hard Reset first unscrew the back cover of your laptop and take the main battery out, then disconnect the RTC/BIOS battery and shot its +&- pins at the mainboard plug to clear CMOS, then take the ram out and leave your laptop like that for at least 1 hour (preferably overnight) afterwards, reconnect all components and try to boot the laptop as if these chips were frozen this should reinstate your laptops functionality to its oem state. if it doesn't then try the reset of the system like above and see if it works, as if that doesn't work then you have hardware issues with the Aspire 5 laptop that you will need to send your laptop to either Acer Tech Support or an experienced technician in your area. Good luck and hope this helps you out further,

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

AnhEZ28

@1C_RT

What is the full model of the Aspire 5? Did you try to bring the laptop to a repair shop and test a new keyboard?

1C_RT

Thank you to everyone for commenting.

I will try do some work on it and let you know how it comes and if I bring it in for service, I will comment on that as well.

Have a great day.

1C_RT

@AnhE28 Hello, The model is A515-55.

I was wondering about the keyboard myself but I have no idea how to test it. I just noticed in another situation that someone recommended that it be uninstalled in the Device Manager.

Thank you for your help.

AnhEZ28

@1C_RT

Bring the laptop to any local PC repair shop and ask them if they have the A515-55 keyboard in stock for you to test. You mentioned that you have difficulties turning on the laptop so the problem is not related to the driver in the device manager.