Aspire 5552 black screen (second time), flashing BIOS doesn't start

Hi,

A while ago, my Aspire 5552 stopped showing picture. When power button pressed, it would turn on, and even boot to operating system (the OS welcome sound was played and also welcome sound of some programs), but the screen remain black. The back light was working normally (when splash screen should show up, the screen became brighter). After some search on internet i found instructions how to update BIOS when screen doesn't work and it solved the issue, after that it worked normally. For a while.

Today, i was working on it and suddenly, the screen turned black. After a restart it remain black. Like the first time, it boots to OS, turns off when power button pressed, the backlight is working, but there's no picture, it stays black. I tried the same procedure to flash the BIOS like the first time, however, this time the flashing process doesn't start. I tried second monitor, no luck. I downloaded the latest awailable version of BIOS, which is 2.14 released on August 8th 2011. Should i change the name of FD file? (i tried with the original name and with ZG5IA32.FD (first time this name worked)). Or is there some other Bios version i should try? Did maybe the procedure change when it was updated last time? Should i press some other keys to start flashing instead of FN+ESC before pressing the power button?

I'd appreciate any suggestion, but also hoping to hear from Acer tech support, as when i tried to conntact you through the Acer site for my country, it keeps me going in circle (choose country -> contact acer support -> choose country -> support....) and when i tired to contact through Acer US site, neither serial number, nor SNID are accepted, so i can't contact you.

Thank you!

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JackE

Common problem. Before messing around with the bios anymore, see if you can shut windows down normally (Windows7 ?) by sequentially pressing WinKey+RightArrowKey+EnterKey. Then do a cold re-boot. If it's still black, shut it down normally again with the same key combo after the start melody indicates the OS has loaded. Then immediately do another cold-reboot.

If it fails the 2nd time (it likely won't), then, as ScottyC has mentioned before, you might want to try blindly re-set the bios to factory defaults by pressing F2 within a few seconds of powering on to get into the bios. Then press F9 to re-set to factory defaults. Then F10 to exit and save. Then EnterKey and see what happens. Report back.

Thanks

Jack E/NJ

valsimot

Thank you for suggestions! I tried to shut it down and then cold reboot couple of times but the screen is still black. Also, resetting the bios to factory defaults didn't help.

JackE

valsimot>>>I tried second monitor, no luck.>>>

I agree that this is not a good sign. Do you have a hdmi port to see if you can get hdmi video to at least salvage your files? If not, I guess you'll have to pull the hard drive. I'll see if I can get someone else to chime in on your problem. Sorry.

Jack E/NJ

ScottyC

From the sound of it something has gone wrong with your graphics adapter. Like JackE said you can always try an hdmi cord to test video, but truth be told I don't have very high hopes for it. If this problem has happened before and you were able to correct it with a bios update then it is possible that the problem could once again be corrected the same way.

You had asked if you would need to rename the .pd file. I would suggest trying to rename it as XEWxx200.fd, the original firmware image name.

Just to be sure, you are using this bios image are you not? Acer Bios 2.14

And if that fails you could always try downloading the actual original firmware image for your device and install that.

The original can be found here Acer Bios 2.0

As for the steps you are taking to flash your bios, you were correct to press the FN-ESC keys prior to booting, but make sure to keep them pressed for about ten seconds AFTER you turn the device on. Furthermore, make sure that your firmware images are stored in the root of your USB key (not in a folder).

Sad to say that if this doens't work you're likely looking at a physical problem with the device, rather than a software issue. In this case you would have to look into repairs. Good luck and take care!

valsimot

Thank you Jack and Scotty!

I have a hdmi port, however, i don't have a monitor with hdmi port. Anyway, if i don't make it to show picture, i'll get the hard drive out and copy the files.

Exactly, Acer Bios 2.14 is the bios image that i used. I didn't try with the original one, so i will do it now and i'll let you know if it worked.

The bios image was stored in the root of my USB key and i held FN-ESC for about 15 seconds. I don't know if this got something to do with the problem, but i noticed that when i press FN-ESC before i plug the power cable in and then press the power button (i held fn-esc during all that time and also after pressing the power button), sometimes the laptop would turn off automatically after few seconds, and sometimes it would continue working for a long time (for an hour and a half, untill i turn it off), but nothing was happening. When i plug the power cable in before pressing FN-ESC, then the laptop would boot to OS.

valsimot

No luck, the same thing is happening with the original BIOS image. It's like the flashing process can't start for some reason...

Thank you guys for the effort!

JackE

Most digital TVs have an HDMI port. All you need is the double-male HDMI cable to connect between them. Five-Below stores have them for $5 for a 6 foot HDMI cable.

Jack E/NJ

valsimot

Hey guys,

Sorry for being quiet. Recently i moved to China and here i only have an old CRT TV. Anyway, i think it was good that it happened here, because i took it to a repair shop and they fixed it. It cost me 75$, which is in my opinion reasonable price (at home it would cost me at least 3 times more and wouldn't be worth repairing it).

Thank you once again!

JackE

Good for you! Thanks for the update. What did the shop do to repair your machine? It might be helpful at some point.

Thanks

Jack E/NJ

valsimot

I don't know. The guy who took the laptop and return it back doesn't speak english, and people who helped me to translate, are not the best with english either (especially when it comes to IT terminology).

If i manage to find someone who can translate better and ask him, i will let you know!

tmcastano

This same thing happened to me. My Acer Aspire 5552 was working just fine. I connected my computer to my tv with an hdmi to watch movies on megashare. I switched the monitor settings so that the movie would just play on the tv and not both the tv and computer. After watching the movies I simply turned the tv off and went to bed assuming my computer would go to sleep. Well, the computer wouldn't turn on the next morning and nothing showed up on the tv screen either. The computer SOUNDED like it turned on, all of the lights came on, I could even hear the drive spinning when I put a CD in. THe screen remained black. But, something strange, after several hours of letting it rest I just happened to try the power button again and everything seemed fine again. But when I let my computer go to sleep and tried to awaken it the screen went black again. The only thing I could do to get my computer on was to let it rest over night and it would come back on the next morning. I changed the settings so that the computer never slept. Only when I shut it down or chose restart would the monitor work correctly. But then it stopped coming on all together and I found the fix that the other gentleman mentioned. I learned to flash to the bios via a flash drive. I was able to start the computer by following teh instructions using the FN + ESX + Power button key. I then backed up all of my pictures etc and did a complete factory restore just to make sure the problem didn't return. Things we went well for over 2 weeks UNTIL I made some changes. I went to watch a movie on megashare again but decided to pause it and view it later. Then I closed everything and decided to change my virus protection software. I wanted to go from the free Norton Security Suite that comes with Comcast to avast. Somehow during the changes I got caught up in doing something and my system went to sleep and won't wake up again. So, I tried again to flash to the BIOS and this time it didn't work. I even reformatted the flashdrive to make sure the files were fresh and uncorrupted from the first time and I even tried it again with a different flashdrive. This time nothing works. The computer comes on except for the monitor. I tried shutting down like another person suggested using the win + right arrow + enter keys and that doesn't do anything. I have taken out the battery, waited, and all the other suggestions mentioned here and elsewhere to no avail. I even tried reconnecting the computer to the tv using the hdmi cable again and still both screens are black. I can't understand what worked the first time doesn't work now. After I did the factory restore I made a disc image and made both a repair disc set and Windows 7 restore disc but nothing happens when I put in these discs other than I can hear them spin. Any other ideas apart from paying someone to do what I can with the right instructions. I'm a teacher and single mom struggling until we get our first pay check of the year at the end of August. School starts for me next week and I have so much work to do and I don't want to have to go to the school to use their computers. I'd appreciate any help you can offer. Thank you!

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