Laptop switches on only plugged in - Aspire 3 A315-42G-R5Z7

PawelSabala
PawelSabala Member Posts: 11

Tinkerer
edited July 2021 in Aspire Laptops
Hi guys,
I have an Aspire 3 A315-42G-R5Z7 Laptop. I have recently added an extra ram and an ssd m2. The computer worked well for few weeks but recently it only switches on with the charger plugged in. The laptop is farily new (more less 12 months) and rarely used (more less 5 times a month). It seems that it needs to be plugged in for the initial 5 seconds of the start up process. I can unplug the charger after that 5 seconds and the computer will work without it normally.
I have tried all the tutorials i could find  on solving this problem (power plan adjustmens, driver updates, bios restart) but nothing worked.  
I have also reinstalled my windows.
I would appreciate getting more help on the subject.
Thanks

//Edited the content to add model name.

Best Answer

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    Answer ✓
    Seems to be working as it should. Fan uses maximum power at startup to make sure it overcomes stiction (sort of like overcoming inertia of fan blades starting out at 0 rpm) that may otherwise cause it to stall. My conclusion? Your battery simply can't seem to provide all the power required at startup. So it needs help from the charger. Once the system is up and running, it can handle the lower power demands----up to a point. I suspect that if the a program or app starts to demand more power from the CPU/GPU, and their temperature rises, the fan will start to also demand more power to cool them off, and the machine will suddenly shut off if not plugged in.

    You said earlier >>>Does the difference in design capacity (37,037mWh) and the full charge capacity (25,903mWh) could cause the issue? Does the battery ,for example, need over certain amout of mWh in the moment of initiation of the device?>>>


    So yes, I now think you were on the right track. I think you should try a new battery to see if it resolves the startup or initiation problem.

    Jack E/NJ

Answers

  • PawelSabala
    PawelSabala Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    It did initially show driver power state failure but this seems to be sorted now 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    Go to the elevated command prompt.  Enter 'powercfg /batteryreport'. Then return to the desktop. Open file explorer. Then search for' battery-report.html' in the c:\windows\system32\ sub-folder. Double-click to open it in the browser. Post screenshot of the first part of the report if possible that compares design full charge capacity with its remaining full charge capacity. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • PawelSabala
    PawelSabala Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    Hi Jack, there it is 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    Try this. Unplug charger.Then insert paperclip into reset pinhole on the bottom for about 30 seconds. Then plug the charger back in but don't try to turn it on. Wait till the battery charge LED turns from solid orange to solid blue. Then unplug charger. Then try to turn it on.

    Jack E/NJ

  • PawelSabala
    PawelSabala Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    JackE said:
    Try this. Unplug charger.Then insert paperclip into reset pinhole on the bottom for about 30 seconds. Then plug the charger back in but don't try to turn it on. Wait till the battery charge LED turns from solid orange to solid blue. Then unplug charger. Then try to turn it on.
    no luck jack
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    Does the battery charge LED turn solid blue before you tried to turn it on unplugged?

    Jack E/NJ

  • PawelSabala
    PawelSabala Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    JackE said:
    Does the battery charge LED turn solid blue before you tried to turn it on unplugged?
    yes it did, fully charged.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    edited July 2021
    >>>It seems that it needs to be plugged in for the initial 5 seconds of the start up process. I can unplug the charger after that 5 seconds and the computer will work without it normally.>>>

    For how long does it typically stay on after you do this? I suspect that either the new RAM or SSD or even the fan is drawing too much power from the battery on startup.

    Jack E/NJ

  • PawelSabala
    PawelSabala Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    JackE said:
    >>>It seems that it needs to be plugged in for the initial 5 seconds of the start up process. I can unplug the charger after that 5 seconds and the computer will work without it normally.>>>

    For how long does it typically stay on after you do this? I suspect that either the new RAM or SSD or even the fan is drawing too much power from the battery on startup.

    when unplugged it does 1 to 2 hours depending on what programs im using(i personally do not see much difference in battery longetivity). Does the difference in design capacity (37,037mWh) and the full charge capacity (25,903mWh) could cause the issue? Does the battery ,for example, need over certain amout of mWh in the moment of initiation of the device? I have removed the one of the two RAMs to see if this would change anything but it still didn't switch on unplugged. I am curious to see if removing the SSD will change anything but this would require moving my system to the old HD. 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    If you still have the old HDD, then yes, please try it temporarily. Some SSDs, particularly budget brands without a DRAM cache (often sold as 240GB, 480GB & 960GB), can actually consume more power than many HDDs  and run hot This can cause a moderately weakened  battery such as yours, to momentarily drop below critical voltage levels and cause the charge controller to immediately cut its power delivery. 

    Jack E/NJ

  • PawelSabala
    PawelSabala Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    JackE said:
    If you still have the old HDD, then yes, please try it temporarily. Some SSDs, particularly budget brands without a DRAM cache (often sold as 240GB, 480GB & 960GB), can actually consume more power than many HDDs  and run hot This can cause a moderately weakened  battery such as yours, to momentarily drop below critical voltage levels and cause the charge controller to immediately cut its power delivery. 
    my SSD is : Crucial 500GB NVMe, P2 M.2 2280. 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    Should be OK but did you remove it and temporarily try the old HDD yet?

    Jack E/NJ

  • PawelSabala
    PawelSabala Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    JackE said:
    Should be OK but did you remove it and temporarily try the old HDD yet?
    I unplugged the HDD and tried to turn the laptop on but it didn't. The message 'no boot device' (or something similar) appeared on the screen so plugged the HDD back on. I will have to copy the windows from the SSD to HDD and then remove the SDD and for that I will have to remind myself how I did it few months back.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    >>> I will have to copy the windows from the SSD to HDD and then remove the SDD>>>

    No!!! Just remove the SSD and plug the HDD back in. Doesn't matter if the HDD doesn't boot and you get a no bootable device message. All we're interested in is if the machine turns on and stays on without being plugged in.

    Jack E/NJ

  • PawelSabala
    PawelSabala Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    JackE said:
    >>> I will have to copy the windows from the SSD to HDD and then remove the SDD>>>

    No!!! Just remove the SSD and plug the HDD back in. Doesn't matter if the HDD doesn't boot and you get a no bootable device message. All we're interested in is if the machine turns on and stays on without being plugged in.
    I have removed the SSD and turned on unplugged but no luck again.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    OK. Keep the SSD out. Plug the charger back in. Then turn the machine on. Can you hear the fan going at full speed, then automatically decrease speed after a few moments?.

    Jack E/NJ

  • PawelSabala
    PawelSabala Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    JackE said:
    OK. Keep the SSD out. Plug the charger back in. Then turn the machine on. Can you hear the fan going at full speed, then automatically decrease speed after a few moments?.
    correct, first second or so the fan is working fast and then slows down considerably.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    Answer ✓
    Seems to be working as it should. Fan uses maximum power at startup to make sure it overcomes stiction (sort of like overcoming inertia of fan blades starting out at 0 rpm) that may otherwise cause it to stall. My conclusion? Your battery simply can't seem to provide all the power required at startup. So it needs help from the charger. Once the system is up and running, it can handle the lower power demands----up to a point. I suspect that if the a program or app starts to demand more power from the CPU/GPU, and their temperature rises, the fan will start to also demand more power to cool them off, and the machine will suddenly shut off if not plugged in.

    You said earlier >>>Does the difference in design capacity (37,037mWh) and the full charge capacity (25,903mWh) could cause the issue? Does the battery ,for example, need over certain amout of mWh in the moment of initiation of the device?>>>


    So yes, I now think you were on the right track. I think you should try a new battery to see if it resolves the startup or initiation problem.

    Jack E/NJ

  • PawelSabala
    PawelSabala Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer
    JackE said:
    Seems to be working as it should. Fan uses maximum power at startup to make sure it overcomes stiction (sort of like overcoming inertia of fan blades starting out at 0 rpm) that may otherwise cause it to stall. My conclusion? Your battery simply can't seem to provide all the power required at startup. So it needs help from the charger. Once the system is up and running, it can handle the lower power demands----up to a point. I suspect that if the a program or app starts to demand more power from the CPU/GPU, and their temperature rises, the fan will start to also demand more power to cool them off, and the machine will suddenly shut off if not plugged in.

    You said earlier >>>Does the difference in design capacity (37,037mWh) and the full charge capacity (25,903mWh) could cause the issue? Does the battery ,for example, need over certain amout of mWh in the moment of initiation of the device?>>>


    So yes, I now think you were on the right track. I think you should try a new battery to see if it resolves the startup or initiation problem.

    thank you Jack, 5 stars for you sir !

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