Aspire One does not Boot Acer AO532h-2588

Sky50
Sky50 Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter
edited May 2022 in Aspire Laptops

My Acer AO532h-2588 notebook PC boots fine as far as the BIOS screen, but no longer boots my Windows10 OS from the internal hard drive or from an external bootable USB drive.  After the BIOS screen, the display goes black.  A quick web search showed that to be a common problem with this model.

Many help sites recommend re-flashing the BIOS.  I attempted to do that but can't get it to work.  Here are the steps I followed:

1. On a separate, working PC, partition a USB drive to 4GB so it can be formatted with FAT

2. Download the latest BIOS from the Acer website (v1.26) and use the DOS files, not the Windows files, since the Windows OS is not working on my notebook PC.  Rename the BIOS file to ZG5IA32.FD and place a copy of it and the FLASHIT.EXE and FLASH.BAT files on the FAT-formatted USB drive

3. Move the USB drive to the malfunctioning Acer PC, hold down the Fn and Esc keys, and press the power button.  Release the Fn and Esc keys after 5-10 seconds and the power button light will be blinking

(Failure mode: the power light on my Acer PC never starts blinking.  A few seconds later, the BIOS screen appears as usual, showing the old BIOS (v1.21), and then the screen goes black)

4. Had the power light began blinking, I was supposed to press the power button once to start flashing the new BIOS, and the new BIOS was supposed to be installed within a few minutes

I can’t get the power button light to blink, so the BIOS does not update.  I tried two USB drives and neither works.  What am I doing wrong?  Did I load the USB improperly? --I simply formatted it to FAT and then copied and pasted the downloaded files to the USB drive.


{Thread was edited to add model name to the title}



«1

Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,891 Trailblazer
    >>>My Acer AO532h-2588 notebook PC boots fine as far as the BIOS screen>>>

    If you can see the ACER BIOS logo screen, the BIOS firmware is fine. Don't mess with flashing the BIOS or you could fully brick your machine and never even see the BIOS logo screen again.

    (1) Press and hold the power button till the laptop shuts off, No LEDs should be lit except the battery charge LED if plugged in.
    (2) Turn the laptop back on and IMMEDIATELY start tapping the F2 key to enter the BIOS menu,
    (3) Please post a phone photo of the BIOS INFORMATION tab if possible.


    Jack E/NJ

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,155 Trailblazer

    Hey Sky50 don’t touch the BIOS as that is not the problem you are having (reflash the BIOS through windows only) as and also you could have corruoted your bios by trying to flash it through DOS? Anyway, have you done the following:

    • Set the “Boot priority order” to USB HDD”? As it won’t boot into USB unless you set the USB to first boot order.
    • Have you exited the BIOS at Exit > “Load Setup Defaults"?  

    Try all that first, if it doesn’t work then take the RAM and CMOS battery out for 10min and check ram slot and pins if they are not corroded but clean both anyway, plug everything back and reboot see if the laptop resets? It could also be your old spinner HDD or RAM faults and errors problems? So check all that first.

    Just as a note and speaking from experience, I’ve got an AOHappy2 (which is a one up and basically the same laptop) and I’ve done everything to try and run this laptop on Win-10 adequately, I tried the Win-10 64bit Home, it worked but was slow as a snail and unbearable, tried Win-10 Home 32bit and it still performed like a snail. The problems with your AO532h-2588 and its Atom N450 and the AOHappy2 with the Atom N570 is that they are S.L.O.WWW CPU's but their integrated graphics the Media Accelerator (GMA) 3150 is not adequate and is a low spec graphics for today’s usability, this integrated graphics can only display at a max of 1024×600 resolution and is not adequate to give a suitable refresher rate range required for Win-10, hence you have to use a refresher hack software like the HotKey Resolution Changer or a registry hack which don't work anyway.

    RAM is also a big problem with these 10.1” laptops as their max is only 2GB and Win-10 works just adequately with 4GB but its preferable to have 8GB. I've also done the RAM upgrades for the AOHappy2 by increasing its OEM 1GB DDR3-PC3-10700 (667MHz) to a new 2GB PC3-10700H (667MHz) Ramaxed Technologies part #: RTM-1950MD58E8F-1333 and it didn't do anything, I also upgraded its OEM spinner HDD to a new Samsung EVO 850 SSD and even put a Wi-Fi/BT card and it worked but was slow as a snail with Win-10 but, this mini 10.1” laptop works perfectly with its OEM Win-7 starter/Android basic OEM OS as your AO532H-2588 should also do. So there you have all the scenarios from personal experience, good luck and hope this helps you out overall.


  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,891 Trailblazer
    >>>My Acer AO532h-2588 notebook PC boots fine as far as the BIOS screen>>>

    If you can see the ACER BIOS logo screen, the BIOS firmware is fine. Don't mess with flashing the BIOS or you could fully brick your machine and never even see the BIOS logo screen again.

    (1) Press and hold the power button till the laptop shuts off, No LEDs should be lit except the battery charge LED if plugged in.
    (2) Turn the laptop back on and IMMEDIATELY start tapping the F2 key to enter the BIOS menu,
    (3) Please post a phone photo of the BIOS INFORMATION tab if possible.

    Jack E/NJ

  • brummyfan2
    brummyfan2 ACE Posts: 28,468 Trailblazer
    Hi @Sky50
    I can not understand why you are unable to reply, anyway, try posting the reply, if not open a new thread and post this link to this thread.

    Acer Predator PT516-51s Performance Results - UserBenchmark

  • Sky50
    Sky50 Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter
    Before I type my reply to JackE again, I'll attempt to post this short test comment.

    Pressing the "Post Comment" button now...
  • brummyfan2
    brummyfan2 ACE Posts: 28,468 Trailblazer
    Yes, I can read your reply  :)

    Acer Predator PT516-51s Performance Results - UserBenchmark

  • brummyfan2
    brummyfan2 ACE Posts: 28,468 Trailblazer
    edited May 2022
    When you reply to JackE, type @JackE so that he will get a notification.

    Acer Predator PT516-51s Performance Results - UserBenchmark

  • Sky50
    Sky50 Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter
    brummyFan2,
    My test comment posted as expected, so now I'll try to post my reply to JackE that I prepared a few hours ago.  If the other one still does not post, I'll try splitting it into two parts.
  • Sky50
    Sky50 Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter

    @JackE,

    Thanks for your quick reply to my question.  The BIOS Information screen looks fine to me.  Here are some of the entries:

     

    CPU Type: Intel Atom CPU N450

    CPU Speed: 1.66GHz

    System BIOS Version: V1.21

    Product Name: AO532H

     

    And yes, it might be a hardware problem such as a dead CMOS battery, but the CMOS battery on this PC is difficult to replace, so I was hoping to rule out the BIOS problem first.  I already tried the easy hardware stuff, such as unplugging and reseating the hard drive, cleaning the edge connector on the RAM module, and removing the battery and holding down the power button for a minute.

    (Part 1)

  • Sky50
    Sky50 Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter

    (Continued)

    Here is another possible clue: When I attempt to boot my PC from a USB drive with Linux Lite on it, I get the following error message:

     

    [0.239053] ACPI BIOS error (bug): \_SB.PCIO._OSC: Excess arguments – ASL declared 5, ACPI requires 4 (20190816/nsarguments-160)

    [5.303711] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] No Caching mode page found

    [5.303720] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through

     

    Then the screen freezes.

     

    I’m not a software expert, so I have no idea what that means, but it does include the term “BIOS error”, which reinforces my BIOS bug suspicions.  Does it mean anything to you?

     

    When I try to boot Linux Lite in safe mode, I get lots of scrolling text on the screen mentioning timeouts and other things like that.  And then it too freezes.  If you think that might help, I can list a few of those messages in another post.

    (Part 3 of 3)
  • Sky50
    Sky50 Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter

    Apparently both of my attempts to post part 2 of 3 got quarantined because they contain an external URL.  Here's part 2 one more time without the link:

    Meanwhile, the reason I’m stubbornly (foolishly?) pursuing the BIOS flashing is because I found numerous help site questions similar to mine, and the most popular answer is “Flash the BIOS”.  Here’s an example:

     

    (The URL link was here before I deleted it.  Moderator: Feel free to replace this post with the one that has the link in it, if you determine that the link is safe)

     

    The “Best Answer” is similar to most of the others I found online, except the others (obviously) suggest loading the USB on a separate, working PC rather than on the dead one.  There are videos of the procedure on YouTube too, with lots of comments that flashing their BIOS fixed their black screen problem.

     

    I thought maybe renaming the .fd file was an inside techie joke, so I tried it both ways, with no improvement.  I also tried two brands of USB drives because someone wrote that some brands work and some don’t.  (Perhaps I merely need to buy more brands of USB drives until I find one that works.  I apologize in advance if that turns out to be the problem)

    (Part 2 of 3)
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,891 Trailblazer
    >>>Thanks for your quick reply to my question.  The BIOS Information screen looks fine to me.  Here are some of the entries:>>>CPU Type: Intel Atom CPU N450 CPU Speed: 1.66GHz System BIOS Version: V1.21 Product Name: AO532H>>>

    Might look fine to you. But doesn't sound fine to me. What is the description of the HDD described in the BIOS INFORMATION tab as shown below?



    Jack E/NJ

  • Sky50
    Sky50 Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter

    HDD Model Name: WDC WD1600BEVT-22A23TO
    HDD Serial Number: WD-WX21A10T0703

    All of the BIOS screens look fine, but as I wrote above, I still suspect the BIOS because lots of other Acer Aspire One owners reported that they were able to fix their blank screen problem by re-flashing their BIOS.  Also, when I try to boot Linux Lite from a USB drive, it displays some text that includes the term "BIOS error".
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,891 Trailblazer

    You don't have a blank or black BIOS screen!!! You probably don't have a BIOS firmware problem.


    Forget what the low end guru has posted on youtube. His solution does NOT apply directly to your problem. 

    Go back into the BIOS menu, MAIN tab. Make sure the F12 and D2D options are both enabled. Then F10 to save settings and exit the BIOS menu. Then shut the machine off. Insert the bootable Win10 USB stick. Then turn the machine on and IMMEDIATELY tap the F12 key. A boot menu should appear to allow you to boot from the USB stick.


    Jack E/NJ

  • Sky50
    Sky50 Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter

    @JackE,

    Oh yeah, you’re right: the various YouTube videos don’t show the BIOS screen before the PC screen goes black.

     

    Before I found those YouTube videos, the first site I found in my web search was French website called CCM.  It did indicate that the BIOS screen appeared before the black PC screen, yet suggested the same steps to flash the BIOS as the YouTube guys suggested.  The moderator apparently won’t let me post the link to the CCM site, but here is how the original poster described his problem:

     

    “I have my Acer Aspire One laptop, when I put it on it does not process, only goes to BIOS and does not recognize the HDD.  I have replaced with a new HDD, has not changed.”

     

    That describes my problem too.  The answer was the four steps I listed in my original post.  My plan simply was to update the BIOS and if it did not help, try to find a hardware problem.  I figured it couldn’t hurt anything, so why not update the BIOS, just to eliminate that as the culprit.  So I still would like to do that, but I must have a bad USB drive or maybe I’m loading it wrong, because I can’t get the power button light to flash as promised.

     

    I think there is a character limit on these posts, so I’ll stop here.  I already tried booting on a Win10 USB and other operating systems, so I’ll summarize that in my next post.



  • Sky50
    Sky50 Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter

    @JackE,

    My PC fails to boot on any of the following media.  As you suggested, I have been configuring the boot priority on the BIOS menu for the internal HD or the external USB drives, depending on which I was using:

     

    1) Internal HD that was running Win10 (Used to work on this PC but no longer boots)

    2) Bootable USB with Win10 (Does not work on this PC)

    3) Bootable USB with Linux Lite v5.6 (Does not work on this PC)

    4) Bootable USB with Linux Mint v20.3 (Does not work on this PC)

    5) Bootable old 2011 CD with UBUNTU (Used to work on this PC but no longer boots)

     

    Failure mode for each OS:

     

    1) Internal HD Win10: Blank screen or blank screen with flashing cursor

     

    2) USB Win10: Sometimes gets as far as the Win10 aqua-colored logo.  Then freezes

     

    3a) Linux Lite: Displays install/try welcome menu.  If select “Start Linux Lite”, it freezes after a few seconds and displays error message similar to this:

     

    [0.239053] ACPI BIOS error (bug): \_SB.PCIO._OSC: Excess arguments – ASL declared 5, ACPI requires 4 (20190816/nsarguments-160)

    [5.303711] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] No Caching mode page found

    [5.303720] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through


    3b) Linux Lite with “Start Linux Lite in safe mode” selected:  Displays dozens of lines of scrolling screen messages but usually freezes on “7 urandom warnings missed due to ratelimiting”.  Sometimes begins scrolling messages again but then freezes after it displays a message like this:


    [56.914214] perf: interrupt took too long (2605 > 2500), lowering kernal.perf_event_max_sample_rate to 76750


    Or sometimes displays encouraging things like “Loading essential drivers… done", "Mounting root file system", "Running scripts/casper-premount... done".  But then it freezes

    4) Linux Mint: Similar to Linux Lite behavior in both regular and safe mode

    5) Old UBUNTU CD: Sometimes displays its welcome menu.  If select “Try without installing”, sometimes it displays the UBUNTU logo with rotating dots under it, as expected, but then always freezes


  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,891 Trailblazer

    Did you tap    ****  F12 key **** immediately after turning on laptop and before ACEER logo to boot from the USB stick?

    Jack E/NJ

  • Sky50
    Sky50 Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter

    @JackE,

    Yes, but I might have misunderstood your question.  Are you worried that the PC is not trying to boot from my Win10 or Linux USB drives?

     

    If so: yes, the PC is fetching OS code from the USB drives, because the Win10 logo displays on the PC screen when I boot from the Win10 USB and the Linux Lite menu and dozens of lines of Linux messages display on the screen when I boot from the Linux Lite USB.

     

    In my experience, once the BIOS boot order has been configured to prioritize either the internal HD or the external USB drive, it remembers that configuration indefinitely, so it is not necessary to recheck the boot order via F2 or F12.

     

    Does pressing the F12 key do something else besides display the boot order?  If so, what does it do, and how many times should I press it before the Acer BIOS logo appears?



  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,891 Trailblazer
    >>>Does pressing the F12 key do something else besides display the boot order?  >>>

    YES!!!  Repeatedly tap F12 IMMEDIATELY after turning the machine on. Don't wait for the ACER logo to appear. Win10 isn't the same as Win7.

    Jack E/NJ

  • Sky50
    Sky50 Member Posts: 26 Troubleshooter

    @JackE,

    Thanks for the additional information.

     

    I tried tapping F12 once per second for 120 seconds after I pressed the power button.  It appears to prevent the BIOS software from booting.  (The BIOS software displays the Acer logo, and the logo did not appear while I tapped the F12 key)

     

    A few seconds after I stopped tapping the F12 key, the Acer logo screen appeared as usual.  Then the PC proceeded to boot the Win10 UBS OS image as usual, but froze on the Win10 logo, as usual.

     

    I repeated that two-minute tapping procedure while booting from my Linux Lite OS USB, with the same results.  After I stopped tapping the F12 key, the Acer logo appeared as usual and the Linux Lite OS booted as usual.  Then it displayed an error message and froze as usual.

     

    If I tap the F12 key just five times after I press the power switch, my PC behaves the same way it did when I tapped it 120 times -- it merely delays the appearance of the Acer logo, but only for five seconds instead of 120 seconds.

     

    If I tap the F12 key after the Acer logo appears, it displays the BIOS boot order screen, as usual.  And the USB drive already is listed at the top of the boot priority, as expected, since I already had configured it that way.

     

    What does pressing the F12 key do besides display the BIOS boot order screen?  Does it somehow load the OS differently if you tap it before the BIOS software boots?  If so, should I tap F12 for five or ten minutes instead of just two minutes?

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