Acer Nitro 5 515 - Black Screen/Graphical issue at start-up & sometimes on idle - Intermittent Issue

Mazorodo
Mazorodo Member Posts: 6

Tinkerer

Hi,

I bought this laptop in October 2020, the current issue is that it will either boot into Windows very slowly and have a graphical artefact rectangle at the top or it won't display anything and keyboard lights will just flash.

If I remove the battery and cmos connector to power reset it, it won't start for a couple of times, but then on the 3rd or so try, it will start fine with no problems and continue to work until the problem randomly happens or I power it off and power it on the next morning.

I can tell when the issue is happening on start-ups because the boot screen icon under "Acer", rotates very slowly. A completely unresponsive start-up can happen but is rare.

Some days, the problem doesn't happen at all, but eventually it comes back. No event seems to have triggered the issue, or continues to trigger it. I've inspected the interior and there's nothing obvious and no dust build-up.

Sometimes the issue happens on idle and will just be random, the screen will become unresponsive except the top rectangle, which will be fine, and where you can see the mouse move still.

I can see in other posts that it could be the wire that connects to the monitor being damaged from open/close, inspecting it, there doesn't seem to be any external damage, but can a break in the cable inside cause this issue to be so intermittent?  The laptop hasn't been excessively opened or closed, in fact it's the opposite, it usually remains open most of the time and used at home.

There are no errors or beeps to diagnose, all the diagnostics of battery/hdd/memory come back fine. Did a complete reinstall of windows, and the problem remains. Laptop isn't under warranty, so I'm just checking if there's anything anyone can advise before I send it to Acer repair or an independent. Thanks.




Best Answer

  • Mazorodo
    Mazorodo Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer

    Answer ✓

    I'd checked the cable connections and they were fine, so I've ended up replacing the screen, which has so far fixed the issue. Screen cost £62 with postage, and some 10mm double sided tape was £4, since this laptop screen is affixed with tape and not screws. It was a little fiddly taking off the old tape, but other than that, it was very easy to replace. Anyway thanks for the replies and advice.

Answers

  • Is the access to the bios also slow? Can you send a picture of the bios info tab? If only windows startup is slow, it is very likely that it is some problem related to ssd and ram memory. I would try to disconnect the lithium battery and then change the ram and the slot ssd, to see if it solves the problem or not:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyIwagLXZLA&t=49s
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L42eWDVhuXQ

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  • Mazorodo
    Mazorodo Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer

    Rev. 5.0
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-10300H CPU @ 2.50GHz
    v1.00
    Intel(R) GOP Driver [9.0.1105]
    HDD0 : WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-512G-1014
    SATA Mode: Optane with Raid
    Total Memory: 8192 MB
    Product Name : Nitro AN515-55

    Bios isn't slow at all just then, but the laptop restarted fine today, so I can't tell if Bios would be fine when the start-up is having it's issue. Yesterday it wouldn't start at all. So like I said, it's a very intermittent problem, which confuses me the most. I will check if BIOS is slow the next time it encounters the issue.

    Also, I ran a load of different diagnostic tools to check ram and SSD, and they all came out fine, but I haven't switched them out yet.

    I assumed that it might be the GTX 1660Ti or mainboard with the problem, the laptop does run fairly hot since I've had it, and weather has been really hot lately. I tried to track if the problem occurred with overheating, but it didn't seem to, in fact it seems to happen when the laptop is cold more than anything.
  • Try disabling fast startup in power options and let me know if the problem still occurs:

    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
    Se você gostou da minha resposta, marque como solução clicando em sim! If you liked my answer, mark it as a solution by clicking on yes!
    Aceite somente a resposta que ajudou a solucionar o seu problema! Please accept only the response that helped to solve your problem!
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                                                     egydiocoelho Trailblazer
     
    ProductKey clique aqui para descobrir o serial do windows! click here to discover the windows serial!
    Para usuários da comunidade inglesa, espanhola, francesa e alemã, usarei o google tradutor! :)
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  • Mazorodo
    Mazorodo Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer

    After working fine for a few days, the problem happened again randomly with no event, if I reboot and try to get into bios, it doesn't display properly. It displays a ghost screen of the desktop over the top of the bios and is frozen, only 1cm of the very top of the screen is displaying properly. More likely something to do with the cable to the screen?
  • Is your laptop under warranty?

    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
    Se você gostou da minha resposta, marque como solução clicando em sim! If you liked my answer, mark it as a solution by clicking on yes!
    Aceite somente a resposta que ajudou a solucionar o seu problema! Please accept only the response that helped to solve your problem!
    Detection tool click here to find the serial number or partnumber of your model!                                                          
                                                      
                                                     egydiocoelho Trailblazer
     
    ProductKey clique aqui para descobrir o serial do windows! click here to discover the windows serial!
    Para usuários da comunidade inglesa, espanhola, francesa e alemã, usarei o google tradutor! :)
    For users of the English, Spanish, French and German community, I will be using google translator! :) 
  • Mazorodo
    Mazorodo Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer

    No, I mentioned in the first post, it's not under warranty anymore. It's been almost 2 years since purchase, it had 1 year warranty. That's why I'd rather try and at least narrow down the issue before sending it be repaired. I will try and replace the laptop monitor cable first since that's a known issue and not expensive, but if there's any other ideas, I'd appreciate it.
  • Mazorodo
    Mazorodo Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer

    Incidentally I've just found out, using hdmi to connect another monitor, completely solves the problem, in duplicate mode, the laptop screen is malfunctioning, and the external monitor displays perfectly. Now I'm just not sure if it's the screen itself with the issue or the cable connecting it. Screen seems an expensive replacement cost.
  • Or it could just be that the edp cable is poorly connected to the motherboard or display.

    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
    Se você gostou da minha resposta, marque como solução clicando em sim! If you liked my answer, mark it as a solution by clicking on yes!
    Aceite somente a resposta que ajudou a solucionar o seu problema! Please accept only the response that helped to solve your problem!
    Detection tool click here to find the serial number or partnumber of your model!                                                          
                                                      
                                                     egydiocoelho Trailblazer
     
    ProductKey clique aqui para descobrir o serial do windows! click here to discover the windows serial!
    Para usuários da comunidade inglesa, espanhola, francesa e alemã, usarei o google tradutor! :)
    For users of the English, Spanish, French and German community, I will be using google translator! :) 
  • Mazorodo
    Mazorodo Member Posts: 6

    Tinkerer

    Answer ✓

    I'd checked the cable connections and they were fine, so I've ended up replacing the screen, which has so far fixed the issue. Screen cost £62 with postage, and some 10mm double sided tape was £4, since this laptop screen is affixed with tape and not screws. It was a little fiddly taking off the old tape, but other than that, it was very easy to replace. Anyway thanks for the replies and advice.

  • These videos may help other users:

    Note: ALWAYS DISCONNECT THE LITION BATTERY BEFORE CHANGING THE DISPLAY AND EDP CABLE.

    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
    Se você gostou da minha resposta, marque como solução clicando em sim! If you liked my answer, mark it as a solution by clicking on yes!
    Aceite somente a resposta que ajudou a solucionar o seu problema! Please accept only the response that helped to solve your problem!
    Detection tool click here to find the serial number or partnumber of your model!                                                          
                                                      
                                                     egydiocoelho Trailblazer
     
    ProductKey clique aqui para descobrir o serial do windows! click here to discover the windows serial!
    Para usuários da comunidade inglesa, espanhola, francesa e alemã, usarei o google tradutor! :)
    For users of the English, Spanish, French and German community, I will be using google translator! :)