SFE16-42R8WB does not turn on, plugged in, both power lights blue, but nothing else happens.

rickgon
rickgon Member Posts: 9

Tinkerer
edited August 31 in Swift and Spin Series

Hi all,

It's plugged in, both power lights blue, keyboard backlight is on. But nothing else happens.

I have tried: - unplugging, press battery pinhole switch off for 25 seconds, unplug, wait for one hour, plug in and fully charge. Result: same, nothing happens.
What else can I do to troubleshoot before I send this off to Acer repair?

[Edited the thread to add issue detail]

Answers

  • Puraw
    Puraw ACE, Member Posts: 13,527 Trailblazer
    edited August 30
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/711764/sfe16-42r8wb-does-not-turn-on

    What USB-C charger are you using, is this a 100-Watt laptop charger with a fixed 10Amp DC cord like the USB-C charger that comes with the unit or a universal charger? Make sure that the original USB-C charger is directly plugged in a properly working grounded electrical wall outlet and not a power strip or extension cord. The battery may be bad or an issue with the power button. I recommend bringing the laptop and charger to Acer Services in your country.

  • rickgon
    rickgon Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    Thank you,

    I am using the original supplied 65W charger.

    Yes, I have shipped off the computer to Temple, Texas before. That time it was because the second usb-c had broken, and they replaced the motherboard.

    I would like to take a few more days to see if i can solve this myself. If not I will submit a ticket for repair again.

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,204 Trailblazer
    edited August 31
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/711764/sfe16-42r8wb-does-not-turn-on

    Some further advice as this problem could be fixed with a simple reset, as the problem that your Swift SFE16-42 laptop is having is that the EC and chipset chips keeps freezing and needs resetting, as doing a reset battery with the back pin hole will do nothing, as the the only fix is a Hard Reset that may fix this problem as its EC programmed chip or Chipset chip can’t execute the boot process and needs unfreezing which can only be done by opening the back cover.

    If you don’t want to send your laptop back to Acer Tech support and wait for the repairs? As I don't know and I can't guarantee if this will void the warranty? As these Swift laptops back, covers need a tool to pry open and are tricky to open, as you could scratch the back cover. so, if you are prepared to still take the back cover off and do a Hard Reset, then go for it.

    Btw, I've got a Swift SFX14-51G and I've opened the back cover and put tape around the starting pry top areas and used a tool to open the back, so you could probably do it that way to avoid scratching the cover,, as I did it that way to open my Swift laptop to upgrade its Gen 3x4 fitted Acer M.2 drive which has a Gen 4 slot so I upgraded the M.2 drive to a Gen 4 x4 SSD drive the 1TB Samsung 990 Pro M.2 and that is why I know how to open these Swift back covers, so I speak from personal experience, Anyway, it's up to you to do this, as I don't think that opening the back cover will void your warranty, but please check with Acer in your country.

    How to do a Hard Reset:

    Unscrew the ten (10) screws of the back cover, pry the right edge side first to release the latches of the back cover to release the back cover open, take the main battery out first, disconnect the bios battery and then short the bios batteries + & - pins at the mainboard plug and take the ram out, leave the laptop like that for at least 15 min and then reconnect everything.

    Opening the back cover of the SFE16-42 latop:

    image.png
    image.png

    Swift SFE16-42 RTC/BIOS battery plug on the mainboard where you need to short its + & - pins to reset CMOS:

    image.png

    If the laptop still doesn't boot properly and you get a black/blank screen, then send your Swift back to Acer support as the new mainboard is faulty for the laptop to not boot. Good luck and hope all 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👍

  • rickgon
    rickgon Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1294632#Comment_1294632

    Thank you StevenGen, wow that is certainly an involved suggestion! I am not so confident in my abilities to remove the back cover, etc. But I will think about it.

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,313 Trailblazer

    You have done the primary diagnosis steps, with the battery reset using the reset button. So we can assume it's likely not an issue with the battery reporting a full charge when it's actually empty. That leads us to want to look at the POST process or the display itself. When you attempt to turn it on you should hear the fan start up, then settle into a steady but quiet running mode. If instead the fan just turns off entirely then we know POST is not executing, so you can't get any farther into the boot routing. That type of failure is often a bad CMOS chip or corrupted BIOS. If the fan continues to run do you hear that one short beep that normally occurs at the end of POST? That would indicate it's getting through the self tests and the display isn't working. You might be able to plug an external monitor in to verify that. With most any of these, getting a ticket started with Acer support is likely the best next step.

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • rickgon
    rickgon Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1294709#Comment_1294709

    Thank you. Sorry I thought I had replied already. Unfortunately no, no beep, and fan did not turn on.

    And I did have it connected to external monitor both HDMI and USB-C ports but didn’t turn on either. So it wasn't just a built-in display gone bad.

    Am taking it to UPS today, on its way to Acer Repair Center.

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,313 Trailblazer

    Let us know what they end up finding…

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • rickgon
    rickgon Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    I sent in the computer to Acer repair in TX and it came back a week later with the repair report stating they had replaced the motherboard.
    It had no battery charge so I plugged in and let it charge for a few minutes then turned it on.
    I was able to change the PIN as directed by Windows, then verified I could at least use the browser.
    Turned it off and left it overnight. The next day, thinking it should have been charged with power, turned it on. Nothing happened, did not boot just like before. I tried some of the remedies advised on the forum like turning it off and on five times to see if Windows emergency boot (or whatever it's called, can't remember right now). Did the battery reset button. Let the battery discharge, then recharge. Nope nothing.
    I called the support number, and an overseas call center picked up.

    They wanted me to do troubleshooting steps. I told them (a bit sarcastically and a bit loudly) that I had done a lot of trouble shooting over the last two days. So please enter a report that I was complaining about the repair job. He created a new ticket, told me he was giving me an RMA. I sent the PC back in with a note tucked in with the PC to please refresh the BIOS software and maybe even Windows as the motherboard did not seem to be the problem, and check the battery too. A week later received it back.

    The repair report said they had replaced the motherboard again(!). It did not indicate anything else they had done.
    This time after charging up with power, I turned it on and Windows came up asking for a new PIN.
    I confirmed that Windows had not been reinstalled, all my programs were still there, all my data was still there.
    After doing that, I went to Acer support site, verified that the correct latest firmware (BIOS Update Insyde Security patch for LOGO fail Acer 2024/03/26 1.10) was installed. Then downloaded the chipset software and installed it. Yes the one on the Acer support site, not whatever AMD has on their website. I also ran AMD Software Adrenalin and made sure to turn OFF the auto download and install software switch.
    The laptop seems to work ok now.

    I apologize that I can not say what went wrong and what fixed it.

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,313 Trailblazer

    Thanks for the report, most often we don't hear back at all, so any info is good info. :)

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.

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