Acer 5560G BSOD

cdestratis
cdestratis Member Posts: 13 New User

Hello,

 

A friend of mine has recently given me their laptop to fix and after many hours of researching I couldn't find a direct answer to the issue.

 

Basically, after turning it on it will display a black screen and nothing else, my friend explained that this started happening after install windows updates, so I'm suspected a correct BIOS update has caused this because multiple other users on other forums have reported similar issues.

 

Where and how do I restore the BIOS?

 

Regards,

Chris

«1

Answers

  • Vince53
    Vince53 Member Posts: 805 Practitioner WiFi Icon

    Chris, maybe it's me, but I believe that when you get a black screen, you have a hard drive failure. Try to get in through Safe Mode, and if you can, run a deep scan with the anti-virus. If that doesn't work, try to borrow a legal copy of the OS on a DVD, and that MIGHT take you to a repair screen.

  • cdestratis
    cdestratis Member Posts: 13 New User

    I'm sorry, I don't think I explained myself quite clearly.

     

    When I say it's getting a black screen, I meant that when you turn it on the screen is black and nothing else, the power light and front panel lights are on but it's as if the laptop is off, there is no writing or movement on the screen at all, therefore I cannot get into safe mode or access any other recovery options.


    And before anyone asks, yes I've flashed a bright light close to the screen to see if the backlight is working and there's nothing.

     

    Another thing I forgot to mention is it's running Windows 7, and the laptop itself is only <2 years old with very little use.

  • Vince53
    Vince53 Member Posts: 805 Practitioner WiFi Icon

    Chris, it would then be a hardware problem. If your monitor cable has failed, it's not too big a deal to have a reputable computer shop repair it.

  • cdestratis
    cdestratis Member Posts: 13 New User

    Could you explain how you came to that conclusion?

     

    I honestly do not think it is the hard drive, purely because nothing points to it. Who said anything about a monitor cable also?

  • Vince53
    Vince53 Member Posts: 805 Practitioner WiFi Icon

    Elementary.

     

    When you turn on your laptop, the electricity has to work. You have to see if the lights are flashing.

     

    If the electricity is working, it turns on the BIOS chip. The BIOS chip will then turn on the CPU and send an image (usually an advertisement) to the screen, showing that the monitor cable and the monitor are both working.

     

    Since nothing appears on the screen, either your BIOS chip or CPU have failed (very unlikely) or your monitor cable or monitor have failed.

  • cdestratis
    cdestratis Member Posts: 13 New User

    I'm not quite understanding what you're trying to suggest.

     

    I've plugged in an external monitor and that does not display anything, so it has nothing to do with the laptop's screen.

     

    It's quite clear that it's a corrupt BIOS, I just need the correct tools/instructions in order to restore it.

  • Vince53
    Vince53 Member Posts: 805 Practitioner WiFi Icon

    You're right; it's not the monitor cable.

     

    You can try borrowing a legal copy of your operating system and see if that will get you to a repair screen. But if your CPU has failed, that won't work. If it is a BIOS problem, it might work.

     

    Did you do something to your BIOS before this happened?

  • cdestratis
    cdestratis Member Posts: 13 New User

    I don't think I'll be able to get to a repair screen, and even if I could I wouldn't be able to see it.

     

    I was told that this started happening after Windows automatic updates were installed, so perhaps it was accidentally turned off while it was updating, corrupting the system?

  • Vince53
    Vince53 Member Posts: 805 Practitioner WiFi Icon

    That can happen. I would take it to a reputable computer repair shop and see what they say.

  • cdestratis
    cdestratis Member Posts: 13 New User

    I'd much rather fix it myself, and I'm more than capable of doing so but the problem is I don't know what's wrong with it!

     

    I hope I'm not coming off as rude but there has to be somebody out there that has had similar issues with this model Acer?

     

    I appreciate your help Vince!

  • cdestratis
    cdestratis Member Posts: 13 New User

    Bump, Acer surely has to shed some light on this issue? After having a read through this forum it looks like I'm not the only person experiencing this problem.

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,869 Trailblazer

    OK. I'll give it a shot.

     

    First, connect to a TV with an HDMI cable or a VGA monitor. Turn it on and press Fn + F5 or F6 toggle combos to see if you can get an external screen. Did you use these toggles when you tried an external monitor earlier?

     

    Report back with results.

     

    Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • cdestratis
    cdestratis Member Posts: 13 New User

    I didn't try to toggle displays when I connected it to an external monitor but I just connected it via HDMI to my TV and tried the toggles, still no display.

     

    I'm very certain it's the BIOS, it's like the laptop is turning on but not getting anywhere, you can't even hear the HDD power on.

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,869 Trailblazer

    OK. Next step.

     

    Click this link and scroll to the bottom for comments by ScottyC. This is a way to re-set the bios.

     

    http://community.acer.com/t5/Notebooks-Netbooks/Black-screen-Acer-Aspire-3810T/td-p/200753/page/2

     

    Report back.

     

    Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • cdestratis
    cdestratis Member Posts: 13 New User

    I read what Scotty wrote but not seeing any instructions on how to recover/reset the BIOS?

     

    I've already done a power-drain multiple times and I've reset the CMOS.

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,869 Trailblazer

    Other than making sure you're power-draining long enough to clear the bios memory and force it to re-set into default mode, I don't think it was Scotty's intention to re-set in another way. If you're sure you given the power-drain enough time, and tried  pressing Fn + Esc bios recovery routine for up 10mins,  then how about the other questions he asked about seeing any LED flash codes or heaaring any beep codes during the power on self test?

     

    Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • cdestratis
    cdestratis Member Posts: 13 New User

    Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought there were a set of instructions/files needed to recover a BIOS?

     

    I'm sure I've successfully power-drained the laptop, there are no beep or flash codes that I know of.

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,869 Trailblazer

    As you already know from your query, bios are usually flash memory chips on the MB these days. Like a USB memory stick. The factory-installed firmware or program on them can obviously be overwritten or flashed so to speak. I think Scotty's suggestion is aimed at re-setting this kind of a chip to all factory default memory settings in the event someone or something had changed one or more of its graphics memory settings improperly or inadvertantly. This, of course, assumes the bios version firmware program on the chip hasn't been somehow corrupted which I think you're suggesting.

     

    If it indeed has been somehow corrupted essentially disabling all the video among other things the bios is supposed to be testing during powering up , my suggestion is to download the same bios firmware that came on the machine from the Acer site, get it on a USB stick, and press & hold the Fn + Esc keys while on powering on to re-program the chip from the stick. You may have to change the .rom or .123 extension on one of the downloaded files to the .fd extension for the flash program to do its thing.

     

    Jack E/NJ         

    Jack E/NJ

  • cdestratis
    cdestratis Member Posts: 13 New User

    Okay, so I downloaded the BIOS from Acer's website:

     

    BIOS.PNG

     

    I'm not seeing any files with the extension .123 or .ROM?

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,869 Trailblazer

    OK, what filenames and extensions do you see?

     

    Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

This discussion has been closed.