PH315-51 showing black screen after one hour of web surfing

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Answers

  • badaltharayil
    badaltharayil Member Posts: 45 Devotee WiFi Icon
    @Aqeel09: you can find the bios setup in one of my previous comments or also you can find links provided by other members. Just download the file...start the setup....make sure your laptop is connected to power brick.
  • Roland_Lorinczi
    Roland_Lorinczi Member Posts: 126 Skilled Fixer WiFi Icon
    Answer ✓
    Hi All!
    So NEW BIOS IS IN! 
    You'll find them under the following links ( for PH315-51 & PH317-52 respectively. If you have a different model, click "Find another model")
    https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/7603?b=1
    https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/7602?b=1

    For PH315-51 you'll find the New BIOS by clicking on ALL rather than LATEST. For 317-52 by clicking on LATEST rather than ALL.
    The BIOS name is: "1. Fix system hangup issue".

    📝 Steps to update:

    1. Download the BIOS for your system
    2. Unzip File
    3. You'll find an executable (.exe) and a readme.txt hat shows you that your next instruction is:
    4. Click the .exe file while in windows
    Just finished mine. So far so good 😊

    The process is the same as before when windows update flashed it:
    • Follow the executable's instructions to the letter!
    • Have your laptop plugged in!
    • The fans will ramp up to max while flashing the firmware.
      Then it will do 2, seemingly boot loops where keyboard lights go on and off but system won't start yet (presumably some checks)
      Then the system should boot.

    Good luck all! Let me know if anything is unclear or you're stuck with something - glad to help.

    ❓ Windows Device Manager however shows BIOS to be v1.12 still. Will check what it says INSYDE (pun intended-get it? cause the BIOS is by Insyde corp? :P) the BIOS and report back.



    So far so good though. My system used to have some mini-hangs upon boot while if i wanted to start something like chrome too soon or something it would freeze for a split second along with the mouse and that seems gone...so I'm optimistic :D 


    ⚠️ If you're affected by the System Hang/ Black Screen issue:

    Official Fix Announced by Acer_Manny
    Instructions for FIX

    Currently owned Acer systems:
    💻 Predator Helios 300 (PH317-52) - i7 8750H, GTX 1060, Win 10 64bit (build 1803), 8gb Ram (single channel), WD Blue 256GB SSD in M.2 slot, 931GB Hitachi HGST factory Hard drive. [Owned New Since 2018, May 22nd - Overheating (solved-ish) , PredatorSense not working (solved) & BLACK SCREEN ISSUE (BIOS update 1.15) ] 
    💻 Predator Helios 300 (PH315-51) - Same specs and issues as above 
    💻 Aspire 5750G - 2nd Gen. i5 processor, 4gigs of ram, nVidia GT 540M [Owned new Since 2010 - in working condition]
     
    :) Status: Been with Acer since 2010 - Was disappointed with the Blackscreen issue & lack of interaction from staff for ~1week
    But Acer_Manny and the Acer team came through with BIOS announcement and upload.
  • Roland_Lorinczi
    Roland_Lorinczi Member Posts: 126 Skilled Fixer WiFi Icon
    Okay so can confirm, within the BIOS it indeed says it's v1.15 (Image below)
    Also: Be mindful that any settings you changed in the BIOS before, you'll have to re-do in the current one - they don't carry over.
    For example Touchpad: Basic -> Advanced for multi-touch and gestures to work.


    ⚠️ If you're affected by the System Hang/ Black Screen issue:

    Official Fix Announced by Acer_Manny
    Instructions for FIX

    Currently owned Acer systems:
    💻 Predator Helios 300 (PH317-52) - i7 8750H, GTX 1060, Win 10 64bit (build 1803), 8gb Ram (single channel), WD Blue 256GB SSD in M.2 slot, 931GB Hitachi HGST factory Hard drive. [Owned New Since 2018, May 22nd - Overheating (solved-ish) , PredatorSense not working (solved) & BLACK SCREEN ISSUE (BIOS update 1.15) ] 
    💻 Predator Helios 300 (PH315-51) - Same specs and issues as above 
    💻 Aspire 5750G - 2nd Gen. i5 processor, 4gigs of ram, nVidia GT 540M [Owned new Since 2010 - in working condition]
     
    :) Status: Been with Acer since 2010 - Was disappointed with the Blackscreen issue & lack of interaction from staff for ~1week
    But Acer_Manny and the Acer team came through with BIOS announcement and upload.
  • Marathi_Manus
    Marathi_Manus Member Posts: 27 Enthusiast WiFi Icon
    Fingers crossed on bios solving the issue. I will definitely say solved if it works flawlessly for straight two weeks.
    Anywho, assuming bios solves issue Acer should definitely pay all ppl involved in this thread. We are all beta testers here. Just a thought. 
  • Roland_Lorinczi
    Roland_Lorinczi Member Posts: 126 Skilled Fixer WiFi Icon
    @Marathi_Manus I'm just happy that they came through in the end :)

    And expecting them to pay us seems a bit far fetched xD

    I'm happy just to think I contributed a bit and helped people on here by troubleshooting and making a bit of noise so they do something 😅 

    I mean if they wanna offer something for our inconvenience so they save some brand perception and loyalty with us, It's not like i'd refuse 
    😅 xD
    But I really don't think they will and I'll be happy at an okay level if just the BIOS works and I have no issues with the system anymore :) 

    @Acer-Manny Again: Thank you. And thanks to the guys from Taiwan from Headquarters, everyone that made it happen.

    Yes: I would've preferred to have someone stay in touch with us for the duration of the fix, and maybe connect us willing testers with the team working on the fix...

    But in the end you guys came out with an official solution in a couple of days shy from a month from the first report of this issue by the first poster in this thread...I'll call this a decent-ish resolution in my book in the end...Not an okay one but it worked out for me for now (for many it didn't and they returned units etc...) so...yeah...I think there is much to learn from this case.

    Yet I wish to thank you for your efforts and patience with us pulling through this.
    ⚠️ If you're affected by the System Hang/ Black Screen issue:

    Official Fix Announced by Acer_Manny
    Instructions for FIX

    Currently owned Acer systems:
    💻 Predator Helios 300 (PH317-52) - i7 8750H, GTX 1060, Win 10 64bit (build 1803), 8gb Ram (single channel), WD Blue 256GB SSD in M.2 slot, 931GB Hitachi HGST factory Hard drive. [Owned New Since 2018, May 22nd - Overheating (solved-ish) , PredatorSense not working (solved) & BLACK SCREEN ISSUE (BIOS update 1.15) ] 
    💻 Predator Helios 300 (PH315-51) - Same specs and issues as above 
    💻 Aspire 5750G - 2nd Gen. i5 processor, 4gigs of ram, nVidia GT 540M [Owned new Since 2010 - in working condition]
     
    :) Status: Been with Acer since 2010 - Was disappointed with the Blackscreen issue & lack of interaction from staff for ~1week
    But Acer_Manny and the Acer team came through with BIOS announcement and upload.
  • Roland_Lorinczi
    Roland_Lorinczi Member Posts: 126 Skilled Fixer WiFi Icon
    edited June 2018
    Okay so I did a file compare on the BIOS for PH315-51 & PH317-52.
    Apparently they are identical and compatible.
    So I'm uploading the zip file here for convenience :) (someone said it won't appear for them on the product support page, this should work though ^_^)
    ⚠️ If you're affected by the System Hang/ Black Screen issue:

    Official Fix Announced by Acer_Manny
    Instructions for FIX

    Currently owned Acer systems:
    💻 Predator Helios 300 (PH317-52) - i7 8750H, GTX 1060, Win 10 64bit (build 1803), 8gb Ram (single channel), WD Blue 256GB SSD in M.2 slot, 931GB Hitachi HGST factory Hard drive. [Owned New Since 2018, May 22nd - Overheating (solved-ish) , PredatorSense not working (solved) & BLACK SCREEN ISSUE (BIOS update 1.15) ] 
    💻 Predator Helios 300 (PH315-51) - Same specs and issues as above 
    💻 Aspire 5750G - 2nd Gen. i5 processor, 4gigs of ram, nVidia GT 540M [Owned new Since 2010 - in working condition]
     
    :) Status: Been with Acer since 2010 - Was disappointed with the Blackscreen issue & lack of interaction from staff for ~1week
    But Acer_Manny and the Acer team came through with BIOS announcement and upload.
  • Hyperblaze
    Hyperblaze Member Posts: 1 New User
    edited June 2018
    What if some power-cut happens in the middle of the process? Will I screw up my system or it will continue through battery?

  • Manny-Acer_Retired
    Manny-Acer_Retired Newbie Posts: 4,453 Guru
    Answer ✓

    Hi all,

     

    The official BIOS v.1.15 update (to resolve this system hang up, force shut-down then black screen issues) is now available here

    Special thanks to Roland_Lorinczi for keeping up with this thread and keeping everyone informed as well.

     

    Thank you all again for your patience,

    Acer-Manny 

  • Manny-Acer_Retired
    Manny-Acer_Retired Newbie Posts: 4,453 Guru
    Hi Hyperblaze - for the BIOS update it is always recommended to have the charger connected while performing the update in your system to avoid power-cuts or unexpected shut-downs from happening. 

    Thanks,
    Acer-Manny
  • Manny-Acer_Retired
    Manny-Acer_Retired Newbie Posts: 4,453 Guru
    Hi Aqeel09,

    You can follow the steps from the following official article/link: https://us.answers.acer.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/55828

    Thanks,
    Acer-Manny
  • sri369
    sri369 ACE Posts: 2,623 Pathfinder
    @Roland_Lorinczi
    Nice to know buddy that your issue is now closed. Waiting on the G3-572 bios update to hit the downloads page.
    Karma...
    LIKE - if helpful
    ACCEPT - if helped resolve
    ---------
    Nitro 7 - AN715-51 - user benchmark: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/37631045
  • Brigadier
    Brigadier Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    @Roland_Lorinczi Just asking, if I update the bios while charging and a power cut occours, will the system switch to battery power (considering the battery is above 80%) or I bricked my device?
  • Roland_Lorinczi
    Roland_Lorinczi Member Posts: 126 Skilled Fixer WiFi Icon
    @Brigadier An unexpected shutdown during a BIOS flash can indeed brick your PC. Especially since it's a laptop and the BIOS chip is more likely soldered to the motherboard than socketed. I can't say if it switches to battery power or not in that state, while flashing the BIOS. 
    If you feel uncomfortable flashing the BIOS yourself, if you have frequent unexpected power outages and especially if you're still covered by warranty I'd suggest you contact ACER, your local service center, and ask them to do it for you.
    ⚠️ If you're affected by the System Hang/ Black Screen issue:

    Official Fix Announced by Acer_Manny
    Instructions for FIX

    Currently owned Acer systems:
    💻 Predator Helios 300 (PH317-52) - i7 8750H, GTX 1060, Win 10 64bit (build 1803), 8gb Ram (single channel), WD Blue 256GB SSD in M.2 slot, 931GB Hitachi HGST factory Hard drive. [Owned New Since 2018, May 22nd - Overheating (solved-ish) , PredatorSense not working (solved) & BLACK SCREEN ISSUE (BIOS update 1.15) ] 
    💻 Predator Helios 300 (PH315-51) - Same specs and issues as above 
    💻 Aspire 5750G - 2nd Gen. i5 processor, 4gigs of ram, nVidia GT 540M [Owned new Since 2010 - in working condition]
     
    :) Status: Been with Acer since 2010 - Was disappointed with the Blackscreen issue & lack of interaction from staff for ~1week
    But Acer_Manny and the Acer team came through with BIOS announcement and upload.
  • badaltharayil
    badaltharayil Member Posts: 45 Devotee WiFi Icon
    @Acer-Manny @Roland_Lorinczi

    : I am experiencing minor lags of about 1 sec when trying to open or close apps and also  when switching on bluetooth or wifi. 
  • vedang55
    vedang55 Member Posts: 21 Networker
    edited June 2018
    @Acer-Manny @Roland_Lorinczi

    : I am experiencing minor lags of about 1 sec when trying to open or close apps and also  when switching on bluetooth or wifi. 
    Its a fairly common issue prevalent on a lot of laptops with nvidia optimus, It has been fixed in the latest windows insider builds, its only a matter of time before a stable windows build with the fix is released. 
    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-performance/critical-bug-intel-nvidia-laptop-freeze-problem/93e7004a-62b1-4211-8e37-4c136608865e
  • badaltharayil
    badaltharayil Member Posts: 45 Devotee WiFi Icon
    vedang55 said:
    @Acer-Manny @Roland_Lorinczi

    : I am experiencing minor lags of about 1 sec when trying to open or close apps and also  when switching on bluetooth or wifi. 
    Its a fairly common issue prevalent on a lot of laptops with nvidia optimus, It has been fixed in the latest windows insider builds, its only a matter of time before a stable windows build with the fix is released. 
    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-performance/critical-bug-intel-nvidia-laptop-freeze-problem/93e7004a-62b1-4211-8e37-4c136608865e
    I will wait for an update then. Thank you for letting me know. 
  • badaltharayil
    badaltharayil Member Posts: 45 Devotee WiFi Icon
    @Roland_Lorinczi
    : Do you face any issue while watching videos. I am facing some serious stuttering my video drivers are updated dont know why :(

  • Roland_Lorinczi
    Roland_Lorinczi Member Posts: 126 Skilled Fixer WiFi Icon
    @badaltharayil No I'm not. We've been watching Doctor Who episodes with no issues yesterday and today...
    Hm if drivers updated I'm not sure what might cause it...try troubleshooting steps to narrow it down:

    1: Does it stutter in browser videos or offline videos as well?
    2: Try multiple video players offline
    3: do check for driver updates with windows update
    4: oh and a quick google for "stuttering video" brings up a couple of articles about fixing video stutter issues after windows 10, do check those out too and let me know if anything gets you anywhere or if you managed to narrow the issue down at all and we'll see what we can do next if you didn't manage to solve it yet  :)
    ⚠️ If you're affected by the System Hang/ Black Screen issue:

    Official Fix Announced by Acer_Manny
    Instructions for FIX

    Currently owned Acer systems:
    💻 Predator Helios 300 (PH317-52) - i7 8750H, GTX 1060, Win 10 64bit (build 1803), 8gb Ram (single channel), WD Blue 256GB SSD in M.2 slot, 931GB Hitachi HGST factory Hard drive. [Owned New Since 2018, May 22nd - Overheating (solved-ish) , PredatorSense not working (solved) & BLACK SCREEN ISSUE (BIOS update 1.15) ] 
    💻 Predator Helios 300 (PH315-51) - Same specs and issues as above 
    💻 Aspire 5750G - 2nd Gen. i5 processor, 4gigs of ram, nVidia GT 540M [Owned new Since 2010 - in working condition]
     
    :) Status: Been with Acer since 2010 - Was disappointed with the Blackscreen issue & lack of interaction from staff for ~1week
    But Acer_Manny and the Acer team came through with BIOS announcement and upload.
  • Red-Sand
    Red-Sand ACE Posts: 1,892 Pathfinder
    @Roland_Lorinczi
    : Do you face any issue while watching videos. I am facing some serious stuttering my video drivers are updated dont know why :(

    If you're using Chrome, please try disabling Hardware Acceleration and give it another try. 
    - Hotel Hero
  • NISHANT_7
    NISHANT_7 Member Posts: 2 New User
    I've updated the bios on my Predator PH315-51 but after that every time I'm getting options like "update and shutdown" and "update and restart" instead of "shutdown" and "restart" respectively. Is this normal? Is this the case with every laptop of the same model?
This discussion has been closed.