Acer Predator G9-593 Black screen problem

DaleArellano · January 2020

Hello everyone,

This is my first time posting here. Not even sure if I selected the proper option to post this.

Anyway, I am having some trouble with my Acer Predator G9-593

The problem began after I forced shut down my laptop because I was playing around with the custom resolution on the Nvidia control panel.

The screen flickered black as I pressed test. It usually comes back if I pressed Escape to revert the settings. But it didn't come back. So I decided to let it sit for a while. A while longer, no response. Even pressing the power button didn't make the laptop go to sleep. That's when I decided to do the forced shut down.

The next time I tried to turn it on, the screen backlight didn't function. The predator startup sound is still ther. Minimal flash of hard disk indicator. Maybe it goes into windows recovery mode. The thing is the screen is blank.

I also tried to find some more interactions on the laptop by clicking the touchpad toggle button and keyboard backlight toggle (Fn + F9) but there is no response.

I also tried to access the bios by pressing F2 after pressing the power button (which used to work).

I suspect this is a BIOS corruption?

Last documented version is 1.04 based on the dxdiag information I took on my phone.

Here are the solutions I tried:
-Booting after disconnecting HDD (OS is on SSD). Did not work
-Pressing the battery reset button for 15 seconds (inside pinhole). Did not work

Then I've come across using specific files in BIOS recovery by using a specific boot step with the bios file copied into a flash drive. I've been able to extract the .bin file from a different laptop (using Acer 1.04 BIOS software from G9-593 support site). From what I've been reading so far, seems there's a bit different file name for my laptop for BIOS recovery to properly kick in (or perhaps it won't accept .fd?).

Here is some additional information I can provide:
- Warranty is unknown (2nd hand laptop)
- Screen won't power on no matter what to do
- Predator startup sound still there
- Charge port (beside thunderbolt port) still working
- Haven't tried to connect to external display as I don't have any external source until the weekend.
- CS:GO is open in background when I performed the forced shutdown (since screen is black by then)

I don't prefer the expensive way around (last resort though).
I am a bit knowledgeable in technical stuff.

If anyone can help me, it will be most appreciated (especially for the BIOS part) and if anyone can confirm that it is BIOS-related (since the laptop does not respond to BIOS entry button/some other basic functions).

System info:
Windows 10 Home 1903
Intel i7-6700HQ
NVidia GeForce GTX 1070 8GB
256GB SSD for OS
1TB HDD
20GB RAM (16GB + 4GB)
BIOS is v1.04
Battery life is excellent

DaleArellano · January 2020

egydiocoelho said:

How did you solve the problem?

Well. By the time that I got it to work by doing the drain thingy, I forgot to mention that I used DDU to uninstall the drivers before the black screen problem happened again. Been doing another battery drain sessions to no avail. About to go to my wit's end, I decided to leave the laptop at my apartment (and stsyed at my hometown without it). I poked the pinhole one last time before I left. I also did some reading about DDU causing black screens for pc and laptop systems. They recommended draining the BIOS to clear a random bit that seems to go into the BIOS. This afternoon (arriving back to my apartment), I was planning to disassemble the laptop to remove the CMOS battery. Out of curiosity I tried to boot the laptop first. It worked and I started installing the GPU again. No problems were encountered throughout.

I've also returned the 4GB RAM that was added in the unit.

Thank you for your inputs.

In short, the battery drain method worked for me. In my case tho, it needed a much longer time.

Commodore_1995# · February 2020

I have seen a similar problem, in which the user replaced the rtc battery. I also suggest that you check that this button is being pressed:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/2d/htg0nmqn5zyf.jpg

Procure um botão semelhante a este:

Commodore_1995# · January 2020

Please do not perform bios recovery. Have you checked if the image is displayed on an external monitor?

DaleArellano · January 2020

egydiocoelho said:

Please do not perform bios recovery. Have you checked if the image is displayed on an external monitor?

Hello egydiocoelho,

As mentioned, I won't be able to use an external display unless I go back to my home town this weekend.

Anyway, I haven't done anything else yet.

I'll give you guys update if anything comes up this weekend (or if I ever manage to find an external monitor in the process).

Thank you

Commodore_1995# · January 2020

Ok! Post the result here!

xapim · January 2020

DaleArellano if you already performed a battery powerdrain already this time try this press/hold for 30s and leave it to rest 2/3h to completely drain all capacitors then try to see if it boots fine if thats the case reset bios setup to defaults also check your ram (swap slots etc) and see if is there any kill switch next to it on your model if so make sure its properly pressed when the cover its in place good luck

DaleArellano · January 2020

xapim said:

DaleArellano if you already performed a battery powerdrain already this time try this press/hold for 30s and leave it to rest 2/3h to completely drain all capacitors then try to see if it boots fine if thats the case reset bios setup to defaults also check your ram (swap slots etc) and see if is there any kill switch next to it on your model if so make sure its properly pressed when the cover its in place good luck

Hello. By saying press/hold for 30 seconds, do you refer to the button in the pinhole? And by battery drain, I think the laptop is actually fully charged last night. By powerdrain you mean I leave it on and let it die out on its own? Or just the 30 seconds button press suffice? Thank you!

xapim · January 2020

DaleArellano yes the battery pinhole (for all older models 2017/18 and power button for 2019) by drain i mean dont touch it for 2/3h after the power drain procedure to drain all mobo capacitors from any static left again its a long shot but might work

DaleArellano · January 2020

egydiocoelho said:

Ok! Post the result here!

A follow up question here.

Will using DisplayPort at least expected to work? Or just the HDMI?

Also, is there any reason to avoid attempting in doing a BIOS recovery?

I really do hope that the laptop only requires re-format of windows 10. Otherwise I'll be alot worried on how to get it fixed.

Thank you!

DaleArellano · January 2020

xapim said:

DaleArellano yes the battery pinhole (for all older models 2017/18 and power button for 2019) by drain i mean dont touch it for 2/3h after the power drain procedure to drain all mobo capacitors

This is noted. Will try to boot it up after getting of from work. Then I'll give you an update later on. Much thanks!

xapim · January 2020

DaleArellano said:

show previous quotes

xapim said:

DaleArellano yes the battery pinhole (for all older models 2017/18 and power button for 2019) by drain i mean dont touch it for 2/3h after the power drain procedure to drain all mobo capacitors

This is noted. Will try to boot it up after getting of from work. Then I'll give you an update later on. Much thanks!

Hope it works

DaleArellano · January 2020

xapim said:

show previous quotes

DaleArellano said:

xapim said:

DaleArellano yes the battery pinhole (for all older models 2017/18 and power button for 2019) by drain i mean dont touch it for 2/3h after the power drain procedure to drain all mobo capacitors

This is noted. Will try to boot it up after getting of from work. Then I'll give you an update later on. Much thanks!

Hope it works

Hello everyone!

I did as you advised. I also tried removing the added RAM. Then tried booting. It seems to have rebooted on its own and it suddenly worked. Then I tried using it for a while. Then did a reboot to make sure there's no more problem. After that, black screen again. Back to square one. I tried to blindly operate the bios (holding f2 before pressing power key) and it actually restarted after pressing f9 then f10.

I have a feeling this is a faulty lcd panel? Where the board can't properly identify the display and had a fluke a while ago on the angle the lid was opened? I'm not so sure now.

Any ideas?

Commodore_1995# · January 2020

Does your notebook display have gsync? Is the image displayed on an external monitor?

DaleArellano · January 2020

egydiocoelho said:

Does your notebook display have gsync? Is the image displayed on an external monitor?

Hello,

Yes, it has gsync.

I will only be able to test for external display tomorrow since I will only be able to have an external display tomorrow (it is a portable lcd projector with HDMI connector borrowed from a friend).

Commodore_1995# · January 2020

You can connect the notebook to your TV and check if the image is displayed.

DaleArellano · January 2020

egydiocoelho said:

You can connect the notebook to your TV and check if the image is displayed.

The problem is that there is no available TV here since the place I stay on weekdays is only work (sleep, eat, etc). So basically, I cannot do any troubleshooting that involve external displays

Commodore_1995# · January 2020

So I suggest you wait for your friend to hand over the projector so you can test it out.

DaleArellano · January 2020

egydiocoelho said:

So I suggest you wait for your friend to hand over the projector so you can test it out.

Okay. Will post another update if something comes up

DaleArellano · January 2020

DaleArellano said:

show previous quotes

egydiocoelho said:

So I suggest you wait for your friend to hand over the projector so you can test it out.

Okay. Will post another update if something comes up

Hello,

I have now tried connecting to an external display (portable lcd projector via hdmi) just shows no signal.
I also tried pressing the power button then closing the lid hoping that it might somehow switch to hdmi. Still does not work. Any advice?

Commodore_1995# · January 2020

Is it possible that the custom resolution may have corrupted the bios or even damaged the nvidia chip?

DaleArellano · January 2020

egydiocoelho said:

Is it possible that the custom resolution may have corrupted the bios or even damaged the nvidia chip?

I do not know. But I hope it is not the gpu that has been damaged. Is there a way to know? Will doing a bios recovery work to some extent? If you will also re-read, I managed to boot properly one time, but again black screen after reboot. Could this point to lcd issue? Or lousy bios that had a fluke in a successful boot?

If you can guide me with the bios thingy, I would like to try that path.

Thank you

Commodore_1995# · January 2020

I'm not sure. Try disconnecting disconnecting the edp cable from the motherboard and plug an external monitor into the hdmi port. This will force the system to attempt to display an image on the external monitor.