Acer Apsire 7741G freezes on the Acer Bootup screen

24

Respostas

  • Vinomino
    Vinomino Member Posts: 45

    Tinkerer

    editado junho 2020
    Wow, the machine was indeed manufactured in 2010. And the Battery says CR2032 on it. But it has only 3 volts. May that be the problem? I mean it has been there for at least 6 years. So I should change it. Can you recommend me one?

    Vino
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,900 Trailblazer
    Yep. Try changing it. New ones should be available in same section of stores that alkaline batteries are sold. CR2032 lithium batteries are very common. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Vinomino
    Vinomino Member Posts: 45

    Tinkerer

    editado junho 2020
    Then that is what I am going to do. Will a 3V one do? It did all the years. I will inform you if I can enter the BIOS with the new battery! Thank you very much.

    Vino
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,900 Trailblazer
    CR2032 is the one you want. It's labelled as nominal 3v but should be more than 3.3 volts when new. It slowly degrades. Below about 3.1 volts it's starts to lose its ability to keep BIOS charged especially if the machine is rarely turned on. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Vinomino
    Vinomino Member Posts: 45

    Tinkerer

    I finally got my hands on one of these CR2032 Batteries. I replaced the old one already and tried to enter the BIOS settings again.But it still freezes on "Entering SETUP". I thought the battery would be the problem, but it turns out it wasn't. I also reinserted the HHD again. Maybe it has something to do with it. I dont know what to do anymore.

    Vino
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,900 Trailblazer
    Remove the charger. Remove the battery pack. Remove the new coin battery. Remove memory module #2 if it's installed. Look for two small triangular-shaped gold-colored  bumps on the mainboard. Short those two bumps with a screw driver for about 30 seconds. Also press and hold the power button at the same time. Then button it back up with the new coin cell. Jack E/NJ


    Jack E/NJ

  • Vinomino
    Vinomino Member Posts: 45

    Tinkerer

    editado junho 2020
    What does shortening those two bumps do? I'm afraid I could break my laptop when doing that.

    Vino
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,900 Trailblazer
    Sorry but your laptop may already be broken. As long as the battery pack, coin cell and charger are removed, no additional damage can be done. Shorting the bumps are an attempt to discharge the mainboard so that it returns to a default state and does not freeze. If you are reluctant to do this yourself, I suggest that you take the machine to a local repair shop for an evaluation and estimated repair cost. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Vinomino
    Vinomino Member Posts: 45

    Tinkerer

    I attemped to short the bumps. I hope I did it correctly. I scratched  them with the screwdriver a little. But now the screen doesn't even show anything anymore. It is just black
    Is there any other thing I could do or is my laptop dead by now?

    Vino
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,900 Trailblazer
    Wait till the battery charge LED light turns from orange to blue. Then press & hold the F2 key again. Then turn the machine on. Release the F2 key after about 5 seconds. Report back with results. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Vinomino
    Vinomino Member Posts: 45

    Tinkerer

    editado junho 2020
    Either with battery and charger, with battery alone or charger alone. In every way it results into a black screen.

    Vino
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,900 Trailblazer
    When the machine is on, press the FN+F6 and FN+F5 toggle key combos to try to turn the screen on. If still no response, HDMI out to a TV set to see if it shows a screen using the FN+F5 toggle combo. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Vinomino
    Vinomino Member Posts: 45

    Tinkerer

    It has no effect. The monitor does not show any image.

    Vino
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,900 Trailblazer
    >>>It worked perfectly fine until I locked it away in the attic for 3 years. Now it's laying on my desk again.>>>

    Have you ever tried to update the BIOS firmware either before or after locking it away? Jack E/NJ




    Jack E/NJ

  • Vinomino
    Vinomino Member Posts: 45

    Tinkerer

    I don't think I ever accessed the BIOS ever with this laptop.

    Vino
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,900 Trailblazer
    Not access. But update.

    If you don't recall, then download and unzip the following compressed BIOS zip file on another machine.

    (1) Then in its unzipped DOS subdirectory, copy ONLY the WPH file & bigger EXE file to a USB pendrive with an activity light. 
    (2) Then google 'minidos.sys' and 'download'. Click on the download site for 'minidos.zip' and download this file.
    (3) Unzip the minidos.zip file and copy ONLY minidos.sys onto the same  pendrive.
    (4) The pendrive should now only have these 3 files. The WPH file, the bigger EXE file and the SYS file. No other files must be on this pendrive.
    (5) Turn your machine off. Insert the pendrive with the 3 files. Plug the charger in.
    (6) Then press & hold the FN+ESC. Then while still holding the two keys, press the power button to turn the machine on.
    (7) If the BIOS chip is undamaged, the pendrive's activity light will start blinking. You can then let go of the FN+ESC keys.
    (8) After the pendrive's activity light stops or the machine automatically shuts off, you can remove the pendrive and try to boot the machine again.

    Jack E/NJ


    Jack E/NJ

  • Vinomino
    Vinomino Member Posts: 45

    Tinkerer

    I am afraid I do not own an USB pen drive with an activity light. It seems like I have to get one if I want to proceed. I will answer when I got one.

    Vino
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,900 Trailblazer
    They are not too expensive. The smallest 4GB to 8GB capacity USB flash drives available today with an LED activity light are only a few $USD. It may not work but seems worth the gamble to try to save the machine. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • Vinomino
    Vinomino Member Posts: 45

    Tinkerer

    Hello!
    I finally got my hands on a USB Pendrive with an activity light.
    I am about to copy the files to the stick. With "bigger EXE file", do you mean by file size or do you mean the letters (.EXE or .exe)?
    Could you please also provide me the link to the minidos.zip file?

    Vino
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,900 Trailblazer
    (1) Bigger file size (uppercaseEXE & lowercase exe & mixedcase Exe mean all the same thing in Windows)
    (2) Then go to this link and download the compressed 7z recovery file. http://www.mediafire.com/?do1zlnrgnd1
    (3) Decompress the downloaded 7z file. In the directory created  copy the SYS file and only the SYS file to the USB stick.
    (4) The pendrive should now only have these 3 files. The WPH file, the bigger EXE (exe, Exe) file and the SYS file. No other files must be on this pendrive.
    (5) Turn your machine off. Insert the pendrive with the 3 files. Plug the charger in.
    (6) Then press & hold the FN+ESC. Then while still holding the two keys, press the power button to turn the machine on.
    (7) If the BIOS chip is undamaged, the pendrive's activity light will start blinking. You can then let go of the FN+ESC keys.
    (8) After the pendrive's activity light stops or the machine automatically shuts off, you can remove the pendrive and try to boot the machine again

    Jack E/NJ




    Jack E/NJ