The Laptop Will Not Start...

Greetings Peeps,
A neighbour of mine with a 2 year old Acer aspire E15 running Win 8.1 plugged a USB power cable into the USB 3.0 slot and the laptop stopped.
It now refuses to boot up. Pressing the start button switches on the internal fan and lights up the blue led power bulb. The hdd light stays off and the screen stays black.
I have done the removing power supply and holding the button down for 30 seconds but no change.
The laptop will not start...

Any thoughts or suggestions are truly welcome.
Many thanks,
s.

 

It seems the motherboard is fried.

 

Have you pulled the battery, and held down the power button for at least thirty seconds?

 

Yes I think you're probably right. Pity it's a few months past its guarantee.

Yes...

Thanks anyway...
s.

 

Did you pull the HDD, and see if it will POST?

 

I opened up the machine to find 3 ribbon cables attached to the motherboard which need to be disconnected before you can remove the HDD. I was not to eager to go forward. The ribbon connectors are particularly difficult to open (without breaking them). I do prefer working on desktops.
I thought I should post a thread on my favourite forum to ask for advice.

Do you mean will it boot up without the drive?
Many thanks for your response,
s.

 

POST (Power-On Self-Test)

s.

 

Yes, I mean without the HDD. Have you reseated the RAM?

 

Apologies for not being back to you earlier. I gave the laptop back to my neighbour.
I was a little terrified by the ribbon cables which need to be removed to take the HDD out. The motherboard then needs to be removed to get to the RAM. I am happy to do it but it pays to be cautious. I do have a couple of spare SATA drives that I'm not using but there is no windows sticker on the base of the machine. All seems a headache.
If it was my machine I would go ahead but I suggested it was taken to a professional.
Thanks for the guidance,
s.

 

Like an itch that I can't stop scratching I came across some interesting faults with Acer laptops. One Youtube solution fixes a laptop very similar to my neighbour's problem. The power light turns on and you can hear the fan but nothing on the screen.
The video shows how to update the BIOS from a flash USB. Holding the FN and Esc buttons down with the USB stick plugged in and then pressing the power button.
I went to the Acer support site and downloaded the latest BIOS update but the zip file only held a Windows exe file. Not suitable for a flash drive.
I have just found a different BIOS update file .
It doesn't hold a DOS directory just a Windows exe file so I can't use it.
Any thoughts are truly welcomed,
s.

 

Some bios's can be updated from windows. I updated the Acer desktop I have about 3 yrs ago. If I remember right I did it from Windows. My main fix was related to "Secure boot isn't configured right" watermark. But read this quick little thread of other files and methods of updating. Some things are changing all the time.

https://forums.techguy.org/threads/solved-flash-bios-update-acer.1056552/

 

My money (if I had any) is on a bad HDD. I've seen one go bad without any problems before. I've never changed one on a laptop.

 

Yes But Windows will not open.

This was my original thought. Not having a Windows sticker on the base of the Acer Aspire E15 made me not want to swap it.

The E15 is one of those slim laptops. A lot of screws and prying off the keboard reveals 3 ribbons to be disconnected before you can get to the HDD. To get to the RAM you have to disconnect and remove the motherboard to get to its base...

Thank you for the help,
s.

 

Having tinkered with many laptops, This often happens with a graphics problem- black screen, fan spins , even the dvd drive will open and shut.
I can try suggesting

1. Power off, hold down power button for 10- 30 seconds, remove battery, connect charger , try powering on, with just the charger.
   
2. Try moving the screen back and forth, as the cable can get frayed where it goes through the hinge cover-if aa slight chaaange in screen colour -it could be the problem.
3. With the battery replaced- If fan starts, and the charging light is on, then you can try an external screen with a vga cable to see if it will give picture
4. If it is the graphics, you can try leaving machine on- with battery inside, and charger connected (if you hear fan run , it is on). Wrap the laptop in a thick towel,and leave it on for an hour, then remove towel, and leave to cool for an hour. Then try again with just the charger- no battery.

If any above give you picture, replace battery, after running laptop for half an hour at least.
Have you tried f2 / relevent bios access start up key ?- If hard drive was problem, you would still be able to get into the bios screen.

 

Sorry - I forgot the main thing was -- it won't start -- !

 

Imandy Mann

The laptop will not start... Was part of that
But, Pressing the start button switches on the internal fan and lights up the blue led power bulb. The hdd light stays off and the screen stays black.
Was also quoted......................................................................
So it starts, but black screen...............................

 

Thanks again for your suggestions.
I have urged my neighbour to go forward without me. I think professional help is required.
Best wishes,
s.