Hey I've got an Acer netbook, AOD255 with a problem I've never run into before and it's got me stumped.
Having made no changes to the device I found the computer one day in the following state:
It won't complete POST, no Acer BIOS splash screen, just turns on, spins the fans, then backlight with a solid (unblinking) cursor/underscore.
I've tried replacing the RAM, hard drive, and flashing the BIOS per the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool and latest Acer BIOS *.FD and FLASHIT.EXE files. The BIOS flashing seems successful because it goes through the motions and then restarts the computer but it doesn't fix the problem. I haven't got the WinCrisis.exe method to work but I have tried it.
If I pull the RAM completely out and turn it on it never gets to the back-lit screen and solid cursor, so I know it's getting past that part of the POST.
If I pull the HDD completely out and turn it on it goes right to the unblinking cursor but if I put the HDD in it spins the drive, so I believe it's getting past that part of the POST.
I've tried pulling the wireless card, main battery, the battery on the motherboard, and clearing the CMOS by shorting the solder pads. I even tried the trick where you hold the power button in for a minute to discharge static electricity... I've tried an external monitor too.
The only wierd thing is that sometimes after I flash the BIOS I'll get the cursor to blink for a couple of seconds before going solid, but not always, although I've never seen the cursor blink unless coming out of the BIOS flashing process...
Does anyone have any other suggestions? I'm not even sure what else to try. Maybe putting a new BIOS chip on there? Poking around the main board with a DMM or a scope? Thanks!
Having made no changes to the device I found the computer one day in the following state:
It won't complete POST, no Acer BIOS splash screen, just turns on, spins the fans, then backlight with a solid (unblinking) cursor/underscore.
I've tried replacing the RAM, hard drive, and flashing the BIOS per the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool and latest Acer BIOS *.FD and FLASHIT.EXE files. The BIOS flashing seems successful because it goes through the motions and then restarts the computer but it doesn't fix the problem. I haven't got the WinCrisis.exe method to work but I have tried it.
If I pull the RAM completely out and turn it on it never gets to the back-lit screen and solid cursor, so I know it's getting past that part of the POST.
If I pull the HDD completely out and turn it on it goes right to the unblinking cursor but if I put the HDD in it spins the drive, so I believe it's getting past that part of the POST.
I've tried pulling the wireless card, main battery, the battery on the motherboard, and clearing the CMOS by shorting the solder pads. I even tried the trick where you hold the power button in for a minute to discharge static electricity... I've tried an external monitor too.
The only wierd thing is that sometimes after I flash the BIOS I'll get the cursor to blink for a couple of seconds before going solid, but not always, although I've never seen the cursor blink unless coming out of the BIOS flashing process...
Does anyone have any other suggestions? I'm not even sure what else to try. Maybe putting a new BIOS chip on there? Poking around the main board with a DMM or a scope? Thanks!