Solved Acer Aspire boot issues

krismalicoat · Jun 2, 2013

Im not sure if this is the appropriate place to post this, but I have an Acer Aspire M1201 Desktop computer that has a boot and posting issue. I got this machine with this problem and I'm in the process of restoring it. So sometimes it posts and boots and sometimes it doesn't.When it doesn't post or boot at all, sometimes the cd drive light flashes constantly and there is no live screen at all. Other times the cd drive light does not flash but the media
card reader light is on, sometimes both, and sometimes neither. If I let it sit like this for about 20 minutes it will restart itself and go thorough the bios and boot properly. Thats only when its cold, like if its been off for a few hours. If its been on for a while, its like every other time i turn it on there is either post and no boot or no post at all. Ive reset the bios by jumper and by removing the cmos battery. It does not beep at all when it does not post or not boot. I read that I should try updating the bios, but for some reason it wont let me. It says "Error loading driver" Or "incompatible with current OS". I downloaded the correct drivers for the machine and the only one it wont load as far as i know is the bios update. I've already replaced the cmos battery with ones i know are good, but to no success. I checked the ram and the processor to ensure they are seated correctly, and they are.
Any ideas? I need help with this.
Here are the machine specs to my knowledge:
Acer Aspire M1201
AMD Athlon X2 64 processor
ATI Redeon onboard graphics
It is running windows vista x64 home premium, I installed it fresh
The bios version is R03-B1 which is the older one.
It has 1GB or memory that I put in, when i got the machine it had none.

These are pictures of what I see when I do try to run the file on that computer. I took extra pictures to show which files im opening. I transferred them off that machine to my laptop. Maybe I'm not opening the file correctly? Any help at all would be appreciated. I would have tried to load the bios from power on, I read online if i hold the fn and escape key it will load it from a usb if i name the files correctly, but the 3 keyboard I have that will work with this computer do not have an fn key... FML. My laptop does! but that isnt gonna help me with the acer.
Sorry I typed so much, just wanna be sure you guys are on the same page as me. I would appreciate any help. Thank you

wither 3 · Jun 5, 2013

Have you installed SP1 and Sp2 and subsequent updates?

Since the CD lights come one and then nothing afterwards, it sounds like a hard drive problem. I'm assuming the CD drive is the first boot device in the BIOS.

krismalicoat · Jun 5, 2013

wither 3 said:
Have you installed SP1 and Sp2 and subsequent updates?

Since the CD lights come one and then nothing afterwards, it sounds like a hard drive problem. I'm assuming the CD drive is the first boot device in the BIOS.

Yes, I have all the updates installed. Other than the bios update because for some reason it wont install. I dont know if its the hard drive. Does the hard drive have anything to do with the machine posting? When i turn it on half the time it doesnt post. So im thinking it may be something on the motherboard, but does that mean I have to replace the whole board? or can I attempt to fix that certain part? Maybe is the processor? Is there some weird way that might possibly repair the processor? I know that you can reflow motherboard in the over even though your supposed to have a special kind of oven, but i did it with my regular oven in the kitchen on an hp dv9000 and it worked.
I just dont know quite what the problem is, and I dont want to spend 60 dollars on a motherboard if its a stupid fix, or if thats not the problem.
Right now its like every other time i turn it on it doesnt post, and when it does post it usually boots.

wither 3 · Jun 5, 2013

On most systems, the CD drive is set to be the first boot device (just like the floppy disc drive used to be the first boot device). After it's checked for a bootable disc in the CD drive and found none, it then boots to the hard drive. That apparently is where the problem is. The media card reader shouldn't be an option. You should check the BIOS to see how things are set. You might try resetting it to the defaults to resolve this problem.

Make sure all the ventilation openings and fans are free of dust since overheating could also be an issue.

Patonb · Jun 5, 2013

I believe the bios needs to be done from a boot disk, as in before windows boots.

Yes the HD could cause it to not POST, in fact I had a cd-rom cause a system to not post.

You may wasn't to try booting with nothing attached (just RAM, CPU, GPU)... Since youre failing POST, if you can constantly boot just to the bios you'll know it is a drive or something you're attaching to the system.
If you do boot constantly add a piece at a time and see which causes your POST failure.

I love my EVGA boards as they have POST code displays on the board.

krismalicoat · Jun 5, 2013

The inside is for the most part free of dust. When I got this computer there was alot inside it but me and a can or air took care of that. As for the bios, I reset it by the jumper on the board and my removing the cmos battery. It is at default settings as it is now, and I double checked the bios just now, the hard drive was set to boot first.
Also, I had a hard drive I connected to this computer that used an old style ribbon connectors, I plugged that hard drive in and removed the sata drive. Made sure the drive I put in was set to master, but I still have this problem. the hard drive I put in works, I know because it came out of a working computer I have.
Its like a touch and go thing, I took the whole motherboard out of the case and bench tested it, with the same problem. Its gotta be something on the board. I need am AM2 socket type processor to do a cpu swap test, but i dont have one to try.

Im gonna take it back apart and try as you say Patonb. I will reply shortly with an update.
Thanks for the assistance you guys.

krismalicoat · Jun 5, 2013

Patonb said:
I believe the bios needs to be done from a boot disk, as in before windows boots.

Yes the HD could cause it to not POST, in fact I had a cd-rom cause a system to not post.

You may wasn't to try booting with nothing attached (just RAM, CPU, GPU)... Since youre failing POST, if you can constantly boot just to the bios you'll know it is a drive or something you're attaching to the system.
If you do boot constantly add a piece at a time and see which causes your POST failure.

I love my EVGA boards as they have POST code displays on the board.

Okay, Ive set up the bench test with nothing connected but the power supply and the power switch cpu fam, and a stick of ram.
Nothing happens. The board turns on, cpu fan spins but no post or anything. I connected the hard drive and exact same nothing happened.

I just turned it on for the 3rd time with only the hard drive connected and it posted this time, but no boot.
4th try, post and boot.

just now i turned it off and unplugged the hard drive and tried it again, 1st time no post, 2nd time it posted and is asking for a boot device.

Patonb · Jun 5, 2013

That's not sounding good.

You sure there's no shorting with the mobo and case? and all the pins of the cpu are straight?

Long shot, but you have another PSU to try on it? Maybe the psu isn't giving enough juice and the multiple attempts charge the psu enough to run.

krismalicoat · Jun 5, 2013

It just posted without the hard drive. Im not sure that there are no shorts on the motherboard itself. But the entire board is out of the case and its acting the same, so there are no shorts with the case. The cpu lays flat and all pins are straight as they should be.
I was thinking that the psu may be the problem, but it always powers the board and the cd drive and everything else, the machine just doesnt always post and boot. I have another psu but im not sure it will work on this machine. The machine im working on is made for windows vista and has sata connections on the psu, the one i have to substitute is from a windows xp machine before sata. Not any sata connections on the sub psu. I will look at it more detailed now and see if the wattage and the power connections are the same. If they are the test should work, right?

krismalicoat · Jun 5, 2013

just checked, power connections are the same, however the psu in question puts out 250w and the sub only puts out 185. I have a digital volt meter though, I will check the output of the psu in question and reply once I find out whether its putting out enough.

Patonb · Jun 5, 2013

It won't matter right now as you're having issues with nothing connected, so we're at the point that the old psu is bad, it can't even power the core components.

Besides a HD and dvd are like 30W tops.

Edit,
That system needs only like 250W to run

krismalicoat · Jun 5, 2013

Okay, I tested the psu in question, and it seemed okay, but it was giving some strange readings on some of its power ports. I noticed on the 250w psu that it is only putting out 110w, so i plugged the older psu into it and it came right on and posted 3 times in a row which is a record. I believe this problem is solved. But im not calling it just yet, I wanna test it a little more and be sure this isnt a fluke kind of deal. If it tests out okay I will mark the thread as solved.
Thank you very much for the help!
Keep an eye on the post to see whether it goes up as solved or not please

Patonb · Jun 5, 2013

Hopefully this will do it up.

krismalicoat · Jun 5, 2013

This seems to have fixed the issue, since I connected the sub psu I have turned the machine on 20 times with 20 consistent posts. I will have to buy a psu however because I need one with sata connections to run the hard drive.
Thanks for the help Patonb! I greatly appreciate you helping me

Patonb · Jun 5, 2013

Hey, no worries, again that system can easily run on a 250W psu, not sure on how much you want to spend but Antecs, Corsairs and Seasonics and even Silverstones are my quality choices.

krismalicoat · Jun 10, 2013

Thanks again! I bought a 350w psu off tiger direct for 20 bucks, installed it and it works perfectly.

Solved Acer Aspire boot issues

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