# [SOLVED] Acer Aspire won't boot



## zardoz777 (Apr 30, 2011)

Seems to happen after hard shutdowns (sometimes hangs on the "logging off" screen forever, so I'll just hold the power button). 

I get the Acer "Press F2 to enter setup" screen, but pressing F2 does nothing. At best I might get a screen that says "Please wait" which sends me to the BIOS, but when I exit it just takes me back to the beginning of the circle. 
Tried resetting BIOS to default just in case, but I'm stuck on the black Acer screen for good.

One odd thing, sometimes it'll sit for several minutes, then bring up the BIOS out of nowhere.

Mind you, it came with a Western Digital HD, and from what I've heard 3 weeks is the average life-expectancy anyway . . . 

Thanks for reading.


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## makinu1der2 (Jan 1, 2008)

*Re: Acer Aspire won't boot*

Is this laptop still under warranty? If so I would recommend using it.

Run the manufacturer diagnostics on the hard drive.

*Hard Drive Utilities*

I would also suggest testing the RAM using *Memtest86+*

http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f149/how-to-burn-a-bootable-iso-file-341778.html

*Black Screen Issues and Troubleshooting*


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## zardoz777 (Apr 30, 2011)

*Re: Acer Aspire won't boot*

Well, out of the blue the machine finally booted. Every 20 minutes or so it would make some kind of attempt, once attempting a startup repair (?).
I was shocked to see the HD passed the diagnostic. 
The memtest webpage could use a paragraph for newbs; I assume the idea is to restart with the ISO in the drive, but since the system fails startup, I don't really want to try that. 
Now, aside from random glitches, the main trouble seems to be absolute confusion on startup; blackscreen, startup circles, aborted startup repair. failure to shut down . . . I did notice all the drivers were out of date when I got the machine, is it worth replacing the BIOS?
I have no confidence in Acer tech support, those people are idiots. They just send me generic tips written for XP or Vista; If I'm going to figure out which BIOS to use, I can't ask them.
Thanks, 
z.


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## makinu1der2 (Jan 1, 2008)

*Re: Acer Aspire won't boot*

What is the model number of the ACER?

You should only attempt to flash the BIOS if it is designed to fix a specific problem that you are having.

If the system is not starting sometimes I would definitely not recommend attempting it.

As for the Memtest you just need to burn the bootable .iso to a disc and boot to it to test the RAM.


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## zardoz777 (Apr 30, 2011)

*Re: Acer Aspire won't boot*

Hi Mak,
It's an Aspire 5742. Couple of quick thoughts;
a) I understand using memtest might be necessary but I'm lucky if I can even get as far as the BIOS to even try changing the boot-order. The thought of touching the power button terrifies me, now that it's running.
b) I had my iPod connected to the machine and it looks like it's corrupted. Could that interfere? (For that matter, could it be a symptom, or a cause?)
c) I've got another thread going about my wireless cutting out (not all the way, it just perceives signal strength as so low that connectivity is lost). Again, is it possibly related? (other machines are fine).
Anyway, if none of that suggests a smoking gun, I've got the memtest iso ready to go; I'll bite the bullet and try booting; if it fails I'll go through the blackscreen procedures you linked me to, and pour a very stiff drink. ;-)
Thanks,
z.


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## zardoz777 (Apr 30, 2011)

*Re: Acer Aspire won't boot*

Seems OK now; 
-ran memtest, tested fine with no errors
-used the Western Digital HD scan, also tested OK
-made system repair disc and ran startup repair. I saw the Startup Repair screen at one point when the machine was down, but didn't think it had succeeded in fixing the trouble.

Near as I can tell, Startup Repair replaced some drivers, and then just went back to blackscreen . . . why it came up when it did, and not before, I don't know.

As usual, I learned a lot, here's hoping I never have to use it.
I'll mark as solved, though I'm not exactly sure what happened,
Many thanks,
m.


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