Search
Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in

ACER Travelmate 290 stops at system boot? {NOT RESOLVED}

Last response: in Laptops & Notebooks
Share

i have ACER travelmate 290 laptop which is really old. specs : 1.4 Intel Centrino, 512MB ram.

Recently i broke the one of hinges of the laptop and the monitor went blank. So i want to service it may be put some super glue and use a Drill bit and a quick fix for the hinge. The Broken hinge is the not the problem it's a blank monitor and now another problem. When i boot the laptop i could hear the Hard drive starts and see all the lights blink then suddenly the hard drive turns off and the system goes to a hibernate like mode at the system boot. I've changed the Hard drive still the issue exists.

Since i have a blank monitor, i've tried to plugin to external monitor using the External monitor plugin at the back, but still no image.

How do i fix this, Does this have something to do with the Broken Hinge or is it a Motherboard issue to behave like this?

here is the image of the broken Hinge:

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/WUlKu-fLFEXnIXG_8...


Here is a video of what's happenning at system start, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkpVwNzJTkY notice the far panel of lights flashes when power comes and power stays on but i cannot see the Hard drive LED flashes, this is becuase the system goes to teh sudden Hybernation at system boot



thanks

More about : acer travelmate 290 stops system boot resolved

Register or log in to remove
Laptop Master

Hello zuling;

The monitor going blank when you broke the hinge suggests an issue with the LCD coax cable that runs from the motherboard (through the right side hinge). It might be at the motherboard or inside the LCD screen itself.

ACER Travelmate 290 service manual
example of typical LCD screen layout with coax cable shown

There also seems to be something else going on. Your laptop should boot even if it can't output to the screen. It seems to me you should be able to use an external monitor and get a signal. From your description and the video, I can't tell if your laptop going into hibernation or just stops when it fails to complete POST. Failure to POST could explain why an external monitor stays blank.

hello WR2,

it does not go in to Hibernation, i mentioned it as hibernation to get a picture of whats going on but it made things clogged. What's really going on is screen is blank and it fails to complete POST. When i turn on the power i could hear the HDD starts and the processor fan runs. Then in about 5 seconds the HDD and the CPU fan suddenly turns off for no reason. But i could see the power on indicator LED is on.

What is going on with my system? how do i fix it?

thanks
Laptop Master

My best guess is the problem lies in the graphics / display system.
That could explain the failure to post.

As far as the 'how to fix' question it might be as simple as a loose coax cable or as complex as needing a new motherboard or LCD panel.
I don't feel comfortable making any recommendations at this point. I think you need the services of an experienced tech with the right equipment, spare parts & tools.


Related ressources
Ask the community

Acer 290 series suffer from a well known problem of a chip that is losing connection from the mainboard after some years.

The position of the chip is on the lover right face of the MB just nearby the right hinge [the one that got broken in your case] I assume that the mechanical stress [fan vibration] + heating/cooling causes the chip to loosen a bit. Probably the situation of the chip was already at the edge and the hinge breaking just gave it an extra stress.

Have a look here: [you can find info on the chip location and so on]

http://blog.andreasfichter.de/index.php?/archives/11-Di...

Probably you would have to open up the laptop using the service manual posted earlier [can take 20 mins after a bit of practice] . Then try put some pressure on that chip to see if you have a boot. If that's the cause then go for re-soldering the chip to the MB.

This is pretty good but, i got some bad luck cus of a worn out screw head, that is right under the LCD panel so i cannot unscrew the main board from chassis.
the "+" part of the Laptop's Philips screw head is almost a "o".So if i cannot unscrew this pain screw i cannot take off the plastic case.

As an alternative, without removing the plastic case on top of MB, i've removed all the other components and slide a piece of folded cardboard. But it didn't work, i suppose may be it didn't fit right underneath the chip...

I know the WD 40 doesn't work because that only for corrosion removal. could any one give some assistance on this? this is a real sore thumb : (

cheers
Register or log in to remove
 
Ask the community
Read discussions in other Laptops & Notebooks categories
!