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needforspeed59
Cruise Ship Just Passing Through
join:2001-05-02
La Place, LA

needforspeed59

Member

Acer Aspire One Netbook Will Not Turn On

I am suspecting the worse and my netbook is fried, but I want some other opinions as Acer support is not helpful. My Aspire One 10.1" Netbook is only 14-15 months old. It will not power on. The power button flickers green for a few seconds and than nothing happens. We did notice the bottom of the netbook getting really hot right before this happened; thus my worse fears.

The Acer support FAQ's suggested the power cord needed replacing. I guess it would make sense if the power cord/brick is shot, the battery will be drained and the unit will not power on. We bought a new one from Acer and get the same thing: It will not turn on and the button flickers green. I had a Toshiba laptop years ago that would not power on due to the battery needing replacing.

Is it possible I just need a new battery? That would not explain the heat coming out the bottom. I hate to buy a new battery for $130 and then have to return it. Acer has a 15% restock fee plus there is the back and forth shipping I have to pay. Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

Traxless
Premium Member
join:2005-02-16
USA

Traxless

Premium Member

These kinds of problems make us old before our time. I'm agreeing with your plan and would have tried the power card and adapter first. If the battery is dead or nearly so, it might explain the flickering button. So it seems to me your next choice is just as you thought, which will be a less expensive step than the next steps.

needforspeed59
Cruise Ship Just Passing Through
join:2001-05-02
La Place, LA

needforspeed59

Member

I need to call Batteries Plus and see what their return policy is. I know they have to special order it. What about the extreme heat we felt coming off the bottom? Is it possible that caused the battery to be short-lived? I guess I should have bought the extended warranty. Not LOL.

maceman
join:2010-03-01
Finland

maceman to needforspeed59

Member

to needforspeed59

Hi Needforspeed59,

Have you tried to remove your battery and hard drive (power cord of course) and push the power button few secs. Then put all together. It may wake up with that. Easy and free to try.

sheilakmcd
Birdbrain On Computer
Premium Member
join:2002-02-20
Liberty, KY

sheilakmcd to needforspeed59

Premium Member

to needforspeed59
I agree with needforspeed suggestion. You need to remove the battery, any usb items, hard drive and unplug the power supply cord. Hold the power button down for 30 seconds. Then plug in all but usb and see if it will turn on. If it doesn't, try it again. This generic reset has saved many.

I don't know about the Acer, but there are some that have a removable CMOS battery also. You sometimes have to take it out too, and do the hold power button reset.

If this doesn't work the next thing to try is new battery, and new cmos battery.

If this gets it going clean out the vents and clean the fan. If it's still too hot, remove the fan and clean off the heatsink and apply new thermal compound.

needforspeed59
Cruise Ship Just Passing Through
join:2001-05-02
La Place, LA

needforspeed59

Member

I did the reset thing a couple times but will try again before buying a new battery; however, I did not unplug a usb device. I will try that a couple times. I definitely appreciate free trouble shooting versus buying and returning parts! Where will I find the CMOS battery? I have never heard of that.

captokita
Premium Member
join:2005-02-22
Calabash, NC

captokita to needforspeed59

Premium Member

to needforspeed59
Have you tried removing the battery and trying to power it on? I've come across many a laptop that appear "dead" - no power, etc. but once you remove the battery, it comes back to life.

Worth a shot, if that does the trick, plug the battery back in and it should be fine. It also could be a short in the battery, in which case, once you plug it in, would cut the netbook off again.

needforspeed59
Cruise Ship Just Passing Through
join:2001-05-02
La Place, LA

needforspeed59

Member

capokita, yes, tried all of that. I need to figure what the CMOS battery is, if it has one, and where it is located so I can try pulling it out as well as sheilakmdc suggests.

sheilakmcd
Birdbrain On Computer
Premium Member
join:2002-02-20
Liberty, KY

sheilakmcd

Premium Member

You need to give exact model number if you want cmos battery info. There are many different AspireOnes.

Also, when you take out the battery, unplug any extras you have on it, like usb mouse, or pci cards, and unplug the power, make sure you are holding the power button down for 30 seconds. Then don't plug up anything but the power cord. Does the green power light on the outside light up?

needforspeed59
Cruise Ship Just Passing Through
join:2001-05-02
La Place, LA

needforspeed59

Member

Model is KAV10
needforspeed59

needforspeed59

Member

Ok, I removed all the little panels on the bottom and saw the hard drive, ram and processer, but nothing that resembles a battery. I redid all the steps everyone suggested above and stll not getting any love. The local Batteries Plus can order a new battery and has a 15% restocking fee if that doesn't do the trick.

psafux
Premium Member
join:2005-11-10

psafux

Premium Member

Hardly ever is the CMOS battery accessible, on a laptop, through a panel. It requires disassembling the system down to the bare board or nearly anyway. I can think of only one system that had that feature in all the hundreds of systems I have worked on.

If you take that step, have a good way to keep track of where all the screws go. More than likely there will be screws of different length that go in specific holes.

with your original comment that it got really hot before dying completely, my suspicion lies with the proc / motherboard being dead. More than likely, the proc is not user-replaceable though anyway.

needforspeed59
Cruise Ship Just Passing Through
join:2001-05-02
La Place, LA

needforspeed59

Member

Thx. Like I said, my last step before I call it quits is to get a new battery. I am willing to risk the 15% restock fee. Batteries Plus has to order it so I'll be back next week to stick a fork in this and call it done one way or another.

tahoejeff
Premium Member
join:2001-07-01
Wisconsin Dells, WI

tahoejeff

Premium Member

batteries plus didn't offer to test the old battery? I would think they could do this.

How did you pay for the netbook? If with a credit card, many offer free warranty doubling up to an additional year. Check with your card.
zaldy
join:2007-12-07

zaldy to needforspeed59

Member

to needforspeed59
Honestly I don't think its the battery. A dead battery will still power the laptop or netbook in your case as long as it is plugged in. Heck, a netbook without a battery can be use normally as long as it is plugged in too. I had a 9" Aspire One before and I can use it without a battery.

So if you already tried removing the battery and plugged it in but got the same result then it must not be the battery.

If you really think its the battery, then I hope you can find someone with the same netbook and try his battery. Or maybe you can go to your local shop and tell them you gonna buy a battery but you want to test it first with your netbook just to make sure battery is the problem.