Win 7 Starter crashing on Acer netbook; should I upgrade to Win 7??

Hi:

This problem started a week ago, when the Acer Aspire One 532h would not boot. Eventually, even restoring it using the partition failed. I have ordered the Acer recovery discs which will restore it to Win 7 starter. But yesterday, just on a whim, I turned on the netbook and was able to restore it successfully. I then installed Webroot SecureAnywhere Essentials and have run numerous scans that found no threat - so this does not appear to be malware. (The unit had avast! free AV before this trouble started.) I then spent hours installing Win 7 updates using the Windows Update utility on the Acer. However, near the end of the Win updates, Windows crashed and the screen went black again. When this happens, the unit's power stays on; this is not a fan/overheating problem, I don't think.

This a.m., the Acer booted successfully, and I then uninstalled Office and installed Open Office. The unit then "blacked out" again. During this time, I also tried to install Java, since I had been getting a pop-up that it needed to be updated. Java would not install successfully, and the Acer then started "blacking out" several more times. I was finally able to boot it in Safe Mode to turn it off. But it took several attempts.

Rather than running the recovery discs from Acer for Windows 7 Starter, I am considering upgrading to Win 7. Can anyone tell me if this might solve this problem? Or should I just proceed to order an external drive to run the recovery discs?

I would appreciate your advice.

THANKS.

I would Check the hard drive with the manufacturer's diagnostic tools.
Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.
HD Diagnostic

   Information

We always assume you have made your Recovery Disks using the OEM manufacturer's Recovery Media Creator app the first day you had your new PC.
& made the Startup Repair CD.
startup repair disc-create

Did you make the OEM manufacturer's Recovery Disks?


Manual how to use Acer eRecovery Management here:
ftp://ftp.support.acer-euro.com/notebook/empowering_technology/NB%20ET2%20user's%20guide/Acer%20eRecovery%20Management%20English.pdf

Attachment 190275

Hi:

Thank you. I mentioned in my post that I have ordered the recovery discs from Acer; they have not yet arrived.

This morning, the Acer will do nothing at all. When powered on, the screen doesn't even show the initial, white-on-black Acer screen saying "Press F2 to change setup."

Is this the end, then? Will the unit even recognize the external drive I have ordered to run the recovery discs?

Thank you.

jclawton said:

Hi:

Thank you. I mentioned in my post that I have ordered the recovery discs from Acer; they have not yet arrived.

This morning, the Acer will do nothing at all. When powered on, the screen doesn't even show the initial, white-on-black Acer screen saying "Press F2 to change setup."

Is this the end, then? Will the unit even recognize the external drive I have ordered to run the recovery discs?

Thank you.

Try the following, which is known to fix such issues with laptops:
1. Shut down and turn off the computer.
2. Unplug the computer from the wall or surge protector then remove the battery.
3. Hold down the power button for 30 seconds to clear the software connections between the BIOS and hardware and clear any corruption in the temporary memory.
4. Plug the battery back into the laptop and then plug the computer back into the wall.
5. Turn it on to reinitialize the software connections between the BIOS and hardware, and post back your results.

Edit: After doing the above (assuming it works), proceed with the suggestions by theog to run hard drive diagnostics. This does sound like a hard drive issue, either a bad drive or bad sectors on the drive (if it is bad sectors, it can be fixed).

Hi:

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried it, but nothing has changed; the AAO screen shows absolutely nothing when the unit is powered on. Sometimes, the power switch turns itself off and then back on again - but still nothing. Even the fan doesn't keep running. At this point, the only thing that's working is the power switch itself.

Can you please tell me if the AAO, as it now is, will recognize the external drive so that I can try to run the recovery discs when they arrive?

THANKS. This is very discouraging.

jclawton said:

Hi:

Thanks for the suggestion. I tried it, but nothing has changed; the AAO screen shows absolutely nothing when the unit is powered on. Sometimes, the power switch turns itself off and then back on again - but still nothing. Even the fan doesn't keep running. At this point, the only thing that's working is the power switch itself.

Can you please tell me if the AAO, as it now is, will recognize the external drive so that I can try to run the recovery discs when they arrive?

THANKS. This is very discouraging.

Unfortunately, this sounds like a hardware issue. I had a Dell do similar things when the power input was failing due to broken solder points. It may require a motherboard replacement. The only thing I can recommend at this point is that which you have had success with before now: wait a day or two and try to turn it on and see if it responds. Then try to backup your data if you need to. If you need instructions on backing up files, let us know.

Hi:

Thanks. But is there any point in trying to run the recovery discs in the external drive? Will the AAO recognize the drive? I'm still trying to understand if it's even worth buying the drive; it hasn't arrived yet, so I could return it unopened if there's no point in trying it.

THANKS.

jclawton said:

Hi:

Thanks. But is there any point in trying to run the recovery discs in the external drive? Will the AAO recognize the drive? I'm still trying to understand if it's even worth buying the drive; it hasn't arrived yet, so I could return it unopened if there's no point in trying it.

THANKS.

If you can't access the BIOS by the time it arrives, I would give it up as a hardware issue that Acer would have to repair. You can't access the recovery discs if your computer can't even access the BIOS options.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Hi:

Thanks so much; I was pretty sure that was the answer, but I wanted to be sure. So I'll keep trying to work with the AAO until the drive arrives. If it's still DOA at that time, I'll return the drive and give up. The cost of the AAO was less than the costs that have been quoted to me to have it repaired.

Thanks again.

Were you able to get your Acer working without a repair? If you need any further help, let us know.