Acer Aspire 5536 Bios Won't Boot

Hello guys,

I have just come across a serious issue with my 4 year old Acer Aspire 5536 (I know its old but i like it and it still performs). Anyway when pressing the power button the fan speeds up the lights come on but the computer will not start.

To get my computer to start I need to power on the computer and cover the fan vent for about 10 mins and restart and after i have done that it will run perfectly.

Does anybody have any ideas? I would prefer to fix the issue rather than buy a new laptop

Jason

You have to cover the fan vent to get it to start ? One of the problems with laptops not starting or overheating is dust clogging up the internal CPU fan causing it to stop and thus overheat and shut down the system which CPUs are designed to do, so I am surprised that by covering the fan vent this allows the laptop to start or am I not understanding your problem ?

No your understanding correctly it seems that if I start the computer from room temperature it won't start but if I start it hot either from covering the vent or just shouting down and powering up it works fine, very confusing I know, I've even tried updating the bios and all, anyone have any ideas???

The room temperature is about 23 degrees which is pretty normal just slightly on the warm side you are getting confused between room and body temperature...

Nothing has been spilled onto the laptop, I don't have to blow into it, i just have to cover the vent with a rolled up towel or something to warm it up, its like jump starting a car!

Sounds like a capacitor related problem. Capacitors that are failing do not hold the required amount of charge, but can improve in performance once warm. (much like a warm battery gives out a drop more 'life' compared to a cold one. Another issue could be the BIOS battery failing (again this will come back to life a little, with a bit of heat) Test the BIOS battery with a meter to establish whether there is sufficient charge left, and check the MOBO for any bulging or leaking components.
Other than that the only other heat related causes of this kind of problem would be:
a) a loose solder joint/ball which expands when warm just enough to make contact again, or....
b) bad connection between heat sink and GPU/CPU (consider replacing the thermal paste)
Failing that, take everything off the MOBO except for display, RAM, BIOS battery, and heatsink... If you then find that nothing happens still then it's new MOBO time (or chuck it in the nearest skip) :)

p.s. I once had a Digibox with a capacitor problem. It manifested itself in that the box started to take about 5 mins to power on, then about 15mins, then 30, then it would not power on without the aid of a hair-dryer to heat it up (all because of one lousy capacitor gradually failing)

I totally agree with Andee. It's something related to capacitors or the battery.
Don't think that is the CMos battery. It's only used to retain BIOS settings and clock and once power is on it is bypassed. When you boot, is your clock with the right date and time?

My guess it's the main battery. Try to boot without the main battery.