No display when powering on

[zeamann]

my Acer Aspire 9302AWSMi laptop can't display anything when I press the power button. hard disk light just keep flashing and nothing else happened. i bought this laptop in Geneva back in late 2007 but it's been like this since 2008 or 9. any assistance be greatly appreciated. regards and best wishes for brand new 2012. God Bless,

 

[N0b0dy]

Hello zeamann

Mhh sound's not good . I think it's a problem with your graphics card but i'm not 100% sure. Can you access the bios or something else ?? Try to connect it to a other monitor and see what happens.

 

[alphanumeric]

Like N0b0dy said if it has a connector for an external monitor, a VGA jack for instance, try connecting an external monitor and see what happens when you turn it on.
Take the battery out and try booting up with only the power pack connected. May want to also re-seat the RAM modules or try with just one in if it has two or more. You could also try removing the optical drive and or the hard drive. I'd also check to make sure the heat-sink and cooling vents aren't clogged up with dust and that any cooling fans are working properly.

 

[linnemeyerhere]

zeamann,
To me my first thought turns to the hard drive. What are the chances like NObOdy said that you can get into the bios. If you can and have access to the OS disks you could try loading the OS on a new sata drive, pen drive or usb drive. When was the last time you opened the back up and inspected the laptop, cleaned. Odd things can happen to laptops that a little un-seating and re-seating of connectors and such can cure.

 

[zeamann]

Hello zeamann

Mhh sound's not good . I think it's a problem with your graphics card but i'm not 100% sure. Can you access the bios or something else ?? Try to connect it to a other monitor and see what happens.

there's nothing i can access since there is absolutely nothing to see or act on. i can't even access the BIOS. i've just tried hooking it up with an external monitor but still nothing. i'll try re-seating the RAM like the others suggest and see what happens. if it still not responding then i'll try opening it up and maybe blow dusts off... that is, if i know and can do it.

thank you all for now.

 

[Solidwave]

To be honest, I'd call that a dead laptop. It won't be economic to repair--it's cheaper to buy a new computer. If you need to get your data off the laptop, remove the hard drive (or pay someone to remove the hard drive) and install it in another computer or external drive enclosure.

 

[alphanumeric]

Even if its dead its still fun to take it apart, at least for me it is. You never know you might get lucky and its just poor connection or dead battery. Even if you junk it I'd save the hard drive, RAM, etc.

 

[zeamann]

alphanumeric, can you please provide me with a guide on how to take it apart. i've tried opening it but i was unable to remove all of the screws at the back. advice please.

 

[alphanumeric]

You'll likely have to hunt online for a service manual. Failing that, if there are any rubber feet on the bottom, carefully pull them off and look under them for hidden screws. There may also be a screw or two under the stickers on the bottom. You will likely have to remove the battery, hard drive and maybe optical drive to find more hidden screws. I'd take any and all access panels off to be sure I found all the screws. Keep track of what screws came from where, sometimes they are different lengths and if you mix them up on reassembly you could break something.