Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

[DXseekerMO]

Hello everyone. I have an Acer Aspire E1-532-2635. The battery charging light works. When the power button is pressed the power and hard drive light turn on, the fans turn on about 1/2sec later, they run for 1/2sec then stop and the HDD light turns off. The power on light is the only thing that appears to remain on but the screen stays black and the machine won't boot past this.

After pressing the power button and holding it down for a few seconds I hear a sound that sounds like a faint mouse squeak under the keypad and the unit turns off as soon as I release the button. The button must be held to turn the machine off.

I have absolutely no clue what to do next. My inventory list is on this thing, sure I have another copy on my PC but there's 120 new stock entries trapped inside this one I can't get to. My business is really struggling now and this laptop failing is just one more thing to go wrong in a year that looks like it's going to end in disaster. I'm pretty much at the end of my rope.

If someone has experience with this failure and can help me figure it out I would really appreciate the help, I really would.

I also meant to say this machine still has WIN7 on it. I was on the internet yesterday. It acted just fine yesterday when I was using it...then this afternoon....nothing.

Thanks

[diif]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

Pull the hard drive and stick it another machine if the immediate issue is your inventory list.

[DXseekerMO]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

Pull the hard drive and stick it another machine if the immediate issue is your inventory list.

Unfortunately I don't have another machine to put it in.

Can anyone please help me diagnose/fix this....I'm in dire straits without it.

[diif]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

What motherboard is in there ?

[DXseekerMO]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

What motherboard is in there ?

Unfortunately I don't know, I haven't taken it apart. Is there a number on the unit somewhere that will tell us?

[stingerchamp]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

Unfortunately I don't have another machine to put it in.

Can anyone please help me diagnose/fix this....I'm in dire straits without it.

Hi , I had the same issue with my Acer laptop old one like 2016 model

what i did(in my case)

1- accessed bios using f2 key in my case and set all paramerters to default settings. it happens due to fault in settings

2- if step 1 not helps retreive your files using a hard drive external adapter which lets you to connect your HDD to another computer using a USB port.

[diif]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

Unfortunately I don't know, I haven't taken it apart. Is there a number on the unit somewhere that will tell us?

On the motherboard.

[SMDFlea]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

Remove the hard drive and see if the laptop boots up as normal.

[DXseekerMO]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

Hi , I had the same issue with my Acer laptop old one like 2016 model

what i did(in my case)

1- accessed bios using f2 key in my case and set all paramerters to default settings. it happens due to fault in settings

2- if step 1 not helps retreive your files using a hard drive external adapter which lets you to connect your HDD to another computer using a USB port.

Thanks for the reply and the info! Should I press the F2 key while pressing the power button or press it right after? Also should I hold the button down until BIOS pops up?

[SMDFlea]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

Remove the hard drive and see if the laptop boots up as normal.Lets find out if the squeek noise is coming from the motherboard or hard drive.

[DXseekerMO]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

Remove the hard drive and see if the laptop boots up as normal.Lets find out if the squeek noise is coming from the motherboard or hard drive.

I've never removed a hard drive from one of these before. Is there a guide available somewhere to help?

The squeek noise has always been there....according to my girlfriend. I seem to remember it doing this even when it was working.

[SMDFlea]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

Heres a youtube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C34n84EZ174 .Remove the battery first,then the cover,then 2 screws holding the HDD in.Slide the drive out. Turn the laptop back over,press the start button for 30 seconds,put the batter back in.See if it starts with only the battery,then only with the charger,then with battery and charger. If it doesn`t boot then remove the batt and charger,press the start button again for 30 seconds.Remove the memory and clean the gold contacts with an eraser to get rid of any tarnish.Put the memory back in,try one stick at a time if theres more than one and try booting again.

[DXseekerMO]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

Heres a youtube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C34n84EZ174 .Remove the battery first,then the cover,then 2 screws holding the HDD in.Slide the drive out. Turn the laptop back over,press the start button for 30 seconds,put the batter back in.See if it starts with only the battery,then only with the charger,then with battery and charger. If it doesn`t boot then remove the batt and charger,press the start button again for 30 seconds.Remove the memory and clean the gold contacts with an eraser to get rid of any tarnish.Put the memory back in,try one stick at a time if theres more than one and try booting again.

That is a very helpful video. The memory you are referring to, is that the blue "chips" next to the hard drive?

[SMDFlea]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

Yes .Move the metal tags outwards at either side,the memory will pop up,take it out. Try the other things first.

[DXseekerMO]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

Heres a youtube video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C34n84EZ174 .Remove the battery first,then the cover,then 2 screws holding the HDD in.Slide the drive out. Turn the laptop back over,press the start button for 30 seconds,put the batter back in.See if it starts with only the battery,then only with the charger,then with battery and charger. If it doesn`t boot then remove the batt and charger,press the start button again for 30 seconds.Remove the memory and clean the gold contacts with an eraser to get rid of any tarnish.Put the memory back in,try one stick at a time if theres more than one and try booting again.

All of these have now been tried, the laptop still does not boot. The chirp went away when the HD was removed

[SMDFlea]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

Ok, so see if it will boot and makes a beep with no memory installed.How many memory modules does it have,one or two ? .If it only has one then you should try it in the other slot,and also try a spare compatible one.If you havn`t got one we don`t know if the memory is ok or not.The other thing you can try is to check the CMOS battery voltage and clear the CMOS.Its under the palmrest so that needs removing.Be extrmely careful not to raise it up too high as there are ribbon cables attached to the motherboard (see the youtube vid).Flip the connectors up to remove the ribbon cables .Check the battery voltage,if its low you`ll need a new one. If its ok then desolder the battery,short together the pads on the board for 10 seconds,that will clear the CMOS and set the bios back to default settings.Resolder the bios battery,connect the ribbon cables and see if it boots. If you don`t have any spare memory and clearing the CMOS doesn`t work then it could take some time to do any further testing,i`d suggest you buy a USB hard drive caddy to get acces your stock entries on the PC, or connect the hard drive to the PC if you have a spare sata cable.

[DXseekerMO]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

Ok, so see if it will boot and makes a beep with no memory installed.How many memory modules does it have,one or two ? .If it only has one then you should try it in the other slot,and also try a spare compatible one.If you havn`t got one we don`t know if the memory is ok or not.The other thing you can try is to check the CMOS battery voltage and clear the CMOS.Its under the palmrest so that needs removing.Be extrmely careful not to raise it up too high as there are ribbon cables attached to the motherboard (see the youtube vid).Flip the connectors up to remove the ribbon cables .Check the battery voltage,if its low you`ll need a new one. If its ok then desolder the battery,short together the pads on the board for 10 seconds,that will clear the CMOS and set the bios back to default settings.Resolder the bios battery,connect the ribbon cables and see if it boots. If you don`t have any spare memory and clearing the CMOS doesn`t work then it could take some time to do any further testing,i`d suggest you buy a USB hard drive caddy to get acces your stock entries on the PC, or connect the hard drive to the PC if you have a spare sata cable.

There is 1 memory card, I removed it altogether and tried to boot as well as switching it to the other slot and trying to boot, neither worked. What is the required voltage for the CMOS bat, or is it printed on the bat?

[DXseekerMO]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

Ok, so see if it will boot and makes a beep with no memory installed.How many memory modules does it have,one or two ? .If it only has one then you should try it in the other slot,and also try a spare compatible one.If you havn`t got one we don`t know if the memory is ok or not.The other thing you can try is to check the CMOS battery voltage and clear the CMOS.Its under the palmrest so that needs removing.Be extrmely careful not to raise it up too high as there are ribbon cables attached to the motherboard (see the youtube vid).Flip the connectors up to remove the ribbon cables .Check the battery voltage,if its low you`ll need a new one. If its ok then desolder the battery,short together the pads on the board for 10 seconds,that will clear the CMOS and set the bios back to default settings.Resolder the bios battery,connect the ribbon cables and see if it boots. If you don`t have any spare memory and clearing the CMOS doesn`t work then it could take some time to do any further testing,i`d suggest you buy a USB hard drive caddy to get acces your stock entries on the PC, or connect the hard drive to the PC if you have a spare sata cable.

CMOS battery has 3.2V ADD/EDIT: AND THIS THING IS FILTHY INSIDE! Can I blow this thing out with compressed air to get some of the heebeejeebeez out of it?

[SMDFlea]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

The battery voltage is ok,you can desolder it one leg at a time,or just desolder the positive leg and lift it slightly so theres no contact,then short the two pads on the board for 10 seconds,resolder it.You can clean the board and inside with compressed air,but not the fan,you don`t want to damage it,use a brush.

[DXseekerMO]

Re: Acer Aspire E1-532-2635 turns on, black screen, fans run 1/2 sec and won't boot

The battery voltage is ok,you can desolder it one leg at a time,or just desolder the positive leg and lift it slightly so theres no contact,then short the two pads on the board for 10 seconds,resolder it.You can clean the board and inside with compressed air,but not the fan,you don`t want to damage it,use a brush.

I used compressed air to clean the inside of the machine and to clean the fan, but I regulated the pressure to 5psi before I cleaned the fan. It was half blocked by a "fur ball". The inside of the machine is much cleaner!

I then cleaned the battery legs with 90% iso alcohol, fluxed and de-soldered the CMOS battery, both legs, short + to - on the board for 30sec, re-tinned the legs of the battery, re-clean with 90% iso, re-fluxed the area, soldered the battery back in and cleaned off the flux.

I also noticed there is aluminum tape that makes contact with the board at the screw holes on a contact/ground pad. Some of these were fouled quite badly with signs of arcing, that is tiny black dots on the aluminum tape and lots of junk on the board. I also gave these the eraser and 90% iso treatment. They look a lot better now.

I'm letting the iso evaporate for a while before I put it together. In the meantime can you tell me what to expect/do if it boots? The way it sounds this is the final diagnostic step, so would it hurt to just go ahead and re-assemble the whole machine, maybe aside from the HD/RAM cover?