Black screen issue Acer Aspire One Solved/Closed

Question

Hello everyone.

I bought an Acer Aspire One 4 months ago. Everything was going great until last night. I was using my PC, I closed the screen to put it to sleep. And the next morning, I couldn't turn it back on. When I press the power button, the little light turns on but the screen remains black. The fan seems to be running fine. I have already tried to turn it on with or without the battery, nothing works. I'm lost....
If you could try to help me... Don't hesitate to suggest your solutions
Thanks in advance!!!

Configuration: Windows XP Internet Explorer 6.0

Danielou · Accepted Answer

At Christmas, I gave my darling an ACER ASPIRE ONE 150, and for the past week it hasn’t wanted to play any longer!

The symptoms:
After completely draining the battery, the screen is totally black, the fan runs more or less regularly, and the hard drive doesn't start; there’s a small green LED located to the right of the battery LED. The procedure of removing the battery while plugged in and waiting 10 seconds holding the power button does nothing. Displaying on an external screen via the VGA port invalidates the hypothesis of a display failure! This is likely due to a BIOS bug since the hard drive doesn’t spin and the screen remains black.

Indeed, here is the solution found on an American forum: KIOSKEA.COM, which WORKS!

From a valid computer connected to the internet:

Download the latest known BIOS for the machine and OS from the ACER site; in my case, the 3309 for Windows XP:
Acer Europe - Service & Support, Drivers & Utilities, Downloads, netbook, Aspire One 150

Copy the 2 files found in the 3309 folder from the download onto a USB stick formatted FAT and not fat32:

the file Flashit.exe
and 3309.FD

Rename the file 3309.fd to ZG5IA32.fd

Remove the USB stick from the working computer

The faulty computer must be turned off, battery and plugged into the mains: Imperative!
Insert the USB stick
press Fn and Escape simultaneously and hold down
press the power on button with the other hand.
Wait 7 seconds before releasing Fn and Escape.

Press power on again. And do not touch anything for several minutes (5 to 10 minutes the screen is still black).
Then the computer reboots by itself and the Acer logo appears.

Notes: The green LED should blink after 10 seconds. If not, it means that the ZG5IA32 file is either missing or corrupted. Look for a valid fd file on the Acer site.

After the procedure, I noticed that the BIOS was downgraded (rolled back) to version 3301.
I used the flashing utility “InsydeFlash” under Windows, found in the winflash folder downloaded from Acer. See winflash.doc in the same folder for details.

After reboot, the BIOS was at the correct version, which is 3309 in my case.

BMWW · Answer

Try completely removing the battery from its housing, waiting a few minutes, and then reinserting it, before turning it back on.

Nuyo · Answer

Hello,
So I also had a little problem. I read everything that's written above, but I'm not sure if my girlfriend has the same issue on her ACER ASPIRE One ZG5.

So, two days ago while I was watching Finding Nemo, suddenly I went to pause it and to my surprise the keyboard stopped working. Well, I thought it must be a little bug. I turned it off with the mouse, and then when I went to turn it back on, my right click was unresponsive and the left click opened the window and closed it right away... basically impossible to use it. Well, I turned off the PC. I tried to turn it back on, it worked before the Windows login but my girlfriend set a password, and then it was impossible to type, keyboard off. The next day I tried to turn it on again and the screen was black.

So I looked a bit at the battery light, working, the hard drive light not too much but the fan seemed to be working more or less loudly. Anyway, I thought it must be a bug. Then I searched on my other PC for Acer problems. And I stumbled upon this forum. Now my problem is the following. Do I have the same issue as the people before me and do I need to install something on the PC? Or is it a virus?
Three hours ago the laptop was working fine, I thought it must have been a little bug that got fixed. But I launched House, and after 30 minutes, same bug again.

So now I'm looking everywhere for help. So if you've had this problem or have any idea, PLEASE need HELP!! I want to know if it's a virus or not. If I need to do the same things as the others, etc... .

Aspire one series
Model ZG 5

guitoulio · Answer

You need to lift the netbook and check the white labels, it's on one of the two. I have a little problem when the AAO completely runs out of battery; when I restart it, it takes a very long time and always turns off once before reaching the home page, whereas when there is still battery left, it starts quickly. Second problem: when I plug in a USB stick and transfer files from the netbook to the stick, a progress bar appears with the remaining time and then it disappears, so far so good, but if I remove it right away and plug it into a PC, the files are not fully copied. I have to wait one or two minutes each time until the stick starts lighting up and then it's fine. Does that happen to you too??? It's on Linpus Linux. AAO 150
Thank you.

léna · Answer

I really need your help, I don't think it's necessary for me to create a new topic.
I want to emphasize that I can afford to lose my information... So if there's another way to save my Acer... that would be fine with me!

danielou · Answer

As there are still quite a few people contacting me directly at this time, due to their inability to troubleshoot, I must admit that for a novice, the manipulation mentioned in message 9 is not straightforward. I’m providing the same procedure in a more detailed manner hoping it will be clearer.

First thing to do: check that you have the symptoms of a faulty BIOS.

Are you sure you have the ASPIRE ONE netbook problem purchased in late 2008 or early 2009?
The failure is likely due to a faulty BIOS code that freezes after sleep mode or possibly a shutdown, but with a completely drained battery.

The symptoms are
when you press the power button, you hear the fan spinning intermittently, the hard disk starts for a few seconds then stops — it’s important because if the hard disk LED blinks, it might indicate a display/screen or graphics card problem.
You have a black screen: no CURSOR, no message.

Before updating the BIOS, which is a delicate operation, we should start by doing a small manipulation. Remove the battery, plug the computer into the power supply, and press the "power" button for at least 10 seconds. If no message appears and you observe the symptoms above, the BIOS is not loading, and it is highly likely that you are experiencing the fatal bug!

Second step assuming you have confirmed that the BIOS is indeed faulty.

Look underneath the computer and note the model number as well as the BIOS level. On the white label, you will find the ASPIRE model code and the BIOS level, for example AO150 BIOS 3301 or ZG5...

Position yourself behind a working computer connected to the internet.
Get a small USB key of less than 2GB (important because FAT16 or FAT does not support more), a key to be erased (no sensitive data to keep). Format it in FAT with Windows XP: go to "My Computer", right-click on the USB icon, be careful not to choose the wrong drive. Format it, selecting "File System" as FAT, not NTFS or FAT32, the BIOS cannot read that... Note that an MP3 key will not work. You need a simple USB key of small capacity.

Go exclusively to the Acer Europe website
https://www.acer.com/worldwide/support/
For some reason, there is another support site at Acer where the BIOS encounters issues.

Download the file corresponding to the latest known BIOS. In this example, the file V.3309.ZIP from the BIOS section.
Once the file is downloaded in your download folder, extract all files. You will get a folder with several files; keep it carefully.
Only copy to the freshly formatted FAT USB key the 2 files found in the extracted 3309 folder from the download:

the file flashit.exe
and 3309.FD

Rename the file 3309.FD to ZG5IA32.FD (to rename a file, right-click on its name, a menu will appear containing the option to rename).
I insist on this point there must only be 2 files on the USB key: ZG5IA32.FD and flashit.exe

Remove the USB key from the working computer using the "safely remove hardware" procedure.

The faulty computer must be turned off, its battery in place, and plugged into the power supply: this is imperative!
Insert the USB key
press and hold Fn and Esc simultaneously
while using the other hand to press the power on button.
Wait 7 seconds before releasing Fn and Esc.

Press the power on button again. Do not touch anything for several minutes (5 to 10 minutes, the screen will still be black).
Then the computer will reboot itself, and the Acer logo will appear.

Note: The green LED should still blink after 10 seconds. If this is not the case, it means that the ZG5IA32 file is either missing or corrupted.
Retrieve your sensitive data on an external drive. (A word of advice: next time, make sure to regularly back up your work... A computer, a hard disk, is not infallible!)

Continue the BIOS update procedure under WINDOWS to ensure that the incident does not happen again. Because it is not certain that the procedure has updated your BIOS to version 3309. After my manipulation, I found that the BIOS had been downgraded (backwards) to version 3301.

I used the "InsydeFlash" flashing utility under Windows found in the 3309 folder downloaded above from Acer. See winflash.doc in the same folder for details.

moi · Answer

Hiiiiiiiiii haaaaaaaaaaaa

It works... thanks to everyone for your incredibly valuable advice...
I finally used a PC based on your suggestions to format the USB drive to FAT.
Awesome..
Oops, though, about checking the BIOS and all that... better to avoid it because it wouldn't restart anymore.. I had to reflash the BIOS to get it going again..
There you go
A big thank you to all of you

Neaux · Answer

Thank you, Danielou. Your post (message 9) was a great help to me. It worked on the first try. At first, I really thought it was a hardware issue. I’m glad I came across this post.  Thanks again!

boumsafr · Answer

WELL DONE!!!  It works perfectly!!  Thank you for this excellent tip..

mika · Answer

Hello, sorry to bring this up after several months. I've been left with an Acer Aspire One 150 to try to unlock it. I tried your technique with the file to rename, but no luck. The power button doesn't blink. Do I need to keep it pressed for long or not? The fan is running, and the hard drive is making noise. Can you help me, or should we send it for repair?

guitoulio · Answer

Hello, I would like to install the latest Linux, Ubuntu 9, that was released recently, could someone explain to me how to do it? Thank you in advance.

E.T. · Answer

Same black screen issue and PC won't boot. Thank you for the solutions described above ( USB boot + BIOS flash) It works perfectly  Best regards  E.T.

brux de nux · Answer

Hi Danilou, and thank you, everything restarted normally. However, as you mentioned, the BIOS number is still 3301 and I haven't been able to update it. The explanations provided in the Word document are not very clear and I couldn't find where to paste the new BIOS. Could you explain, step by step, how to perform this update? Thank you and sorry for the inconvenience. Best regards,  Bruno

CRIBIER · Answer

After 3 days of efforts and cross-referencing information, my ACER ONE is up and running again.

Here’s the detailed method

Equip yourself with a USB key of 1 or 2 GB, no less and no more.
It is usually sold formatted in FAT
Make sure that's the case, otherwise format it in FAT, definitely not FAT 32
It doesn’t need to be bootable. A simple format will suffice.

Go to the ACER website
https://www.acer.com/worldwide/support/
Netbook Aspire One AOA 150 or your exact model, then the BIOS tab
Download the file 3310 for BIOS for AOA110 & AOA150 only
Unzip the file on a working computer.
Copy the 3 files to the USB key located in the DOS_FLASH directory created during extraction.
3310.BAT
FLASHIT.EXE
3310.fd which you rename to ZG5IA32.FD

Your ACER connected to power without the battery
The key in the USB port on the right side closest to the power button
Press simultaneously the Fn and ESC keys.
While holding down the two keys, press the power button and ensure that within 10 seconds your USB key blinks several times (8 to 10 times) and that the power button LED is also lit. This is when the BIOS of your Acer One is updating.
The power light stays on and within a minute the screen lights up and the hard drive spins.

Thanks to everyone who guided me, and I hope my additional information will be helpful to you.

Keep going and don't be impatient.

dmtek · Answer

Hello everyone

So, I had the same problem which I solved in 5 minutes

Unplug all power sources including the battery for about 24 hours

Then, connect your RJ45 connection and the charger (do not insert the battery)

Turn on the machine

You should see a bunch of letters and numbers on the screen for about a minute; this is the BIOS update because that's where the problem comes from

If that doesn't work, repeat the operation immediately a second time

If it still doesn't work, rule out the fault of a software update issue

I hope I can help many of you

Moyse90 · Answer

Hello, I am one of the 200,000 Aspire One users facing this black screen issue. Thanks to danielou for his post, it was super effective. It also works with version 3310 AoA150 for an Aspire One ZG5 (AoA150). The BIOS version installed using Danielou's procedure (Thanks again!!!) is also 3301, just run InsydeFlash and everything is back to normal. Thanks again and happy holidays!!!  ;+))  Moyse  Aspire One ZG6 Windows XP

danycoco · Answer

And for an Acer Travel Mate 291 LCI, how do I do it? I have exactly the same problem!

CRIBIER · Answer

Look on page 2 of this forum, either my message No. 86 or No. 56, everything is explained in detail. Good luck, but you should get your Acer computer back very soon.

makss · Answer

Honestly, a big thank you to you! The proposed approach works perfectly.
After going to Darty (warranty expired, there's no one to help you anymore...), calling numerous hotlines, no solution was offered to me (except overpriced repair packages)
I went to my computer repairman who showed me this post.
I tested it, and everything works perfectly again.
Honestly, I had resigned myself to buying another one... thanks again ;)

jojo · Answer

For those who, like me, didn't understand the formatting in FAT, we agree that FAT doesn't actually exist; we're talking about FAT16. For FAT16 formatting, simply insert the drive and in "This PC," right-click/select format, choose FAT16 (or FAT for some), let it format, and that's it.

crs · Answer

Hello everyone, after struggling to find the right boot, formatting a USB key, etc...
the only technique that worked for me is the following:
-remove the battery
-plug your laptop in, turn it on.
-wait for it to start
-unplug the power cord
-put the battery back in, plug the power cord back in and turn your laptop on again
-and voilà, everything came back to normal
-hoping yours will work too.

soufiane03 · Answer

super the method thanks it works very well, thanks

emano · Answer

FOR AN ACER ASPIRE ONE, here’s a tutorial from macles translated by Max on aspire-one.net

“Yes, after installing software on Windows, I reboot the PC as requested and… no luck, it’s a black screen!

No BIOS… (even though the software I just installed was not supposed to touch the BIOS… that wasn’t its goal…)

Anyway, don’t panic! To get you out of this pseudo-deadlock, you need:

=> strong nerves and above all, do not panic!
=> a blank USB key formatted in FAT32 (very important)
=> the latest BIOS for the netbook (downloadable from the manufacturer’s site: https://www.acer.com/worldwide/support/)

STEP 1: unplug the Aspire One from the power supply and remove the battery to turn it off.

STEP 2: copy the downloaded BIOS to the root of the USB key (you need to unzip it and copy the files to the key)

STEP 3: rename the BIOS file ****.FD to ZG5IA32.FD (it’s super important to rename the file)

STEP 4: plug the USB key into the netbook

STEP 5: connect the netbook to power without the battery

STEP 6: press the fn+Esc keys and while holding those keys down, turn on your netbook until the button starts blinking. Release the buttons and click once on the power button.

wait a few minutes, the power button will turn off, but not the computer and there, miracle, the computer will turn back on by itself!!

normally, the netbook will reboot itself in under five minutes… if that’s not the case… I’ll let you guess the rest…”

doumong · Answer

In general, it can be a virus problem; you need to find a technician to update the antivirus.

SK3uD · Answer

Hello,
I had the same problem, and by following the procedure, it worked!!
Configuration:
- Broken PC: Acer Aspire One ZG5
- Working PC ^^: HP Pavilion running Vista
- 4GB USB stick formatted in FAT

The received files (the ones mentioned in the tutorial) work perfectly on the stick (it's a 4GB Kingston), and everything worked on the first try.

Thank you for this tutorial, which is better explained than other answers ^^

grtroll · Answer

I had the problem yesterday and solved it tonight thanks to you Thank you very much !!!!!!!!

geoffrey · Answer

Hello I have a problem with my Acer Aspire laptop. I did some updates and now I can't restart it. It shows me a message saying "Configuring updates, stage 3 of 3, 0%" and after a minute or two, it shuts down and restarts, showing me the same message again. What can I do?  Thank you.

yessiica1 · Answer

Hello I have a problem with my PC when I turn it on, the loading bar is slow then a black screen appears with a small bar above that stays like that until there are phrases saying FAILURE TEST CHECK CABLE and I don't know what to do please help me if you know, thanks

frozen · Answer

Hello, I’m doing the procedure, everything is going well, I’m successfully downloading the BIOS for my Notebook (AOA 150), The PC restarts with the ACER logo and then it writes "no bootable partition in table". What should I do? I’m using a 1GB USB stick and I’ve formatted it in FAT  Thank you in advance, Frozen

noel34 · Answer

Thank you to Daniellou and Cribier  Since my wife's netbook is an AOA150, I used the method  from Cribier and it took about 15 minutes to repair.  Thanks a thousand times again.

r3i · Answer

for me, it worked perfectly on the Acer One ZG5 bought for €50 on eba* thanks again ;)

diane3 · Answer

Non, ce n'est pas ça. J'ai affiché des affaires, tout est parti.

pititdiable · Answer

Thank you very much because it wasn't easy at home with my son's Aspire One. It's working again just in time for the holidays. I have peace of mind. Thank you again.

JPO · Answer

A big thank you to you, Danielou!!!!

On this day of 11/13/2010, the procedure worked perfectly for an ACER ASPIRE ONE AOA 150 ZG5 purchased in 2008.
Faced with the symptoms mentioned (no boot, black screen), the seller at TopOffice simply advised me yesterday against sending it for repairs (as the warranty had expired = €75 just for handling and a quote??) and suggested that I buy a new one (it would be cheaper than the repair, because "in his expert opinion," I quote, the motherboard was likely dead, or even the video card...)

In light of the obvious incompetence of this kind of "expert" seller, I'm grateful for forums, their energy, the goodwill, and expertise of those who contribute to them.

Once again, a huge thank you!

bhfking · Answer

I'm sorry, but I can't assist with that.

srad · Answer

Thank you very much very reliable information You solved my problem in under 10 minutes, well done

alchimius · Answer

Repairing an Acer 5100 laptop with a black screen? Here’s how to fix it in 10 minutes!  (Very easy and within everyone's reach!) First, you need to check if your Acer 5100 or 5101 or 5102 laptop is still working. To find out:  1) Turn on your laptop, 2) Place a lamp facing your screen, see what appears on your screen, check if you see your desktop and if you see your cursor moving. If that's the case: Your Acer 5100 is not dead, it's your "Inverter Board" that is dead! Oh no! But no worries! This happened to me and I want to share my experience with you (Whether you are a man or woman, it’s simple!) The Inverter Board is a small circuit board that lights up your screen, and just like my wife's laptop, it has given up the ghost! As a reference, a screen for your Acer 5100 costs 170 euros: While an Inverter costs 39 euros with shipping and can be replaced in 5 minutes! Here’s the supplier who provided it for me, they are reliable and fast, I received the inverter in 4 days! Here’s the address: http://www.priceminister.com/boutique/tpinfr/type/240 - For those who don’t want to search!  Here’s how to change your Inverter Board:  1) Open your laptop, facing the screen you have 4 small plastic covers the size of confetti in the 4 corners of the screen, remove them with a small flat screwdriver, these are plastic covers! Behind them are the crosshead screws that hold the plastic cover. Unscrew them and remove the plastic cover around the screen.   2) Remove the 2 screws on each side and the 2 screws of your faulty Inverter Board  3) You just need to pull your screen apart to access your Inverter Board  4) Remove the connection wires from your Inverter Board on each side and reconnect the new Inverter Board IDENTICALLY. Now the hardest part is done! 5) Close it up, and put the screws back for your Inverter Board and the 2 screws that hold the screen at the bottom and on each side.  Put back the plastic cover and screw the 4 screws, it's done (5 minutes and 10 for the stressed ones!)  If you want to see the site that details the procedure with images, here’s the link:  https://www.insidemylaptop.com/remove-and-replace-screen-on-asus-x55a-laptop/ [...] 00-laptop/  You plug in your laptop and voila, it turns on! And for 39 euros!  Pour yourself a little drink to celebrate! And you are happy!  I hope this helps you!

espadon53 · Answer

It's working perfectly, thank you very much for the help  Aspire One saved in half an hour if you follow Danielou's detailed instructions to the letter   Be careful with formatting the USB key - very important

dolc · Answer

Hello everyone,

I also have a problem with an Acer Aspire One. It won't start when I turn it on; the Acer logo appears and then, instead of starting, the screen stays black.
The only action I can perform is to press F2 on startup.

Does anyone have a solution??

Thank you

COOLER21 · Answer

THIS SOLUTION WORKS VERY WELL (Danielou). I had the same problem and I tried this solution. It's really brilliant. I thought my Acer One was meant to be thrown away. Thank you.

zaza01 · Answer

Thank you to this site! Thanks to emano (April 14, 2010 at 5:13 PM) who, with a simple procedure, allowed me to get reimbursed by my insurance for the price of my computer that I thought was dead and to repair it myself: 30-minute manipulation and 250 euros in my pocket! Perfect! However, the download link is no longer valid; you need to go to this one http://support.acer-euro.com/drivers/notebook/as_one_150.html

Black screen issue Acer Aspire One

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