Cost of repairs - Acer Service Centre

[Sortapundit]

Last night I made the stupid mistake of attempting to update the BIOS on the motherboard of my Acer Aspire V5-122P, which had a problem that was causing the USB ports and touchscreen to malfunction, and also made it difficult to boot up (it kept getting stuck in a blue screen loop). The moment I started fiddling with the BIOS someone should have given me a slap, as quite predictably the laptop crashed halfway through the procedure, and now the screen is blank when it powers up (which I'm guessing is due to corrupt BIOS).

I've just dropped it off at the Acer service centre at Fortune Town, Rama 9, and have been told it'll be a couple of days before I hear from them.

In the meantime can anyone give me a hint as to how much I can expect to pay for a replacement motherboard? I've never had to get anything repaired here, so I don't even know what sort of ballpark figure I'll end up paying.

Also, has anyone who knows anything about computers been in a similar situation and NOT had to replace the whole board? As far as I know the board itself should be physically intact, so I'm wondering if the Acer technicians are skilled (and honest) enough to fix the problem without jumping straight to an expensive hardware replacement.

Cheers

[dave_boo]

If the machine crashed when you were in a DOS environment (or a gui bios environment for efi boot) than there's an underlying problem with the hardware.

It could be that the system needs to simply be cleaned as it was overheating and that caused the crash. Or your memory was failing. Or you flashed the wrong bios.

I doubt that the bios chip is replaceable, i.e. socketed. If it isn't than your motherboard needs to be replaced as a unit.

[chiang mai]

Last time I used Acer repair CM was six months ago, THB 2,500 flat rate charge for an out of warranty machine. Acer repair in CM gets my vote any day, over the3 alternatives.

Edited January 15, 2015 by chiang mai

[lostinisaan]

I don't think that your motherboard needs to be replaced. There're so many possibilities that a diagnosis, just knowing your facts, isn't possible.

I fixed quite a few ACERS and I started to dislike them a lot. Many just overheat, which is causing hard drives to die but also other electronic units.

Take the HD out, ( you'll find plenty of youtube movies how to do that), go to a shop and check if the HD's functioning. Once your cover is open, take your memory card(s) out, clean the contacts with a rubber ( not a condom).an eraser.

If you only have one DDR 3 memory card, take that one to the shop as well and get it checked. Checking HD is pretty easy, you can put your drive in a cover, connect it via USB to any other machine and see if it's functioning.

Just reading between the lines tells me that your HD said good bye to you. A 500 GB is around 1,700 baht. Would you need a new memory card, a 2 GB is around 1 K.

However, might be the right time to put a new program on your machine, as you might have had serious Trojan horses, virus and other attacks.

Almost all parts on your motherboard can be replaced, but most computer shops can only replace whole parts. .

I remember one ACER I had in my fingers, where a "chip" ( they didn't tell me which one) had died. I paid 2,200 baht for this chip replacement, but the same freaking problem came back after only tow days.

Nobody changed a chip, they're only trying to make as much money as they could.

I reckon to go to an "Advice shop", which exist in all provinces. They usually have at least one guy who knows what's going on.

Another problem in Thailand are tiny insects such as ants. These little <deleted> are causing many malfunctions.

Once your machine's working again, please install "Hard drive Sentinel", a fantastic program that checks health and temperature of your drives.

If you can't do th tests with your HD and memory card, bring your machine to an "Advice shop" and tell them to check on it immediately, because you'd like to know what's wrong and how much you'll have to pay.

When I work with an Acer and get back to my old DELL, I feel comfortable. Acer computers are in my eyes rubbish.

[Sortapundit]

Thanks for the replies so far, guys

Chiang Mai, what did that 2,500baht cover? Did you need any new parts?

Since you guys seem to understand the witchcraft in these boxes I'll try to explain the problem.

A couple of nights ago I came home to find the laptop, which I'd left on to download a movie, stuck on the Windows 8 blue error screen with a BUGCODE_USB_DRIVER error. After a few attempts to startup - cycling from the Acer splash screen, trying to enter automatic repair mode, then going back to the blue screen before starting again - it finally started up, but the touchscreen didn't work and my USB mouse crapped out. In the device manager there were faaaar too many USB devices listed, along with several instances of USB Root Hub or whatever it's called.

Apart from the non-functional screen and USB ports everything worked fine, and I was able to back up anything important to an external hard drive before attempting to restore the laptop to factory default (wiping both partitions, but leaving the OS intact). That didn't fix the USB or screen problem, but it restarted after a couple of visits to the blue screen and operated normally.

The real problem only began at 5AM when, deprived of sleep and not thinking all that clearly, I noticed that there were several new BIOS versions available (all definitely for my make and model). I updated them once, successfully, to an intermediate version that was necessary to bridge the gap between the original BIOS and the latest version. When I tried to update to the latest version, though, it crashed on startup and the screen has been blank since.

That's pretty much it, I think. I'm hoping there's no physical damage and they have some way to reinstall the BIOS, as I could really do without the expense of new hardware right now.

[RKASA]

I don't know for sure on your laptop but many laptop and PC have a jumper on the main board that will re flash the BIOS with a default or the original BIOS which is a backup copy on the same chip - so you can get it restarted - it only takes a few minutes to do and the instruction for your PC can be found somewhere on Google.

If you do upgrade your BIOS download it and use the USB method, but unless an upgrade claims to resolve some vary serious problem there is generally no real need to even to worry about it - mine is 9 years old.

Most likely your org problem was windows drivers or the reg. corrupted and not the BIOS anyway - That would be rare as hens teeth but not impossible.

If this presents itself as a reoccurring problem you may have a hardware fault such as the mother board or HD but.....

You can re load the OS from the image you made by running the rescue CD it made after the image - I make a new fresh image once a month - that will fix all your drivers back to the last updates and a point that you know it was working - you can then catch back up the rest of the way by running updates manual.

Restore points and repair have been rare to work in resolving most problems for me, but replacing the OS with a working copy if the hardware is good - never fails.

[RichCor]

I would think your original issue were not BIOS related, but a corrupted system driver.

Not to say it positively wasn't a BIOS issue, but if the problem developed over time I would want a very good explanation on how the BIOS was responsible.

The touch-screen failure is due to it also being a USB HID (Human Input Device).

Before EVER updating System BIOS you really want to read what the update is for, verify that it affects you, AND check the forums discussing your laptop to see what other people's experience has been with the BIOS update process and end result (and remember one bad apple does not a bad BIOS make, but if many people are complaining then you really want to verify that you NEED the new version and the exact steps to install it, and the alternative steps. I don't like versions that install inside Windows and rather have versions that just use DOS.

[Sortapundit]

I completely agree. I was fairly certain the main problem was a driver issue as there were a couple of folders in my system32/drivers folder that were oddly coloured (along with all the exclamation marks beside the devices in the device manager), but the system insisted they were all up to date and working correctly, despite that obviously not being the case. If it wasn't for epic lack of sleep and lots of frustration after many hours of trying to fix the problem I never would have gone anywhere near the BIOS. I just wish someone thinking more clearly than I was had been around to pull my hand from the touchpad.

[chiang mai]

Thanks for the replies so far, guys

Chiang Mai, what did that 2,500baht cover? Did you need any new parts?

Since you guys seem to understand the witchcraft in these boxes I'll try to explain the problem.

A couple of nights ago I came home to find the laptop, which I'd left on to download a movie, stuck on the Windows 8 blue error screen with a BUGCODE_USB_DRIVER error. After a few attempts to startup - cycling from the Acer splash screen, trying to enter automatic repair mode, then going back to the blue screen before starting again - it finally started up, but the touchscreen didn't work and my USB mouse crapped out. In the device manager there were faaaar too many USB devices listed, along with several instances of USB Root Hub or whatever it's called.

Apart from the non-functional screen and USB ports everything worked fine, and I was able to back up anything important to an external hard drive before attempting to restore the laptop to factory default (wiping both partitions, but leaving the OS intact). That didn't fix the USB or screen problem, but it restarted after a couple of visits to the blue screen and operated normally.

The real problem only began at 5AM when, deprived of sleep and not thinking all that clearly, I noticed that there were several new BIOS versions available (all definitely for my make and model). I updated them once, successfully, to an intermediate version that was necessary to bridge the gap between the original BIOS and the latest version. When I tried to update to the latest version, though, it crashed on startup and the screen has been blank since.

That's pretty much it, I think. I'm hoping there's no physical damage and they have some way to reinstall the BIOS, as I could really do without the expense of new hardware right now.

The THB 2,500 is their flat rate fee which covers all parts and labour., guaranteed for three months.

[dddave]

My GATEWAY (a division of ACER) laptop has been to the Acer Service Center at Fortune twice, once for an under warranty hard-disk replacement and one for a out-of-warranty issue (replacement fan) that was easily repaired. Both times the service was completed when they said it would be, under 3 days in both cases. There were no add-ons for the warranty repair and the fan replacement was less than B1000. A US repair cost website predicted $90 (in a US located, independent repair shop.)

In both cases, before the computer was returned to me, it was thoroughly cleaned and a diagnostic test run showing that everything was operating in good order.

In my experience, Acer Service at Fortune was competent, reliable and fair.

Unlike LENOVO at Pantip which is dishonest, disorderly and dis-interested; but that's another thread.

Edited January 16, 2015 by dddave

[Sortapundit]

So they just called back and told me I need a new motherboard, which will cost around 2,700 baht in total, but it will take TWO WEEKS to replace it. This isn't a hard to source part, right? I've never had to have any repairs done in Thailand, but am I right in thinking I can just go to another repair place in Fortune and find someone who has the board in stock?

[Jiu-Jitsu]

I'm guessing that you did not attempt a BIOS recovery...and also relatively sure that the Thai Techs have not done so either.

Replacing the Motherboard will be the most straightforward for them. BIOS engineering is probably not their remit.

Since you don't actually have the machine, there is little point in me putting a guide together.

[Sortapundit]

I'm guessing that you did not attempt a BIOS recovery...and also relatively sure that the Thai Techs have not done so either.

Replacing the Motherboard will be the most straightforward for them. BIOS engineering is probably not their remit.

Since you don't actually have the machine, there is little point in me putting a guide together.

I have it back now. Less than 3,000 baht is a steal for a fixed laptop, but I couldn't wait two weeks for the repair so I picked it up this afternoon. I'll now continue to try to fix it while looking for a dirt cheap machine to keep me going for the meantime.

If you have any tips on BIOS recovery I'm all ears. I just bought a 16GB USB stick and I have the better half's MacBook, so I can download BIOS to the stick. I've also just removed the CMOS battery in an effort to force the BIOS to reset, because at this point it's worth trying anything.

[Sortapundit]

P.S. Yes, I'm fairly certain the technicians didn't exhaust all their options before they jumped to hardware replacement. I know it's not always visible to the naked eye, but there doesn't seem to be any sort of obvious physical damage to the board, or anything at all in the inner workings.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

I'm guessing that you did not attempt a BIOS recovery...and also relatively sure that the Thai Techs have not done so either.

Replacing the Motherboard will be the most straightforward for them. BIOS engineering is probably not their remit.

Since you don't actually have the machine, there is little point in me putting a guide together.

I have it back now. Less than 3,000 baht is a steal for a fixed laptop, but I couldn't wait two weeks for the repair so I picked it up this afternoon. I'll now continue to try to fix it while looking for a dirt cheap machine to keep me going for the meantime.

If you have any tips on BIOS recovery I'm all ears. I just bought a 16GB USB stick and I have the better half's MacBook, so I can download BIOS to the stick. I've also just removed the CMOS battery in an effort to force the BIOS to reset, because at this point it's worth trying anything.

Where was this machine purchased? Did it come with genuine pre-installed Windows 8? Confirm the full model number. I want to be sure to use the correct file.

Edited January 16, 2015 by Jiu-Jitsu

[Sortapundit]

Purchased in the UK. The model is Acer Aspire V5-122P, and the string after the model number on the case (if it's at all relevant) is 61456g50nss.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Will try to put something together in the next day or two.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Interesting. it seems that it's not only you

[Sortapundit]

Yeah, I found that thread a little whole ago, and it all seems very familiar.

Right now I'm trying to follow the advice that usually comes up, to flash the BIOS from a USB stick. Unfortunately that requires me to unzip the .exe BIOS file offered on the Acer site to reveal the files it contains (ie .fd file, etc.). That doesn't seem to be possible on the Mac I'm using, since Macs are confused by .exe files

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Yeah, I found that thread a little whole ago, and it all seems very familiar.

Right now I'm trying to follow the advice that usually comes up, to flash the BIOS from a USB stick. Unfortunately that requires me to unzip the .exe BIOS file offered on the Acer site to reveal the files it contains (ie .fd file, etc.). That doesn't seem to be possible on the Mac I'm using, since Macs are confused by .exe files

You can't flash the BIOS if you the machine does not boot. Going back, I've just noted that you state that the machine actually powers up....it's just the screen that is blank. Is this correct? Can you actually get into the BIOS setup screen by pressing F2 on startup?

[Sortapundit]

Yes, the machine powers up (blue power light on, fan spinning) but the screen is entirely blank from the get go. None of the function buttons produce a result.

[lostinisaan]

Can you hear the HD running as well? Have you tried to clean the contacts at your DDR memory stick(s).

It's very easy to take the HD and memory out and test it at a shop to make sure that you don't have a malfunctioning HD, or memory.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

In the meanwhile, if you want to play with the version 2.12 .fd file, it is here

[Sortapundit]

I haven't checked either the RAM or the HD, but I'll check the contacts and seating now. I can't really tell if the HD is running as I have tinnitus, and the whirring of an HD is sort of drowned out by the ringing in my ears Is a memory or hard disk failure likely, though? Since the problem came about by my stupidly fiddling with the BIOS I'm just assuming that that's the most likely explanation.

[Sortapundit]

Cheers for that JJ I'll load it onto a stick now.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Cheers for that JJ I'll load it onto a stick now.

I think that you should forget about that for now.

Format the USB flash drive to FAT32.

Download, save and then un-zip this file and drag the .fd file within, on to the drive.

Next;

- Shutdown the notebook

- Remove all peripheral devices

- Remove battery, Remove AC power cord

- Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds (battery and AC power still out), then release

- Put the USB Memory Stick in the USB port

- Hold "Fn" + "Esc" and plug the AC power cord in

- Now press the power button (whilst still holding Fn + Esc).

Wait until the fan will run, then release "Fn" + "Esc" keys

- The fan will run for about 2-10 minutes and the USB drive activity LED will blink

- The notebook should reboot automatically. If it doesn't, unplug the AC power cord once the fan has turned off

If no go, try it again with this one

Edited January 16, 2015 by Jiu-Jitsu

[Sortapundit]

I'm trying the second one now (no dice with the first).

I noticed a little earlier while removing and replacing the RAM that there's no beep on startup. I'm guessing this doesn't bode well for the motherboard still being alive, but I'm not sure if the screwed up BIOS would produce the same result. Either way, my confidence is dipping by the minute for a good resolution to this

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Try different USB ports.