Problem Laptop Acer Aspire 4520 cannot switch ON.

[ElijahTW]

Originally Posted by General Plot

Funny enough, I'm a repair tech for Acer. I do laptop repairs on warranty units. The power on then instant off problem is actually pretty common in the Aspire lines. Essentially, it's a power regulation issue, and the only fix is indeed a new motherboard. If your laptop is less than a year old, then the fix should be free. Acer charges a flat rate for all labor and prices vary on different motherboards.

Edit: In case you needed proof that I am indeed an Acer employee, here's a screenshot from my workstation which has my name on it (anyone on here can tell you it's my real name). Also, a view of my desk showing a couple units I was working on. I even tried PCSX2 on a customer unit (just to see how bad it would be). Also, there's a service doc screen shot (I get these with every unit I'm assigned to repair).

You work at Acer? Tell them to make less crappy laptops... Everyone I've known with a Acer Failtop has had some kind of hardware issue.

I owned a Acer Aspire 5100 before... HDD failed so I replaced it... new HDD failed, RMA... New HDD failed, RMA... Figured out that the laptop itself was damaging the HDDs. A test with a multimeter found it was putting out over 8V where it should have been putting out 5. Probably a failed voltage regulator of some sort.... Tech support was far from helpful since I was slightly out of warranty. Dell, as crappy as I think half of their PCs are, will, in my experience, at least try to give you a few pointers even if you're out of warranty.

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[PsyMan]

Yeah, my Acer lappy also has a dead right speaker. The crappy Mat****a drive also died on me a while after the purchase. Had some work to do when those things happened and couldn't RMA the thing.

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[IamWhatIam]

Originally Posted by BigIg

You work at Acer? Tell them to make less crappy laptops... Everyone I've known with a Acer Failtop has had some kind of hardware issue.

I owned a Acer Aspire 5100 before... HDD failed so I replaced it... new HDD failed, RMA... New HDD failed, RMA... Figured out that the laptop itself was damaging the HDDs. A test with a multimeter found it was putting out over 8V where it should have been putting out 5. Probably a failed voltage regulator of some sort.... Tech support was far from helpful since I was slightly out of warranty. Dell, as crappy as I think half of their PCs are, will, in my experience, at least try to give you a few pointers even if you're out of warranty.

people like GP who work for acer as a technician cannot do anything about the fail laptops.
Its the design team. If you get the message to the design team then you will start to get better products.

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[ElijahTW]

Lol yeah I know, but GP would have closer connections than me to get the word across.

Then again, GP probably is benefited by the fact that their laptops fail so much - if they had a more reasonable failure rate, they wouldn't need as many technicians, so he's probably not to excited to tell them to make their laptops suck less.

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[General Plot]

Originally Posted by BigIg

You work at Acer? Tell them to make less crappy laptops... Everyone I've known with a Acer Failtop has had some kind of hardware issue.

Actually I work here (address on the right). You don't think I've tried that already? All of us techs have.

Originally Posted by PsyMan

Yeah, my Acer lappy also has a dead right speaker. The crappy Mat****a drive also died on me a while after the purchase. Had some work to do when those things happened and couldn't RMA the thing.

That happens so often to units. I get so many that are just past warranty and the company winds up sending chargeable repair proposals to the customers.

Originally Posted by IamWhatIam

people like GP who work for acer as a technician cannot do anything about the fail laptops.
Its the design team. If you get the message to the design team then you will start to get better products.

We've talked directly to Acer countless times, but the truth is they prioritize low price over quality every time. I may be an employee for them, but you'll never hear me recommend Acer to anyone.

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[PsyMan]

It's just an effective way to offer support. Which is the most efficient income method for companies of this kind.

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[ElijahTW]

Lol GP you gave us your address where you work. Lets all go visit GP at work.

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[IamWhatIam]

Originally Posted by General Plot

We've talked directly to Acer countless times, but the truth is they prioritize low price over quality every time. I may be an employee for them, but you'll never hear me recommend Acer to anyone.

Oh but you would, to your frenemies (friends who are actually enemies)

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[General Plot]

Originally Posted by BigIg

Lol GP you gave us your address where you work. Lets all go visit GP at work.

You won't catch me in my best mood there, but feel free to stop by, provided you can get a keycard to get in.

Originally Posted by IamWhatIam

Oh but you would, to your frenemies (friends who are actually enemies)

Never thought of that actually. Good idea.

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[klau]

Hi GP,

Since you are a tech for Acer, mind to help me to find out how much is this mobo cost?

S/N: LXAMV0C035801017192500

This unit has a RAM slot problem. RAM out, the unit stays on. RAM in, it turns on, then off, then on again. The cycle repeats. Out of the blue, it turns on, boot into windows without problem.

Thanks.

[Silenus]

You might want to try to pm him as he's not so active on this forum as before.

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[klau]

ok. Thanks.

[Bronzerul]

By now, you would have solved the problem. However, the solution I found might help someone else. By lifting the left side of the laptop (just under the switch in question) slightly, tilting it, so to speak, I get the switch to work.

It could be that this is a sign of bigger problems down the road. I wish Acer would a clarification and a definitive solution. I believe it is their responsibility to do so!

Bronzerul

[murek]

i had same problem a few day ago. When i push the power button, the power led is on and suddenly off. This is what we (me and my friends) do, and it work (at least for my acer 4520 )

1. Get instruction manual about how to disassemble the laptop (there'are so many link to download the pdf)
2. Diassemble the laptop until you reach the motherboard.
3. Find the nvidia chipset. it's under a big plate of metal beside of the CPU
4. reheat the chipset IC connections (in my case, we use hot-air solder).
5. pray and good luck

[Xblade]

When I eventually get a laptop I know now to get a big juicy warranty.

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[cyclonmaster]

I'm about to change the MoBo to cure this problem. No succes with all the solution.

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[luketf]

Hi General Plot,
How much is the mobo for an Aspire 4520? Mine doesn't turn on at all. But it seems that the left hinge (the one near the fan) is broken, would that be a probable reason?

[Xblade]

Originally Posted by luketf

Hi General Plot,
How much is the mobo for an Aspire 4520? Mine doesn't turn on at all. But it seems that the left hinge (the one near the fan) is broken, would that be a probable reason?

Hmm....

Did the lookup for you today and according to our system, stock price on a replacement mainboard is just shy of 100 pounds (96.57). This is just the cost of the board. If you have Acer install it, they charge an additional 50 pounds for what they call C&A (courier and assessment). If you feel comfortable doing the job yourself, you can probably find the board a little cheaper on ebay, etc.. The Acer part number is MB.AHS06.001 and if you want, I can get you the service guide as well. Hope this helps.

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[sur_bhujang]

Dear friend,
please help me.
I have acer 4520 laptop. suddenly it does not start. I have checked by replacing battery. even a power light doesn't come. but when i put it by mains charger the charging light grows. I think its a motherboard issue any other things that i can check.
thanks in Advance

[sur_bhujang]

Originally Posted by murek

i had same problem a few day ago. When i push the power button, the power led is on and suddenly off. This is what we (me and my friends) do, and it work (at least for my acer 4520 )

1. Get instruction manual about how to disassemble the laptop (there'are so many link to download the pdf)
2. Diassemble the laptop until you reach the motherboard.
3. Find the nvidia chipset. it's under a big plate of metal beside of the CPU
4. reheat the chipset IC connections (in my case, we use hot-air solder).
5. pray and good luck

Same problem I had faced but cured with the above steps