Laptop Repair (Acer Aspire 5000)

Saturday 03 November 2007 at 10:02 pm

Recently my laptop broke internally. The little circle PSU port inside went, the pin inside somehow snapped of the motherboard. Course my laptop is out of its warranty at this point by a few months (Typical ain't it) so i decided fuck it. it was broke anyway with no way to charge the battery ever again so i couldn't break it any more than i already had. So i decided to dismantle it and make the repair myself.

I managed to repair it successfully, and if you want to see how the repair went then please click to read this entire entry. as i don't want just any idiot stumbling along and finding how to dismantle there laptops.

But before all that, let me include this little disclaimer, you try it. and you fuck it up. Its all your fault. Don't even attempt to come crying to me.

if your unsure then dont do it, please remember i am qualified as an electronic and mechatronic engineer. and i have worked as a PC technical before. So delving into PC's and Laptops doesnt bother me. If it bothers you i cant put this any simplier. DONT DO IT.

Laptop Repair

First thing I did, which might just seem like common sense but I’ve seen people skip this part a lot (And skipped it myself at times) is to find a nice clear work area.

Ok, I flipped the Laptop onto its back and removed the 3 panels over the CPU, Ram and HDD respectively. Nice and straight forward to-do. I then took note of the wire positions going into the Wi-Fi card, and removed those connections and the card itself.

Flipped the laptop back over and carefully removed the cover along the top (Where the power buttons is) by removing the three screws along the back of the laptop. You need to be careful removing this as it has small plastic clips that are very easily snapped. Once that’s off you can remove the two screws that hold the Keyboard in place. Lift the keyboard and release the catch on the Keyboard cable on the motherboard. Allows you to lift the keyboard away.

With the keyboard removed, remove the screw that’s holding the CD/DVD drive in place (picture below) and slide the drive out (the release for the battery on the underside sometimes catches the drive too, so if its sticking just slide the battery release over)

Then remove the cable for the LCD display and pull the wireless connection cable through the hole, Remove the screws holding the Display in place and remove completely, Store it somewhere safe as these displays are very easy to break.

Remove the 2 screws holding in the Power button board and lift it off. Again store it somewhere safe and on or in something antistatic.

Carefully remove the 2 cables for the Touchpad, Being careful with the ribbon cable it’s again it’s easy to destroy these types of cable.

Flip the laptop over and remove all the screws from the underside, this will make it seem like its ready to come apart, but it’s not. Flip it back over and remove the top. Next to the connector where the battery plugs in you’ll find one final screw to remove. Now on the back of the laptop you’ll find your VGA port, remove the two nuts on this (long nosed pliers do this job easily or a small socket if you have one that small) once these are removed lift the motherboard from the front side of the laptop and slide it out, you now have your motherboard out.

The part that broke for me was the Power port

I didn’t have time to wait on a replace so I just knocked up my own till I can locate a real replacement. I did this work. I’m not going to show it as it’s quite unsafe and I wouldn’t want to give anyone idea’s. But needless to say my hacked together replacement worked and I now have a functional laptop again. Oo yea, repeat the above backwards to put it back together (Like anyone really wouldn’t have got that for themselves)

As you can see its upsidedown, but the charging light is on! :D

Used tags: pivot_acer_laptop_aspire_5000

Specis | ¶ | Electronics | 81 comments

81 comments

Nice work! :D
And you were right, if the laptop was unusable the way it was anyway then ya might as well.
I’d be less interested in trying it if it were a desktop PC mainboard, just because you can end up frying other still good parts like your processor and memory (which end up being more expensive when added up than replacing the mainboard). But in a laptop, sure. Sending it in without warranty and having them do a half arsed job replacing it tends to cost half as much as a new stinking laptop usually :/

Shadee - 05-11-’07 12:25

This guide is mentioned among other DIY laptop and notebook repair guides at Repair4Laptop http://repair4laptop.org/ .

Werner Heuser (Email ) (URL) - 07-12-’07 18:26

How do you get the screen off so you can get to the 3 screws at the back of the top cover please?

Mike Underwood (Email ) (URL) - 19-12-’07 22:46

Im not quite sure what you mean, but i think you mean the three screws on the back end on the plastic cover thats cover the monitor mounting brackets?

You just close the Display and remove the screws, then flip the monitor open fully, Once you’ve done this there’s three little plastic clips that run along the keyboard side just pop them out and you can remove the cover giving you access to the monitor brackets.

Its easiest to start removing the cover from the left hand side as the clips on the right side are close together.

Ends up looking like this
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/Charles.Sp..

Specis (Email ) (URL) - 19-12-’07 23:33

We just took my daughter’s 5010 apart to resolder the power jack (well my son actually got into it, I just did the soldering!). It doesn’t have the screws at the back edge either. Open up the screen and look at the long black plastic strip above the keyboard where the power switch and speaker is. It’s in 3 parts. The small end sections both clip under the central section; they can be prised off to the left and right. The big central part also unclips; turn the laptop round so you’re looking at the back edge and lever it up to free it.

Not a job for the feint-hearted on this model – we reassembled it 3 times before we used up all the screws!

Keith Hammond (Email ) - 26-12-’07 23:05

The same thing is wrong with my Acer Aspire 5570Z , The little pin inside the socket where the power pack plugs in broke off and came out. For a while I put s short wire in the lug in part and it compensated, but end up getting pushed inside the hole, so i have a little wire floating around in there now. Anyway, cn’t do that anymore, got to get that socket out but am afraid to take so much apart. Ready to just cut that little area out around the input with a dremel or something and just put in a new socket in there somehow. Or can i get to that part without total surgery and removal of all you removed.. thanks…. larry

larry (Email ) - 28-12-’07 17:35

Sadly Larry, your most likely going to have to remove everything down to the motherboard.
Not sure how similar the makes are either mines was a Aspire 5002WLMi and as you’ve probably noticed from the comments above 5010’s etc have completely different cases.

Laptops are pretty easy to put back together, its just the first dismantle that’s a nightmare. So I’d defiantly recommend taking it apart before you start setting about it with a Dremel. Just do what i did and take photo’s every time you remove something, that way you have an exact roadmap for when you come to put it back together.

Specis (Email ) (URL) - 28-12-’07 17:59

Invaluable instructions, thank you very much.

Vincent - 21-01-’08 18:48

Thanks and Mahalo!!!

dragon - 08-02-’08 13:20

Hi. I have an Acer Aspire 5100-3123 laptop. There is a crack in the back left corner of the base (by the screw). This interferes with closing the top and it’s just getting worse. I have ordered a new base and the Acer tech said I could probably replace it myself. What do you think? Would it be impossible? Any help/guidance would be soo appreciated!

Stephanie (Email ) - 13-02-’08 22:32

I had exactly the same problem and it’s all because of poor design from Acer. The right angle in the power connector means that if the laptop is put down carelessly (I have 3 kids!) then there’s physical stress on the circuit board where the power goes in. The power socket had cracked and I openned up my Acer 1640 to have a poke around and solder wires to the circuit board to enable me to feed the power in without the socket. My story doesn’t have a happy ending and the laptop never lit up again! Like you said “…it was already useless, so what did I have to lose”. The shocking thing is, I bought a replacement Acer and the power connector still has the stupid right angle!

Steve (Email ) - 16-02-’08 15:43

I am assisting someone with their laptop replacing the fan/thermal unit that covers the CPU. I have carefully taken the laptop apart a replaced the thermal unit. Everything was fairly easy to to. When the computer was put back together now it doesn’t turn on at all. I did avoid static shock as I was working… so now I guess I will take it back apart to see if there is anything I may have missed. Any suggestions?

Tech E (Email ) - 17-02-’08 18:53

Never mind guys… It was the power button board was not secured in place! Ha about scared myself!!

Tech E (Email ) - 17-02-’08 22:14

Thanks very much for this post! I had a similar problem, and managed to solve it by attaching power wires directly to the motherboard (beneath the power jack), and feeding those wires out through holes I drilled in the case. Works like a charm (although I’m now certain I won’t be allowed through airport security with my laptop again).

joe (Email ) - 19-02-’08 08:00

Thanks for post saved me a lot of time and money :)

Rob USA (Email ) - 19-02-’08 18:54

Hi Larry, I have exactly the same problem with my 5570Z, the pin came out and was stuck in the end of the power pack adaptor. I was advised by my local computer shop to contact Acer direct as he said it was a manufacturing problem, and not due to any fault of my own. Acers reply was to say that the model had been on the market for several months now, and they were not aware of this problem. It was, therefore my fault and I would have to pay to get it fixed. I am waiting for a call from a more senior person as I am not happy with their response. The guy also let slip the fact that this was a fault with another of their laptops, though I dont know which model. This has made me more determined to get Acer to repair this for free, so anyone else out there with the same problem please let me know. I suspect that there must be quite a few!

elaine (Email ) - 20-02-’08 02:39

Me again, the way I solved the problem with an unusable power input was to buy an external battery charger, not great but at least gives me an hour run time. Just a pain taking the battery off, charging it, and putting it back on . Acer, I think they planned it that way so you buy another laptop every year.

larry (Email ) - 28-02-’08 13:28

I have a Acer 5002wlmi, and I have three screws on the hinges, and then three screws under the screen (weather the screen is open or closed. I can’t get to them. Does any one have a suggestion.

chuck (Email ) - 13-03-’08 04:06

never mind I figured it out. I’m just slightly retarded.

chuck (Email ) - 13-03-’08 04:37

I have an acer aspire5610-2273 laptop. When i hit the power button it starts for about 2 seconds then goes dead. Any ideas?

bob (Email ) - 15-03-’08 12:52

Sounds like your battery is just dead Bob, you tried a replacement battery?
I’ve also seen what your describing happen with laptops when the harddrive has gone too.

Charles McCrimmon (Email ) (URL) - 16-03-’08 00:06

Thanks Charles. As it turned out it was a loose connection on the charger. Replaced it and its all good now.

bob (Email ) - 16-03-’08 00:22

Thanks for the article. I’m confident I could disassemble the laptop, but how risky is the soldering process? What are the chances of doing irreversible damage during the soldering process. I mean as far as I know you just heat the solder joints, suck out the hot solder with one of those bulbs, put the new port in, and put a little solder on each joint right? Im debating on trying this… my soldering experience is limited to guitar wiring. It worked but it was pretty messy. any how thanks again.

Matt - 18-03-’08 19:54

Risky, It really all depends on how comfortable you are with your own abilities. The type of PCB used in these things aren’t really designed to be worked on by hand but by machine. I personally used a soldiering station with the temp set to low to reduce the chance of causing any damage to the board itself.

But no matter what it comes down to your own ability and your own confidence in your ability.

Charles McCrimmon (Email ) (URL) - 18-03-’08 23:55

Thanks so much for this post!! I was quoted an outrageous price for repair from one shop, and another said it could not be repaired. Warranty had only been out less than 30 days, so I was not happy and would not accept that answer. Now its working great!

Regina (Email ) - 20-03-’08 21:06

Hiya all. I have an acer aspire 5050 laptop and its driving me mental. The charger seems to have a huge fault or the actual socket not sure which. I have to wriggle the connector inside the socket to get it to plug into the mains but it still refuses to charge it. I can use the laptop on the mains as long as i keep perfectly still or it unconnects from the mains and shuts down. Any idea’s??

laura (Email ) - 04-04-’08 17:20

hello,
I have an Acer Aspire 3618. When u plug in the power adaptor by itself the charge light stays solid, when u plug it into the laptop it just blinks like mad. Any ideas?

Kurt (Email ) - 05-04-’08 18:03

Hi,

when i turn on my laptop(acer aspire 5100- 5674) nothing comes on the screen but the green (power)light on the laptop stays on.I can hear the fans working when i start the laptop.i don’t think that it is a back light problem because you can’t see anything even when you shine a torch at it.I tried connecting it to a external monitor but it still didn’t work(although i could have made a mistake) To turn the laptop off i have to hold the power button and when it turns off there’s a squeaky beep (quite long), there no beep when i start it up btw.Could this be a problem with the video card

Before this happened the screen on my laptop went white and there were black/grey lines on it.But it came on again after 3-4 hours but the same thing happened again.

Could you please tell me what the problem is.the laptop is less than 1 year old

thank you

qwerty9192 (Email ) - 05-04-’08 18:16

Laura :
Sounds a bit like two problems, Sounds like you have either a broken socket or a dodgy cable, But the more pressing one is it refusing to charge. Could possibly be the battery itself is knackered and in need or replacement.

Kurt :
I’ve had no experience with the 3618, So I cant really say much. But the blinking could be some sort of error signal? check the manual under the troubleshooting section?

qwerty9192 :
This really sounds like a monitor problem which is pretty common on laptops, But with it being under a year old you Should be covered by the basic warranty and I’d highly recommend contacting acer and getting them to repair it if you are.

Charles McCrimmon (Email ) (URL) - 06-04-’08 13:36

Ive had a look at my friends laptop that is exactly the same and it appears i have the same problem as everyone else and what has happed is the pin in the socket has come out and is stuck in the connector on the charger lead. As my lappy is not a year old yet im contacting Ebuyer who i bought it from and im hoping they will fix it.

Thanks Charles
Will let ya know how i get on :)

laura (Email ) - 06-04-’08 18:05

The same thing with my Acer 5570Z, the pin is connected physically but not electrially, I cannot charge the battery nor operate the unit.

Hafiz - 07-04-’08 18:06

Does anyone know where it would be possible to order a replacement part?

David (Email ) (URL) - 08-04-’08 18:46

the same thing is happening to my acer 5570z the power socket pin is like burnt and i cant charge it anymore. can someone help or know how to open up the base cover of the laptop?

tyrone - 13-04-’08 06:03

hey i can not find that same part for my lab top its been broke for awile and i havn’t found this power port if u found a web site that sells them plz tell me

jacob (Email ) - 15-04-’08 01:56

Hi Charles,

Thank you very much for your efforts, it is an excellent tutorial. My only question is, at the point you pull the motherboard out would it be possible to to instead just pull off the back cover? I need to get at the cooling module and it appears that access would be easy with the back removed. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Dan

Dan - 19-04-’08 16:34

Perfect! I just had my acer 5000 refuse to charge yesterday…I immediately pulled a backup, and now I’m looking into fixing it. Your superb tutorial was the first site Google gave me. right on!

In my case there is no obvious damage to the dc plug (nothing broken off etc) and if I push on the plug juuust so, it will start to charge. but as soon as I let go, the power is interrupted. I’m going to have a go at fixing early next week…I’m fairly confident about disassembly (done tons of desktops)…but I’m not sure where to attach an anti-static strap on a laptop, any thoughts?

David - 20-04-’08 00:30

I have acer aspire 5102WLMi which does not power up, no mains light or battery charging. The power is ok 19Vdc. When I remove battery I can measure the following voltages on pins from right pin 1 (ref) =0, pin2=5.11, pin3= 5.11, pin4= 3.37, pin5=0, pin6=3.34, pin7= 2.2 all Vdc. can anyone tell me if these are correct? any ideas what may be wrong. I cannot swt on and get no lights lit.

John - 20-04-’08 16:21

Hello, I have Acer Aspire 5634WLMi, the battery is ok but it’s only last for about 2 hours, where can I get a bigger capacity battery from? (fitted with 4000mAh battery 4 cells) and another thing at the front of the panel there is a switch for bluetooth as my laptop is not fitted with bluetooth device, where can I get the bluetooth device from?

Jon - 20-04-’08 17:06

I have no as yet found somewhere to order a replacement part from, So i cant really help on that one.

Dan, at the point which i removed the motherboard the back cover was the only thing that was actually holding it, The way they seem to be designed is for a top type access, so i don’t know if it is possible to just remove the back cover on its own.

David, well there’s no real “Ground” on laptops, not like in a PC. But just attaching your anti-static strap to anything that’s grounded already should work.

John, I really have no idea what might be wrong. But if your getting nothing at all from the laptop I’d recommend either just replacing it or taking it to a laptop repair centre.

Jon, Acer themselves sell and supply larger capacity batteries for there brands of laptops so that’s the best place to go looking for one. But remember battery life is dependant on many factors, and doing something like turning the brightness down on the Monitor can greatly increase the time that it will last.

On the bluetooth side, mines also came with the light and switch on the front for Bluetooth but doesn’t have it. I haven’t seen acer selling them so at a guess I’d say you would needed to have purchased the Bluetooth model when you first got it to have the bluetooth functions. But these days Bluetooth dongles are cheap as chips.

Charles McCrimmon (Email ) (URL) - 21-04-’08 14:59

[quote]
Name : David
Website : Posted : 20 April ’08 – 00:30
Perfect! I just had my acer 5000 refuse to charge yesterday?I immediately pulled a backup, and now I?m looking into fixing it. Your superb tutorial was the first site Google gave me. right on!

In my case there is no obvious damage to the dc plug (nothing broken off etc) and if I push on the plug juuust so, it will start to charge. but as soon as I let go, the power is interrupted. I?m going to have a go at fixing early next week?I?m fairly confident about disassembly (done tons of desktops)…but I?m not sure where to attach an anti-static strap on a laptop, any thoughts?[quote/]

I’ve gotten it all pulled apart and managed to desolder the power jack. I’ve reassembled the whole thing for the moment, and I’m going to see if i can hunt up a replacement jack.

I completely understand why you wouldn’t want to post your hack to fix the jack…but since it will take a few days at least to get a new part, would you mind emailing me how you fixed yours?…

great how to, thanks again.

David - 21-04-’08 22:11

ATTENTION ATTENTION ATTENTION

Originally I diagnosed this problem by trying several other laptop power cords and none of the would light up the "battery charging light"….so I assumed the problem must be internal.

after successfully disassembling the laptop and removing the mainboard as per this article I desoldered the power jack and removed it….after further testing I found that the power jack was fine…It was the right angle power plug that had broken!

repeat…test to make sure that power is coming out of the right angle dc power plug before disassembling your laptop. the right angle design can indeed put strain on the mainboard…but it can also put strain on the dc plug!!

the good news is that I was able to resolder and reassemble the laptop and it’s now in working condition.

a few tips…
1. when removing the wires from the wireless card…the pull straight out, they look like tiny antenna cables with an outer sheath and an inner wire…so they pull straight away from the card.

2. the wireless card doesn’t have to be removed on a acer aspire 5000……you can remove it easily, but you don’t HAVE to.

3. to remove the key board cable pry up on the wide black tab in front of the cream colored connector…after that pops up the blue ribbon just slips out.

4. to remove the mouse ribbon pull down (towards the mouse pad) on the small black tabs on both sides of the ribbon…after sliding the black piece down a bit the white ribbon will slide out easily.

5. remember to replace the PCMCIA cover (a small black piece of plastic) before reassembling the top and bottom main casing.

6. when removing the monitor connector pull straight up…grab the black plastic finger loop and pull up.

7. don’t be too afraid of soldering near the power jack…I haven’t had much experience soldering PCB and i was somewhat hesitant because i heard that PCB has multiple layers that i could inadvertently fry…well, at least in the aspire 5000 the power circuit is on a tab all alone…so my soldering didn’t kill anything.

8. also, even with all my handling of the mainboard i didn’t fry anything via static electricity.

thats about it.

CHECK THE DC PLUG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

great article, kudos again.

David - 22-04-’08 18:38

Hi Charles ,
Thanks for the reply. I did figure it out, did the repair and reassembled successfully. The problem with this particular Aspire 5000 was that the CPU would over heat and shut down the system. On an other page someone had said a replacement of the thermal module fixed the problem and an examination of the one removed showed physical damage. I discovered that the protective aluminum foil on this one was never removed from the thermal grease, effectively blocking much of the thermal conductivity. I also discovered a small physical flaw, a small crease in the copper at the edge of the area that contacts the CPU. I carefully scraped the copper away that was raised around the crease so that it would not interfere with the best possible contact between copper and CPU. I can tell that more heat is exiting the exhaust vent for the cooler but at 100% CPU usage the system still overheats and shuts down…. Anyone got any ideas? Please let me know.

Thanks again,

Dan

Dan - 22-04-’08 19:35

I found DC Jack on ebay for $9 + $2 shipping comes out of SC Gopt it next day. Now my problem I have 5570Z having trouble breaking it down, does anybody have any experiencw with the 5570Z?

Thanks

Conrad (Email ) - 29-04-’08 20:44

Hey guys,
Here are three different power jack repair techniques:
http://www.insidemylaptop.com/laptop-dc-..

Thank you for the disassembly instructions, I lined to you from my site: http://www.insidemylaptop.com

Laptop Repair Instructions (URL) - 09-05-’08 21:54

where are the 2 screws to take off the keyboard Acer 5000 labtop

Linda - 16-05-’08 03:12

Hi Elaine,

My power pin also stuck in the power adapter. I will also attest to the failure. I am fed up of these laptop manufacturers. This is not even a ‘high-tech’ part. This is 1930’s technology, why can’t they get this right?

Keith (Email ) - 18-05-’08 03:50

I had the same intermittent power connection problem with my Aspire 5050 which I purchased in the UK and then took to Australia. Took it to local Acer repair centre in Sydney where they tried to suggest it was my fault because I had put an Aussie plug on the end of the mains cable! – and it was thus “Non-standard”. I told them it the broken power connector had nothing to do with the cable but next time I took it back (it was dead by then) I took an Aussie moulded power cable with me. They then fixed it under warranty as I had the purchase receipt with me. Tip: Always take the purchase receipt with you when travelling and don’t stand the Acer on the power connector.

Pewit - 25-05-’08 02:33

Hi,
When i switch my Acer Aspire 5100 on the screen stays blank, But when i took of the bottom of it and pressed and held things in it works but when i let go again it froze with white lines running down the screen whats wrong ???

Lauren - 02-06-’08 17:29

the power plug center pin on my acer 5000 broke, with this site I was able to take it apart down to the bare mobo, unsolder the old broken plug and solder in a new one. thanks to the excellent write up and pics, my acer 5000 is now charging happily away.

THANKS!

Dave

Dave - 03-06-’08 21:23

I need to replace the hard drive on my 5610. My son who has built pc,s may be able to do it with some advice. has anyone done ,could they describe the process, thanks

keith (Email ) - 12-06-’08 09:37

I started having problems with my charging cable. The charger light is on,and a voltmeter shows the voltage
is there, but the light on the computer does not come on. Wiggling the cable, causes the light to go on and
off. I found if I turned the laptop upside down, the computer charges. When using the computer I run on battery.
When off, I place the computer upside down and recharge. Too lazy to take it apart.

burt - 05-07-’08 13:43

Hi got an acer laptop, keeps just shutting down after a few mins. think its possibly overheating. Any advice on what to do. Have tried Battery and charger etc, as have second laptop, with same battery and charger. thanks

kim (Email ) - 09-07-’08 17:24

If you think its overheating, then you could do 2 things, one is to buy one of the cooling stations for laptops. Basically just a base with some fans in it that is typically powered from the USB ports. Or you could check the heat sink on the CPU and make sure its seated and installed correctly.

Charles McCrimmon (Email ) (URL) - 09-07-’08 22:58

Congratulations you lot. One of the most important thing that I have learnt about taking laptops apart is label and map every screw. I am still scared to take my acer 5100 apart to replace the mother board – because the common dvd problem. unless you people can tell a different reason.

Paul - 12-07-’08 11:14

The Bios doesn’t detect my harddisk everytime time I move my laptop (Acer Aspire 5100). I deduced then that it must be a hardware fault. Ive replaced hard disk and it still happens. Last night, I banged the laptop on the floor (not hard) and the Bios detected the harddrive. Does anyone know what component might be causing this intermittant detection of the HD, sometimes its present but most of the time it isn’t. The power adaptor, fan appears to be fully functional. All the pins on the harddisk are there and straight. I have no idea what is causing it but I am not scared to open it, if some one would be willing to guide me!

IthinkthereforeIam (Email ) - 23-07-’08 10:37

Having a similar issue with an Aspire 5100. Brought to me in a boot loop (please check cable error), replaced the HDD, and now am having HUGE issues getting windows reinstalled as it shuts down after a couple of minutes, even running upside down with the back panels off (hopefully ruling out overheating).

It just stops. Turns itself off.

And it’s driving me absolutley mental.

Any (and I mean ANY) aid would be greatly appreciated.

Drew (Email ) - 24-07-’08 23:14

I have encountered the same problem, but replacing the HDD fixed it for me.

Charles McCrimmon (Email ) (URL) - 27-07-’08 18:24

I have an aspire 3610 notebook. i had the keyboard replaced because one key didn’t work. after the replacement the computer worked fine for a few days and then would not boot up. power light and battery light turn on, as well,the light for disk activity turns on for a few seconds andthen off and that is it. i have to hold the power button to shut it down. i took out the hard drive and plugged it into an external usb case and it appeared fine. anybody have any usefule advice? thanks from dave.

dave - 28-07-’08 19:35

I have a Aspire 5612Z, of which the right mouse button on the built in scratchpad does not work. I have reloaded up to date drivers for this device but to no avail. An external usb mouse works fine.
The question is – how easy is it to dismantle this unit and replace these buttons ? I am dreading taking this one apart !

Tony (Email ) - 30-07-’08 09:53

i was having a problem with my aspire 5000 overheating and making this god awfull grinding sound,so i took it in(oops). Well they told me it was the fan and they had to replace it and it was going to take 3- 4 weeks and cost 300.00cdn. after waiting for 3 1/2 weeks they said they were on a waiting list for the fan,i went online and found one for 50.00 and had it in 2 days.when i went to take them the part they were less than happy i went and got them the fan at a much cheaper price. problem is they removed the fan and have refused to fix it. i have put the new one in but it doesnt get a tight seal to the heatsink and has a rattle is there a way to fix this or should i just go and replace the heatsink and fan, if so how do i do this.

Rod (Email ) - 30-07-’08 09:55

Dave, could be that they incorrectly put the laptop back together after replacing the keyboard. left a cable or something loose inside which has since worked itself loose. If you suspect this to be true and paid for the keyboard to be replaced then take it back to them and get them to test it.

Tony, The touchpads are a single unit and can typically be replaced very easily soon as you’ve took the cover off the laptop. How easy it is to take the cover off on the 5612Z i don’t know. never took one apart yet.

Rod, If they had removed the original fan they’re not actually in a position anymore to refuse to fix it they must either fix it or restore it to the original condition which it was in when you gave them it. But you’ll probably find the original heatsink was bent slightly to remove the old fan so just check for any misshaped parts and try to correct the problem. If all else fails then replace the entire unit. If its the same laptop as mines above then you can just follow the dismantling instructions down to removing the CPU.

Please don’t post things about installing Vista and XP onto this (To the spammers that have been) because im never going to answer a question like that. there’s probably 8 million sources out there for doing this on google please learn to look.

Charles McCrimmon (Email ) (URL) - 02-08-’08 00:48

so. i have an acer aspire 5610 and my “n” key popped out. the fasteners for the key are broken and the rubber piece that sits under the key is gone. I went to take it in b/c it was still under warranty, but apparently the keyboard isn’t covered. so i want to take the liberty to try and replace it myself. i found the part i need on ebay, but i don’t know where to start. can you offer any help? thanks.

Lawrence (Email ) - 03-08-’08 17:03

So I was just given an acer aspire 5050 laptop (came from a friend). She was just tired of dealing with it as the screen would go white randomly while browsing, or just having it on. I haven’t spent too much time on it, but it looks like it’s just a screen problem. I’ve connected an external monitor to it and managed to get both the external monitor and the screen come back to life. It’s after dual monitoring that the screen goes back to white.

I’ve seen this problem posted in this thread, but I don’t believe it has been addressed. I would appreciate it so much if you had any info on what’s up here.

PS. Warranty is over, so sending it back isn’t an option.

chato - 04-08-’08 00:06

Lawrence i’ve never worked with a 5610 in person, but im told they’re very similar to the model i dismantled above. So you could give that a try. Basically just the small cover needs to be removed (Containing the power button) to give you full access to the keyboard for removal.

Chato, I’ve never personally addressed this because so many factors can cause it, Could be something as simple as the electronics in the LCD (the actual display electronics) are overheating, thats why turning it off allows it to work again (once its cooled) to something really simple like a loose connector inside. All i can suggest it checking for any heat problems next time it happens and if you can fully rule that out then Check the Display connections incase some are loose.

Charles McCrimmon (Email ) (URL) - 04-08-’08 20:13

My Acer Aspire 5000 will start to power up and then simply goes to a dark blue screen. No keys seem to have an effect and it is the same on an external monitor. While it is starting you can go to start-up and set-up which both display correctly. The display contrast is set correctly. My power indicators on front are on and the power switch is illuminated. The fan is running. There is no effect when switching the front wireless switch (it normally illuminates). The three status indicators (left of pwr sw.) flicker initially and then all three are out. So……………? Help!

drsult (Email ) - 11-08-’08 20:46

I have an Acer Aspire 3100 with 2GB RAM, VER 3.12 Pheonix BIOS. My laptop bots fine with the AC powerpack but when I try to boot from a known good and charged battery, It starts to boot, HDD light comes on steady, Fan is on batterry light is green and power light stays on. Thier is no backlight and no sign fo drive activity. The power jack is ok. It seems like allhough the battery is charged and the system recocgnisez and charges it it won’t boot. Anyone else have this problem? where do they hide the fuses on this MB?

Uhg!! - 16-08-’08 04:29

Hi,I also have an aspire 5050.
Just recently Iv’e noticed that I lose internet connection when I connect by mains.If its running on battery it is fine but as soon as I try to charge laptop internet connection is lost..Any ideas??????

paul (Email ) - 17-08-’08 15:51

heey! a very simple question. im having the same screen problems as people have mentioned above, I want to try this external monitor technique to see if i can see my desktop on there, can anyone talk me through how to plug up my laptop to a monitor, what plugs and wires i need, etc…?

any help is much appreciated, thank you!

AZZA - 23-08-’08 18:20

Very useful guide, thanks, might need it. Maybe you could help, being a tech. I have an acer 1640 and it just stopped booting up one day, in fact all I get is the charge light coming on. When I press the power button, the charge light goes out and nothing else. I let go of the power button and the charge light comes back on……….. Any help would be most appreciated

andy - 27-08-’08 16:00

Have a Acer Aspire 5000 with heat problem. The fan runs and cycles but while it is running it is very quite. Can feel warm air exiting from side grill when fan runs. Shuts down from heat. Have checked for blockages by removing fan top cover and blowing air through the radiator unit. How about heat sink paste where the thermal module contacts CPU? IS there a thermostat in the fan circuit?

Gary Bogart - 23-09-’08 15:41

“I have an aspire 3610 notebook. i..

It was most likely just loose in the inside if it was only one key, did you try removing it and putting it back?

Brittany (Email ) - 03-10-’08 15:51

I am using ascr aspire 5000. i got the problem that most of time alphabet keys stop working but all the function keys (alt ,ctl + any key ,del) combinations works.

Anil (Email ) - 04-11-’08 08:55

First off let me say I am an idot that more than likly caused this issue but if you guys can help me fix it I would praise the ground you walk on. So here’s the story.

Main desktop ethernet was fried by a lightening storm so I was down to my wirless connection with my Acer to rely on. No problem there. Booted it up connected to the net, did my thing… only here’s where I messed up, I went to bed and Left the laptop on. It was plugged in, storm was long gone, and it was or so I thought, in a well ventalated area. Morning came, went to go get online, laptop was off. Thought this was odd but paid it no mind, hit the power button and went to the bathroom. Came back, still laptop off… curious, hit power button again, Lights came on for about half a second like it was turning on, then turned off. No fan, no drive noise, no screen… nothing other than the power button. Tried it again and again and till this day, that green light turns on and flips right back off only a second later and nothing…

Here’s what I tried…
Took battery out, tried power on with just the cord… same issue.
Put battery in, unplugged the power cord…. Same issue.
Took out memory first with plug no battery… same issue
then with battery no plug…. same issue.
Replaced memory, removed HD, again with battary in, no plug… same issue
The with battery out and plugged in…. you guessed it… same issue.
Took the whole blased thing apart. no dust, no burns… nothing to indicate a problem…
put back together, repeated all the above… same issue.
Finally… Attempted a battery reset… nothing… issue remains…

Sorry for the long drawn out explanation, but I didnt want to waist your guys time running me through endless things I have already tried. I’m thinking the motherboard or CPU is toast… whats your guys thoughts???

One Last thing I forgot to mention… Battery charge indicator on the front edge of the laptop, indicates when battery is charged. Whether battery is dead and I only use the power cord or if the battery is fully charged, which seems to charge at its normal rate… same issue occures.

Someone once suggested to remove the CMOS battery for about 15 mins then replace it, I did so and the issue still remains.

Please help.

Mike - 26-11-’08 11:18

hi all my acer 5050 laptop as a broken power jack l am am having trouble getting the top off i have removed all the covers and screws but it seems to be held on how do l get the top cover (keyboard side off) any help please

roy (Email ) - 06-12-’08 11:21

I just got everything apart and the motherboard out. How did you know that the power port was broken? Just from looking at it, I’m not sure what’s wrong (why it won’t charge). I know there’s nothing wrong with the battery, and nothing wrong with the charger. Even if I had a replacement for the power port, it looks like it would need to be soldered back in, right? Ha, haven’t touched a soldering iron since the 7th grade, so I guess I’ll have to bring it to a shop anyway.

Elizabeth (Email ) - 07-12-’08 02:50

I appreciate your original post very much… I was about 80% there but stumped on several last details.
A real contribution is that one must ever so gently LIFT the slider on the keyboard ribbon cable in order to free the cable; since the connector is superficially similar to those with sliders that pull out, it’s especially easy to break the slider….

Unfortunately, with the motherboard removed, I find that I do NOT have a simple power bloc soldering break, or other power block problem (though I’m not ruling out diodes close to the powerbloc). What I have appears to be a dead MB. But there are some clues; and I’m hoping you might be patient enough to discuss several of them with me. Here’s how the board went down: For several weeks before failure (defined as failure of the power led on the edge of the Acer 3200 to light, along with the main LED screen remaining black), the mouse cursor and keyboard would SOMETIMES freeze during the WIN XT log in, so that, typically, only a few characters of the password could be entered before all froze. If you didn’t enter the password promptly, the mouse cursor and keyboard froze anyway, within about 10 seconds of appearance of the log-in screen. In this condition, the computer would normally boot in SafeMode (and, fortunately for me, I dumped all files to an outboard hard drive a few hours before the dead-cold failure). In safemode, the mouse cursor and keyboard worked normally. But I should add the hard drive was near capacity, so that I had received several "hard drive space needed" warning boxes. In response to these conditions, I loaded a second version of XP pro (32 bit) on the second partition of the hard drive, where there were a couple of GB free. I then found I could boot normally in either partition, and that lasted about a week of daily use. Then the frozen mouse cursor re-appeared, booting from both partitions. Then complete failure occurred. The power adaptor is putting out its spec 19.x volts. With the adaptor plugged into the dismounted MB, 19.x volts appears on the MB at the powerbloc, and at several other obviously locations further into the MB. My goal is to do basic troubleshooting on the MB to see if I can locate any bad, major component. I suppose, really, that I am just trying to rule out an obvious diode or the CPU, since locating an re-soldering any of the large silicone wave-soldered pieces isn’t practical. Can you suggest any obvious proceedure to rule in or rule out major MB components? Do you know of anywhere on the net where such is discussed. I just don’t like it when my MB don’t work! Thanks in any case for your original post!

john (Email ) - 07-12-’08 21:44

Ok, I got the receptor to the power cord replaced, and its charging. Woohoo! However, for some reason, it cannot find my log in profile. That means all my documents are still on the hard drive, it just can’t access them because it cannot start my profile, Anyone ever had that problem?

Elizabeth (Email ) - 09-12-’08 02:38

Elizabeth… I haven’t had the ‘can’t find profile’ problem, but I would offer that, in your place, I would use an adaptor to back up the files on my hard drive. These adaptors plug into a USB port on one side, and the HD on the other. A few years back I bought one, By-Tec brand, from Newegg in the U.S., for around $20 (U.S.). That would get you immediate access to your files and make for some security as you try to discover what’s prevening your machine from booting all the way.

john (Email ) - 10-12-’08 15:27

do really have to take out the screen to get to the dc jack?

chris (Email ) - 10-12-’08 16:46

I have an ACER Aspire 5050. The pin where the power cord connects to broke off and is inside the laptop. I have attempted to repair it. I turned the laptop upside down and removed all the screws even the ones under the HD, etc, etc. The bottom just about lifts off but appears to be held somewhere in the middle. Can anyone help me? Or, is the above dismantle for the 5000 the same. Thank you.

William Hendrickson (Email ) - 10-12-’08 18:35

Elizabeth, what John said backup your files and then just use the restore CD’s to reset the laptop. Use a liveCD of one of the many Linux Distro’s if you cant get Windows to boot of the drive. Or the easiest way if you can get it to boot is to login as the Administrator Account, this allows access to all users Documents.

Chris, yes you have to take of the screen. But its only 4 screws that hold it on. Nothing to worry about.

William, there was a black screw hiding on the reverse side of the motherboard that stopped me removing it at first, took me a bit to locate it as it wasnt easy to spot.

And with that, i posted this entry over a year ago now. And it will forever remain accessable but im going to close of the ability to comment on it.

Specis (URL) - 17-12-’08 11:52

Rambling of a Coder

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Laptop Repair (Acer Aspire 5000)