Acer Aspire 5552g doesn't boot anymore.

[KaRLiToS]

Hi,

I have this Acer Aspire 5552g-7859

• AMD Phenom II x4 N970
• AMD radeon HD 6470m
• 4GB DDR3 Memory
• 640 GB HDD
• Acer Nplify 802.11
• Etc.

I have it since 2010-2011 and it has been running great since then but recently it started to not boot. By not booting, I mean:
-It is turning on
-Fans are spinning
-No image
-No booting into BIOS or Windows
-HDD led and Wireless Led not lighting

And now sometimes out of 50 tries, it decides to start but I can't stand to wait for it to turn on. This laptop is mostly used as a YouTube video playback for my 2.5 years old boy or for my girlfriend to use internet.

I have tried Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 same issue, at first I thought it was an hibernation issue.

When it started to not boot properly 49 times out of 50, I decided to back up the HDD when I was able to get in.

-Ran 5 hours of memtest86 with no issue on the RAM
-Swapped the RAM around in the slots and tried each sticks alone and each slots alone no issue on that side
-Ran aida64 stress test for 20 hours without issue
-The laptop can be turned on for a week without issue until it gets turned off and the boot issue is back
-I also tried the solution to remove power and battery, hold the power button for 30-60 seconds then put back power and turn on. (Doesn't work)

I'm starting to believe the motherboard has a broken or burnt part or capacitor or something but I have never openned a laptop and wanted to ask you guys if you have any ideas before I tear it up apart.

 

[KaRLiToS]

Anyone ?

 

[mikeymikec]

By curious coincidence I have an Aspire 5552 in to work on with almost the same symptoms: Laptop powers up (power LED on, CPU fan whirring, even adjusts itself to the lower fan speed but no response from screen or anything else, no sign of it booting Windows with HDD LED activity or audio), but that's about it. I've pulled every component I can at a time but it doesn't budge from those symptoms. Booting from battery or mains only is the same result.

Stuff I've disconnected: HDD, RAM, CMOS battery, wireless card, main battery.

I've tried having an external monitor plugged in but the symptoms remain the same.

In this laptop's case I'm of the opinion that it's dead Jim. Yours sounds similar. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

 

[KaRLiToS]

By curious coincidence I have an Aspire 5552 in to work on with almost the same symptoms: Laptop powers up (power LED on, CPU fan whirring, even adjusts itself to the lower fan speed but no response from screen or anything else, no sign of it booting Windows with HDD LED activity or audio), but that's about it. I've pulled every component I can at a time but it doesn't budge from those symptoms. Booting from battery or mains only is the same result.

Stuff I've disconnected: HDD, RAM, CMOS battery, wireless card, main battery.

I've tried having an external monitor plugged in but the symptoms remain the same.

In this laptop's case I'm of the opinion that it's dead Jim. Yours sounds similar. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

I agree probably dead but sometimes it starts. I will not replace the motherboard. Probably will sell RAM, HDD and CPU and buy another one.

 

[KaRLiToS]

Can someone help me find a laptop in the 600-800$ CAD range.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

Can someone help me find a laptop in the 600-800$ CAD range.

Why bother? For the limited use you describe, this one here is more than enough.

https://ca.refurb.io/products/lenov...TjA&siteID=CAqD7bLWUPI-4QuHxYi2drptYrkKOycodw

 

[KaRLiToS]

Today I disassembled the whole laptop, removed the mobo, changed the thermal paste on all chips including CPU and GPU. Inspected the motherboard completely no sign of damage. Put it back together and started it with same symtoms two times in a row then the third time it booted and it is running for 24 hours now. I'm scared to turn it off, pretty sure it will not boot for another 50 tries.

 

[stateofmind]

You can also check for bad capacitors. PSU could be a thing too. I'd also consider RAM errors..

 

[KaRLiToS]

You can also check for bad capacitors. PSU could be a thing too. I'd also consider RAM errors..

I've tried each sticks separately in each slots and it wasn't the issue. I also ran 4 hours or more of memtest86+ when I could boot the laptop, no issue again. Ran aida64 stress test for almost a day.

Also, since last week when I dissassemble the laptop and built it back and could boot, I haven't turned it off and it is still running fine so far.