Member Avatar for WillC16

Laptop: Acer Travelmate 290

Ok heres the problem, i hit the power button, it turns on, but it wont start up.. Once in a while i am able to make it to the windows xp loading screen, then the screen goes black again!

I thought it was a power problem, i tryed starting with battery only, and power cord only. Both did not help!

Anything u can recommend me doin?

  • 4 Contributors
  • 4 Replies
  • 243 Views
  • 4 Years Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by mrinsult2000

Dani AI

Generated

A quick troubleshooting checklist and safe next steps for an Acer TravelMate 290 showing intermittent boot behavior and black screens (as described earlier by and the "insert boot disk" report from ). The goal is to separate three things: power/firmware, storage (hard drive), and the display/graphics path.

Start with non-destructive checks: remove AC and battery, press and hold the power button 15–30 seconds to discharge, then power up with only the AC adapter (or only the battery). Remove any CDs, DVDs and USB sticks. Watch and note any POST beeps, LED patterns, fan activity, or hard-drive noise — those are useful clues if the machine is taken to a tech.

Memory and simple hardware swaps come next: with the machine powered off and unplugged, open the access panel and reseat the RAM modules. Test one stick at a time in each slot (swap slots) to rule out a bad module or slot. While inside, check that the HDD cable/connector looks seated and clean.

If the BIOS does not list the hard drive or the drive makes clicking/spinning noises, treat the drive as suspect. If possible, remove the drive and test it in another computer via a compatible USB adapter/enclosure (IDE or SATA as appropriate) to copy data or run SMART/diagnostics. Create bootable rescue media on another PC (Windows Recovery Console CD, or a Linux live CD) to test booting the laptop and to run chkdsk /r or copy files off the drive.

For the black-screen-after-XP symptom: test with an external monitor (as suggested) and try the flashlight test — if a faint image is visible on the LCD with a bright light, the backlight/inverter is likely dead. If nothing appears on an external monitor either, the problem could be GPU/board related or a corrupt OS/driver; a rescue boot or a fresh install (after data backup) will show which.

Safety note: always unplug and remove battery before opening the case, and back up recoverable data before attempting repairs. If these steps are uncomfortable or the drive/data are critical, seek a shop that offers data-recovery diagnostics.

Member Avatar for jus_mi

Hy,

I have the same problem. Could you please explain me how to solve it

thank you very much

j

Member Avatar for cajibulu

Hello, my acer laptop will not start up, it says insert boot disk and press any key. I don't have boot disk and unable to download as my pc don.t work


thanks

Member Avatar for mrinsult2000

Laptop: Acer Travelmate 290

Ok heres the problem, i hit the power button, it turns on, but it wont start up.. Once in a while i am able to make it to the windows xp loading screen, then the screen goes black again!

I thought it was a power problem, i tryed starting with battery only, and power cord only. Both did not help!

Anything u can recommend me doin?

Tried hooking up an external monitor to see if its just the Monitor on the laptop being a pain?

Member Avatar for mrinsult2000

Hello, my acer laptop will not start up, it says insert boot disk and press any key. I don't have boot disk and unable to download as my pc don.t work


thanks

Insert boot disk would normally mean your hard drive is dead, or you have non bootable media attempting to boot (e.g. a CD ROM in the drive, a USB key plugged in or Flash Media)

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.