Member Avatar for Lone_wolf986

Hi all,
I have a Acer Aspire M1641, that wont boot, normally. I turn on the the power button, the light comes on, and no display on the monitor. Its not the graphics card, which i'll come into later. At first i tried many methods to figure out what went wrong. tried the eraser on the Ram to get rid of static, took the ram out of the slots and powered up to check at least the motherboard was functioning(in some way), checked the cpu to see if it heated up with in five seconds of power up and a list of other things. Finally i made a weird discovery(weird for me any way)

To boot it i have to reset the Bios by replacing the jumper and taking out the CMOS battery. Then everything runs right as rain. For one time. The bios will get reset and everything will work but only once. when i turn it off and back the display is back but it stops midway through booting. The third time there is no display. And i'm back to my dilemma.

I have no idea what could have caused this. I'd happily chuck this machine out the window, if not for the fact that it's the best machine in my house right now(well not the best since its not working, but if i were to compare when it was working). I'm not really in the situation to buy a new PC right now and would prefer to get this one working.

I would like to know if this is a known problem and if there is a fix, or should i just give it the old indian burial and leave it at that. Thanks for the help.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by ssu1208

Dani AI

Generated

The pattern reported by — a single successful boot right after clearing CMOS, then progressive failures — together with the motherboard/PSU hints from and points to a small set of likely causes: CMOS retention/backup power problems, BIOS corruption, unstable PSU standby/current rails, or failing passive parts (electrolytic capacitors) on the motherboard. The following prioritized diagnostics are practical and low-cost to do first.

Recommended diagnostic sequence:

  1. Replace the CMOS coin cell (CR2032) with a fresh battery and test multiple cold boots.
  2. Visually inspect the motherboard (especially around the CPU, VRMs and video circuits) for bulging or leaking electrolytic capacitors. Replace only if competent with soldering; otherwise consider a shop.
  3. Verify the PSU standby rail (+5VSB) and main rails with a multimeter or a simple PSU tester (measure the purple wire to ground on the 24/20‑pin connector). If +5VSB is missing or unstable, swap in a known‑good PSU.
  4. Fit a case speaker and perform a minimal POST (CPU, one good RAM stick, onboard/discrete video as applicable, no drives) to capture beep codes.
  5. If a boot is achieved after a CMOS clear, immediately note the BIOS revision and, if an official Acer update exists for the M1641, apply it per Acer instructions—BIOS corruption can explain single-boot behavior.
  6. If none of the above cures it, the motherboard (or its BIOS chip) is the most likely failing component; replacement or donor-board repair is the pragmatic next step.

Take usual ESD and mains-safety precautions. If uncertain about PSU or solder work, consult a local repair shop to avoid further damage.

Member Avatar for Member 785180

I'm kinda having the same problem with the machine just a little bit different.

Try doing a hard reset, maybe one of the components has gone bad. I am beginning to suspect that there is a problem with the motherboard on these particular machines.

Member Avatar for ssu1208

Did you try to replace power supply? I have M1641 and now when I press power button to boot up, nothing happen (no beep, no power button light)

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