Member Avatar for Gooseman

In a vain effort to solve this problem I've signed up to this forum. We're beyond frustrated with our laptop.

Acer 1680 Notebook, Windows XP SP2.

Up until last monday we'd not had a problem with it (the machine was bought in Australia by a friend who sold it to us. It's now out of warranty and we're in the UK)

Then suddenly we got a blue screen of death and the machine reset itself (we had no time to read what it said) Now the machine switches on, and does nothing. The fan begins to whir for a few seconds, then goes off. The power light stays on but the machine does nothing. No HDD activity, nothing.

One in a while we'll get to the ACER logo allowing you to hit F2 or F10 to enter boot menu or bios but trying to get to either does nothing and the machine just dies again.

Once in every 20 attempted boot ups it'll actually make it into windows, but then die within seconds.

We've ran the machine with and without a battery (from the mains). We're removed the only USB device (mouse). We've removed the hard drive and memory and it still does exactly the same thing. We've done all the things above one at a time, then two at a time (i.e remove memory & HDD or remove memory and USB device) and still does the same thing. The power light comes on, the fan starts but within 2-5 seconds the machine just stops again.

One person we've asked said it could be the motherboard battery causing the problem. Could that be the case?

Even if I can't fix it, I'd just like some positive pointers as to what it might be so that if we take it in somewhere to get fixed we're not ripped off with a motherboard/CPU replacement when it's only a battery or something similar.

Many Thanks
Goose

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by jus_mi

Dani AI

Generated

A quick diagnostic path and what to ask for at a shop — focused on power delivery rather than a full motherboard swap.

A failing coin cell can corrupt BIOS settings (as noted) but it rarely causes the laptop to power up only for a few seconds and then die. That pattern points to the charger/DC jack or the board’s power-regulation circuitry. asked how to repair charging/power: the practical work is first to confirm which component is bad, then replace the cheap parts before accepting a motherboard replacement.

Try these safe, ordered checks:

  1. Verify the AC adapter with a multimeter (expect roughly 18–20V DC on many laptop adapters; confirm polarity and steady voltage).
  2. Inspect the DC-in jack for looseness, bent pins, or burnt traces; wiggle the plug gently while powered to see if anything flickers.
  3. Do an EC/standby reset: remove all power (battery + AC), hold the power button 20–30 seconds, then connect AC only and try again.
  4. Visually inspect the board near the DC jack for bulging caps, burn marks, or cracked solder joints.
  5. If comfortable, ask a shop to measure the main DC rail at the jack and the standby rails (3.3V/5V). Ask them to show the voltages — if the main rail is present but standby rails are missing, the fault is in the power-regulator area (replaceable parts).

If the adapter is bad, replace it first. If the jack or its small daughterboard is loose or cracked, replacing/re-soldering that part is inexpensive. Component-level failures (shorted MOSFETs, regulators) are pricier but still cheaper than a full board swap. At a repair shop insist on a targeted diagnostic and an itemized quote (DC jack/charging board first, motherboard only if they can demonstrate board-level failure). If uncomfortable with soldering or board work, stop and get a professional to avoid further damage.

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Member Avatar for Chaky

The faulty "motherboard" battery (CMOS battery to be technical) would cause cmos corruption. That's the BIOS settings and configuration. Once you "save the BIOS settings and exit" some of that corruption is gone. Some BIOSes even have the option to clear the CMOS. That would be the first aid your laptop needs. You can run the PC WITHOUT the CMOS battery, but you wouldn't be able to save any BIOS settings and your PC would boot with default setting. It usualy means that all of the enhnces your laptop is capable of would be turned off. As far as my knowledge of laptops go, most of them don't use the CMOS battery at all. They rely on the main battery, but I can be wrong there.

Try this:

Remove the battery and plug the power chord it in and try to power it up. It would rule out battery and the battery charger. I hear that some laptops with faulty charger would function only that way. Some batteries have the circuitry that controlled the cherginig installed in them. One series was recalled (HP's laptops) because of that fauty circuitry. Made the laptops go BOOM.


From what you've described I would say the power supply/battery charging is to blame. It probbably killed your last battery undercharging it (or made it look dead).

Member Avatar for jus_mi

Hy,

how can I repair the

Member Avatar for jus_mi

Hy,

Could you please explain me how could I repair "the power supply/battery charging".

thank you very much

j

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