If your Acer computer will not boot, the first thing you need to determine is whether the problem is hardware of software related. This is sometimes obvious and something not so clear. If the PC simply will not power on, then there is some type of hardware issue. If your Acer computer tries to load but fails, this could be either a hardware or software problem. The tips below will help you discern between the two and provide suggestions on how you can get your Acer back up and running as quickly as possible.

Acer Computer Has No Power

If the computer is completely dead, you may have a problem with the power supply, the motherboard, the case switch or even the power strip plugged into the wall. There could also be issues with an exterior component or a device plugged into the motherboard. The quickest way to narrow power problems down is to plug the PC directly into a known working outlet, disconnect all USB or other external devices, like scanners, printers and drives. Inside the case, remove any PCI cards and unplug all IDE or SATA cables and power cables to hard drives, optical and floppy drives.

If the PC doesn’t beep or power up at this point, it’s safe to say there is likely a problem with the power supply, case switch or motherboard. While it’s true a bad CPU will sometimes also have these symptoms, it will also sometimes trigger a beep code. Dead silence and no power will usually be one of the former.

You can buy power supply testers at your local repair or electronics shop for relatively cheap. Motherboard will sometimes show physical signs of trauma, such as buldging capacitors. The case switch can be jumped to trigger the system to boot. But when there is no power, the power supply itself is usually the culprit.

Acer Loads But Freezes Before Windows

If your Acer computer acts like it wants to boot, you may have a software driver problem or some other configuration issue. Try rebooting and tapping the F8 key. If you get to a boot options screen, try Last Known Good Configuration. If that doesn’t help, try getting into Safe Mode. From there you can fix driver issues or uninstall any new programs or updates that may have caused the system not to load.

The key to surviving one of these problems is to create a System Restore disk and have it handy in case you even need to reinstall Windows on your Acer computer.

Acer computer repair takes special knowledge of the Acer brand of PCs. While most computers are very similar, major brand name manufacturer’s have proprietary designs and techniques that require working knowledge of their design. In general, your Acer computer will consist of components similar to other computer, such as a motherboard, CPU, Hard drive, memory, video card, etc. But there will be subtle differences like how to recover your system in the event of an emergency. Having a reliable method of recoverying your Operating System is essential. The techniques below will revert your Acer computer back to factory defaults and you will lose any information you have since saved. It is recommended that you do regular backups of images, documents, music and anything else you do not want to lose.

You have three basic ways to recover your Acer computer: Restore system to factory defaults, restore from a backup you performed, or restore from a CD or DVD.

Restore system to factory default

1. Enter the password created when eRecovery was first started.
2. Read the  warning and select “Yes” to proceed.
3. Click Next. The recovery process will start.

When the system recovery is finished, the system will re-start and will need to complete the setup of Windows. When setup is complete a process will clean up the recovery files.

Restore system from user backup

1. If you have created a backup, this option will be available.
2. Select the backup file you want to restore.
3. Follow the on screen prompts.

When the recovery is complete the system will re-start and will need to complete the setup of Windows. When setup is complete a process will clean up the recovery files.

Restore system from cd/dvd

1. If recovery cd/dvd’s were created, they can be used to restore the system.
2. Insert disc 1 and follow the prompts.

When recovery is complete the system will re-start and will need to complete the setup of Windows. When setup is complete a process will clean up the recovery files.

Note: It is highly recommended that you make system recovery disks for your Acer computer if it did not ship with them.

Restoring your Acer computer to factory condition is easy. Most Aspires will have a second partition that can be used to restore if you do not have CDs. It is recommended that you make those CDs when you first buy the laptop. If you don’t, you run the risk of not being able to install Windows again if that second partition fails.

Keep in mind that running the recovery will restore the computer to the way it was when you first brought it home. Anything you added will be lost, so make sure you have program disks, passwords, favorite websites, photos, documents and anything else you need backed up before proceeding with the recovery of your Acer Aspire.

Hard Disk Recovery should be enabled by default. If it is not, you may need to go into your system’s BIOS by hitting F2 at boot and enable it under the Advanced tab.

Once Hard Disk Recovery is enabled, restart the system and hit ALT+F10. This will begin the Aspire system recovery process. You will be prompted to type six zeros as a security step. Type 000000 to proceed.

You will then see a screen to select your Operating System. Do this and hit enter and the recovery process will begin.

The process for restoring from the second partition is similar with all major brand names. The most improtant thing to remember is to always have backups of your data and take a few minutes to burn recovery DVDs using Acer’s built in utility. If you have more questions regarding this process, be sure to join our free computer forums today!