Question

I have a older ACER Travelmate 290 (manufactured in 2002 or 2003), which I recently tried to upgrade to Ubuntu 9.10. After doing the upgrade process it appeared as if I had a problem with my x server configuration, as on the first reboot post-install I heard the Ubuntu startup sound, but had a black screen. I thought I would then reboot again to drop down into text-mode to trouble shoot the x configuration problem.

However, when I tried rebooting, something went wrong and since then when I start up the machine I get absolutely nothing except the first hardware check (i.e. HDD light flashes, CD/DVD drive spins, etc.). Other than that the screen remains totally black and I have no HDD or processor activity at all.

I have tried restarting it a number of time holding down all kinds of key combinations to try and coax it into the BIOS (if possible) with no luck. I have also tried putting in both a live Linux disc and a Windows install disk without any luck. With a disk in the drive it will spin for a few seconds and then stop.

All this has lead me to suspect that the BIOS is somehow corrupt (not sure about the right terminology). I have tried putting a new BIOS image and installer program downloaded from ACER on a USB key to see if it will run when I start up the machine, but no luck. I'm not sure if this method of interacting/updating/flashing the BIOS will work outside of Windows/DOS as both OSs are mentioned kind of ambiguously in the documentation.

I have also taken the laptop case apart and inspected the various cards and cannot find any obviously burned out components.

I'm not sure how to proceed at this point in terms of components to try, or how to try and load a new BIOS image onto the board. Any advice here would be great, especially from those with experience with this particular line of laptops.

Thanks!

Answer 1

This isn't necessarily a BIOS issue. The first few things to check are

1) Hook up an external display. If you can get anything on that you have a video card/LCD issue. (You may have to use an Fn key combo to get the external display up. check your manual)

2) Swap some RAM around. Bad RAM can cause a machine to not POST.

3) Remove the HDD. Usually a machine will still boot with a bad HDD and just throw an error, but on occasion I've seen yanking the hard drive fix the issue.

4) Remove any extra add-in cards. You said you've taken it apart, so if you really want you can try and POST it outside of the chassis with the WLAN card removed. Just be very careful of where you're touching. An improperly grounded chassis can cause it to not POST as well.

Most likely you are not looking at BIOS corruption unless this happened directly after a BIOS flash. What it happening is your computer is failing to POST (Power On Self Test).

Answer 2

Having similar difficulties and the following is something to try, the link taken from elsewhere on this site:

The directions for removing jumpers is appropriate to desktops, not laptops. For laptops, you generally clear the CMOS as I described earlier, removing all power sources and holding the power switch down. If you don't hold it down long enough, it doesn't work.

If you simply remove the hard disk, which is usually just a matter of a screw or two, this will often force the system to offer another boot choice or access to the BIOS, or give you some sort of feedback.

BIOS access is often only available at power-on, not from warm boots. Press the appropriate key as you turn the power on. If you press it too late, you must power down and try again.

The problems you're having getting into the BIOS are not Windows problems or related to it. Check with the manufacturer's support for your system.

http://phorums.com.au/archive/index.php/t-206023.html

Not yet entirely convinced that it works, but have high hopes.

Answer 3

Creating a windows live CD (For example: BartPE ) could be created to boot the machine from CDROM - Provided memory corruption is not an issue, this would help recover data and also eliminate some of the suspected hardware failures.

Answer 4

hello, i have the same problem on the same laptop with, ubuntustudio 9.10.

it's not a hardware faillure.IF AN EXTERNAL SCREEN IS NOT CONNECTED TO subD15, the screen of laptop show GRUB and after...black screen.

with an external screen my travelmate 290 work perfectely ,compiz etc.....

how resolve this probleme?? my search on the web give me not result ......

Sorry for english i'm french..

torrom.

Answer 5

I'm having the same prolem with a friend's TravelMate 290. This hasn't worked for me but it could for you. Unplug power, battery, and take out the RAM. Above the top RAM slot you'll find a pin labeled "J1". Take your screw driver and touch it to the tiny [>] looking pin labeled "J1" with your screwdriver (or another piece of metal) this reset the CMOS completely (like removing the CMOS battery overnight).

I've taken the HDD and CD-ROM out and booted it after resetting the CMOS and still it will reset the computer as soon as it tries to access a boot device or the BIOS setup screen.

Anyone have an answer to this? Or has the "J1" reset worked for you?