laptop just shut off... wont go back on!

[webmaster111]

Oh im not questioning your knowledge or advice, Im just trying to give as much info as possible to help!

[jdc2000]

If the laptop ran OK before with only the AC adapter attached, and your new AC adapter is of good quality and putting out the correct voltage and current, then most likely the old adapter fried something on the motherboard when it died.

[webmaster111]

If the laptop ran OK before with only the AC adapter attached, and your new AC adapter is of good quality and putting out the correct voltage and current, then most likely the old adapter fried something on the motherboard when it died.

Ok, so i have another desktop computer that the hard drive failed. Would i be okay to put the laptop hard drive in that other computer and see if it boots up?

They were both widows XP.

[jdc2000]

When Windows is installed, the correct device drivers files for the hardware it is being installed on are used. The odds of your laptop drive booting up in an old desktop system are slim to none. If you wanted to try something like that anyway, I would recommend that you clone the laptop drive to another hard drive and try booting with that. If you boot a clone of the laptop drive into Safe Mode, and it works, you can go into Device Manager and remove all of the System devices, and then reboot, and, if you are lucky, the correct drivers for the desktop system might be instelled.

[webmaster111]

Ok... Is there any way for me to further diagnose what might have gone awry in my laptop without taking it to a professional store? I imagine that bill would cost about as much as a new cheap laptop

[falcon2000]

do they carry ac adapters at big box stores like walmart ... the model is a LITEON pa-1900-04 ac adapter

Just curious. How come you have a LiteOn A/C adapter for an Acer laptop? Is it the original adapter that came with the laptop? Usually, even if LiteON makes the adapter for Acer, Acer will still brand it as their own.

Anyway, I once worked on an Acer with the same exact symptom. It was the power supply (A/C adapter.) A new one solved the problem. But like jdc says, 3rd party A/C adapters are often unreliable. I will buy another to try.

[webmaster111]

Just curious. How come you have a LiteOn A/C adapter for an Acer laptop? Is it the original adapter that came with the laptop? Usually, even if LiteON makes the adapter for Acer, Acer will still brand it as their own.

Anyway, I once worked on an Acer with the same exact symptom. It was the power supply (A/C adapter.) A new one solved the problem. But like jdc says, 3rd party A/C adapters are often unreliable. I will buy another to try.

Yes it is the original power supply cord. Nothing was ever changed on the laptop except the exhaust fan, which broke like a year and a half ago.

Interesting about the bad power cord... unfortunately I just bought this damn thing lol... money is tight unfortunately.

[webmaster111]

Just curious. How come you have a LiteOn A/C adapter for an Acer laptop? Is it the original adapter that came with the laptop? Usually, even if LiteON makes the adapter for Acer, Acer will still brand it as their own.

Anyway, I once worked on an Acer with the same exact symptom. It was the power supply (A/C adapter.) A new one solved the problem. But like jdc says, 3rd party A/C adapters are often unreliable. I will buy another to try.

When you say unreliable, do you mean often they are dead on arrival or that they are simply not compatible? For what its worth, the one I bought specifically lists my laptop model number. The plug also fit in "snugly."

[jdc2000]

AC adapters vary quite a bit in quality, especially since you can't see inside them to see what components were used. The Lite-On unit should be OK, but to really be sure you would have to check the output under load. A quick and of the weight of the old AC adpter brick versus the new one can sometimes give you an idea of whether the manufacturer skimped on components.

I am still betting that the old adapter fried something in the PC when it died.

[webmaster111]

AC adapters vary quite a bit in quality, especially since you can't see inside them to see what components were used. The Lite-On unit should be OK, but to really be sure you would have to check the output under load. A quick and of the weight of the old AC adpter brick versus the new one can sometimes give you an idea of whether the manufacturer skimped on components.

I am still betting that the old adapter fried something in the PC when it died.

Oh I immediately noticed how much lighter the cheapo power adapter was. Probably half the weight - its dramatic.

As for what got fried... is there any way I can test that? I opened the thing up 3 times now to look around but visually there are no fries, burns, breaks that I can see.

Thanks for the help.

[jdc2000]

A lighter power supply is not good. Dramatically lighter is even worse.

Unfortunately, if you can't see (or smell) any burned components, you would need test equipment far more expensive than the laptop to find any bad component(s).
Even if you found something, obtaining a replacement part and making the repair would likely be difficult with tiny parts and a multi-layer circuit board.

For continuous use, I prefer a robust desktop system with high quality parts. Laptops are really meant for occasional use when portability is required. Even desktop-replacement laptops are not really designed for continuous use.

[webmaster111]

I agree... I pretty much knew I shouldnt run that laptop 24/7 but I kept it on a little metal heat absorber and basically thought I would be ok... it was my main computer for a long time and I guess I took it for granted that it could perform like a desktop.

Do you think I should try another cheapo power adapter?

[Robert M]

The new fan probably failed again.
If the fan was not spinning, this would explain why it is not booting...even with the new power adapter. It would also explain the burning smell. A stuck fan draws a lot of electricity and can make a smell. Check to see if the fan is spinning by listening carefully. If it isn't spinning, replacing the fan may be the ticket. Be sure not to block any ventilation holes around the laptop, this can cause a laptop to overheat.

[falcon2000]

By unreliable, I mean from not compatible to nonfunctional and everything in between. I have bought after market batteries that won't fit the slot when they say they will; A/C adapters that won't supply electricity at all. It's pretty much a crapshoot. I agree that there is the chance that something got fried inside but for a laptop it's not that easy to open it all up to examine the guts. That's why I suggest to get another A/C adapter to test it out first, just to eliminate or confirm the A/C adapter as a factor. If you are in the U.S., most big box stores will let you return the A/C adapter. I would buy an official Acer A/C adapter to test. Or bring the laptop to a store, if they have the same model and if they are nice, they will let you plug it in just to test. It won't hurt anything to ask.

[webmaster111]

One thing I just thought of, would it matter if I bought the laptop, acer aspire 5670 in Canada?

Like.. maybe the parts are somehow different? I dont kow, just something I thought of....