AA1 Won't Load OS
 

After not using my Acer Aspire One for a couple of weeks, I pulled it out today and plugged the battery in to charge and noticed its not charging. (the light stays orange).

I have it setup to dual boot Debian and XP, so I turn it on and choose debian, it start loading and around the 'loading the kernel message', it turns the machine off. So now I restart it and choose to boot into XP and it loads and stops at the first XP graphical screen where it show 'Windows XP' and the thing at the bottom is moving back and forth.

It keeps doing this and now I'm not sure what is happening. I've taking the battery pack out and try using only the power cord and same thing.

Anybody else had this problem and know of a fix for it?

It came with 1gb ram, 160gb hd and Windows XP. I purchased it in Feb. '09.

Thnx.

Phone or email Acer. Its on warranty. They will tell you to try flashing the bios. I've also noticed the battery pack does not always seat quite right and will not charge - make sure the clips are closed.

I turned mine on the other day and it booted up to nothing, just a black screen. Got permission from Acer to flash the bios and it was all good. Download the newest bios for your model and follow the instructions below. Not sure who to thank for these instuctions but it sure worked. You are still getting a display so the instructions at the Acer website are good enough. But for those who get the black screen ...

"Acer Aspire One BIOS Recovery
The AA1 has a built-in BIOS recovery routine, making it possible to flash the BIOS even if the system doesn't boot anymore. It's only meant for emergencies and may void your warranty, so use at your own risk.

Follow every step carefully!

First format an USB stick with FAT.

Download the latest BIOS, and put both FLASHIT.EXE and the BIOS file in the root directory of the stick. Rename the BIOS file to ZG5IA32.FD, that's important. Do not remove the USB stick.

Turn the AA1 off, make sure both battery and AC adapter are connected. Press Fn+Esc, keep it pressed and press the power button to turn the AA1 on. Release Fn+Esc after a few seconds, the power button will be blinking. Press the power button once. The AA1 will now initiate the BIOS flash, do not interrupt it under any circumstances. After a while the power button will stop blinking, and the AA1 will reboot shortly after. Wait patiently.

The BIOS has been flashed and all settings reset to default.

If for some reason you made a mistake during the procedure and it doesn't reboot by itself wait 5 minutes before turning it off, just to be safe that it isn't still flashing the BIOS."

Thanks for the info. I'll look into contacting Acer and see what they have to say. I've googled around and see more issues with AA1 not booting at all and this seems to be the first time my problem has come up, AFAIK.

These instructions come from macles, they work a treat and any thanks should be sent to his blog.

I'm waiting to hear back from Acer. If I don't get an email by Tuesday, I will call them. Do you guys think flashing the BIOS may solve my problem?

Flashing the BIOS has fixed boot issues for many people already.. beats sitting around trying nothing.. :)

I've gotten this issue resolved and everything is working except the battery LED is not charging. When I plug the AC adapter in, the led blinks orange and never turns green. I've taken the battery out and reseat it and nothing changes. I may need a new battery.

Any ideas?

Thnx.

Again, another warranty issue. Could be the charger too but I doubt it. Best to contact Acer. If you can, try to upgrade to a six cell battery.