Common Acer Computer Problems and How To Fix Them

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Acer’s quality sometimes is good and sometimes not so good. Acer uses motherboards in desktops from different vendors, as probably every brand does.
What we have noticed with Acers is that the motherboard from Hannstar tend to fail more often than other ones. This is especially common with Acer laptop motherboards.

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Not all desktop motherboards are created by Acer. Their motherboards are made by the same manufacturer. Capacitors are the issue as well when it comes to Acer desktops and for some reason, less common than on other brands.

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Although, I have never found a failed capacitor with a perfect casing, the visual examination is probably one of the best methods to use when checking them. If the top is good then the capacitor bottom will show some deformation. If you are not 100% sure then use an oscilloscope to check them. The symptoms of faulty capacitors can be anything. They can fail randomly when booting and the next day, work perfectly. It seems that in the morning, these systems tend to fail more frequently. This probably has something to do with the temperature. But, this is just my speculation, and I don’t have enough statistical data to confirm this fact.

The quick way to test the capacitors is by using an oscilloscope. Connect the probe to the “+” pin and observe the oscillogram. If there is something unusual such as fluctuations or spikes, then replace the capacitor.

A faulty hard drive is also a common fault on Acer desktops.

I might repeat myself here but the quickest way to check if the hard drive is good or not is to use GSmartControl.

Usually, I check the Reallocated Sector Count and Read Errors. For Seagate hard drives, the Read Error can be very high but this does not mean a fault. The hard drive temperature is also very important.

Overheating on Acer desktops happens rarely. But, it is recommended to check the CPU heatsink and CPU thermal paste as well.

Sometimes, if it has been repaired previously, it can be found that the four heatsink clips are not seated properly and the CPU will overheat.

The RAM also fails, especially on old systems. It can be tested with MemTest.

There is also the part of the systems with motherboards that have soldering defects or designs where the MOSFETs are replaced with smaller ones. As a result, this causes the overheating. Sometimes, even the MOSFETs, because of very high heat, de-solder themselves from the motherboard. Below is an image showing an Acer gaming system with a problematic MOSFET soldering. The Drain pin was almost disconnected from the pad. The indication that there is something wrong with it is the darker surrounding area near the MOSFET, and the higher temperature than usual. The size of the pad indicates that this is a modification, and that they soldered a MOSFET that was smaller than the one it was designed for.

Acer laptops have a few of the same problems as the desktops. First, are the usual hard drive problems. Second, the overheating problem which is common on desktops and laptops. On laptops, overheating is the number one reason there is a dust cover.

The DC Jack on Acer laptops are also problematic as on any other laptop model.

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