Aspire won't boot up ... please help

First of all, I know nothing about linux system. Early this year I got an Aspire One netbook with Linux system since it's cheaper and my husband (who is now my soon-to-be-ex-husband) knows Linux and I figured he could fix it for me if something happens. Well, needless to say, we are no longer together, so I don't know who to ask help from.

Last night, my netbook wouldn't boot up. The aspire logo comes up and then it goes black and it's stuck there ... no error messages, it's just goes dark with a mouse pointer (which I'm able to move around, but what's the point when I can't see anything?). I've tried hitting F2 and F12 but nothing happens.

Please help me ... I have no idea what to do and I know nothing about Linux.

 

Linux is a complete nightmare and the AAO is crazy. I don't have much knowledge either, but try these things then, since nobody else knows what to do either.

1) Remove the power cord and the battery. Wait 15 sec and put the battry back. Try to restart. Try the F12 if does not start up the first time.
2) Put in a USB memory (any memory). Try again. Try F12 again.
3) Find the reinstall usb that your husband should have prepared. (Or if you find the CD that creates the reinstallation USB, create one) Plug it in and see if F12 works. If you are lucky this might work, probably not, but it is costless. If you have important unsaved data on the machine, you might be lucky. When using the resinstallation USB stick, sometimes exit before it warns that it will erase data might save your day. At that point exit and try restart, and may save the important data before it starts to misbehave again.
4) Send it ACER and bay t he cost or buy a better brand than ACER.

Sorry not to be able to help you more, but to be honest it feels like I have wasted too much money and time (and my life) on this machine.

/Robert

 

Hi merche80, My name is Don and I have been where you are in your knowledge of Linux and know it can be dunting, but I will try to help (I'm no expert but I'm not completely new to Linux either.). Now I assume you are using Linpus is this correct? Could you post the type AA1 you have?

1) Are you sure you want to continue using Linpus or would you be willing to switch to another distro that would be easier to work with and a little more like Windows?

2) When the screen is blank and you can see the cursor is there any kind of activity around it like the hour glass in Windows?

3) In Mandriva there is a blue set of bars rotating around it when it is waiting for the computer to do something that tells you to wait. Is there something like that going on?

4)If so how long have you waited while it was going on?

 

I can just share what worked for me in the same kind of situation.

First you will need another PC (Linux or Windows). Take USB drive (2GB at least), and format it in Windows/Linux to FAT32. Download netbootin (google for it), than make Ubuntu Live 9.04 startup USB, and boot it up on your Acer Aspire one, and than check your system using edit partition (Gparted) in one of the menus.

Than you reboot acer without the USB in and it should work well. This seems to fix issue for most of the people.

 

Tinderstick - thanks that just sorted my Aspire which was stuck with the same problem