Netbook freezes randomly

It helps a lot to uninstall the anti-virus preinstalled by acer, simply because it sucks. Replace it with Avira Antivir, or Avast!.
It's still a netbook, so don't expect too much speed from it.

 

I did remove all those junk softwares... practically everything.
The noise from the fan is also annoying and I believe I got a defective unit.
I had it replaced today. So far the first 3 hour use went ok. After installing the windows updates, i got a black screen then it locked up.

Regarding the speed, the first netbook I got was so slow, slower than the first processors that came out, so I got bothered. I have tested it in the store so I knew I got a defective one.

As I type with the the new replacement, I can say this netbook is just ok. I'm not so impressed with it.

** UPDATE: My 2nd unit still does the same and its even worse. Every 20 minutes it freezes. Can't get a decent hour of browsing!
I also got the black screen 5 times today!!! Webcam freezes after 2 min. use, can't even open skype and a browser together. Underneath the netbook, it gets hot. I guess the fan is not working properly. So this might be acer's hardware issues. I am so disappointed.
I've updated all drivers already except for the BIOS. I don't want to touch it first until after the 20 day warranty from the store.
I am so frustated already, I patiently waited for a bigger screen netbook but this one is just unacceptable.
The screen, battery, wireless card, audio works perfectly fine but if you can't even turn on the netbook for 30 mins. straight - its a piece of junk.
I'm trying to refund my money back and hopefully get a new model or I'd have to say goodbye to ACER for now.

 

Ok guys, I've been having the same problem for the most part. I think I have a fix. First, let me tell you what mine was doing.

I just got my 751h a couple of weeks ago or so. Being an IT technician by trade, I immediately wanted to play around with it a good bit and then upgrade to Windows 7 since I've read it was faster and really enjoyed it since beta. At first though, I decided I would try it out with Vista for awhile. I noticed that after being used for an hour to three hours, it would freeze randomly. The cursor would freeze, Alt+Ctrl+Del wouldn't work, etc. I went ahead and updated the BIOS to 3206, got Windows updates, etc. Didn't fix the problem. I was contemplating sending it back then but I'm persistent (and a computer tech gosh darnit!) so I was determined I would take my best shot at fixing it first, not to mention that I got it from Newegg and didn't want to have to ship it back. I tried turning off the performance mode in the Intel graphics driver settings. Disabled the screen saver and power management. No go.

Then I thought, what the heck - maybe upgrading to Windows 7 might help it since it's faster. Went ahead and tried that. It froze during the upgrade. Reran the upgrade and got it go through. Didn't fix the problem though. Tried updating the graphics drivers from Intel's site but couldn't find a manual download and couldn't get the automatic detection to work either in Firefox or IE. Downloaded "AA1 Fan Control" and kept that running. It didn't seem overheating was the problem because when it finally froze was when I wasn't using it for awhile and the temp was down. Tried disabling one component at a time to see what was doing it. It still froze each time after a few hours.

Then I tried running in Safe Mode with Networking for a day to see if it really was driver-related. It didn't freeze at all then. After that I saw this post: http://www.aspireoneuser.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=87&t=16672. I installed the graphics driver listed on that page with those instructions and let the netbook run all day. No freeze! I ran it for several hours this morning with no problems as well! So anyway, I'm posting this hoping this will help you guys not have to go through everything I did.

 

THANK YOU SUPERDAVE!!!

I was losing hope already. I thought I was going to be stuck with a defective unit.
I just returned my 2nd unit and I almost got the 3 cell battery for a replacement.

I'd have to do this tomorrow after getting my 3rd replacement and will post if it also works for me.

I really appreciate all the help you guys give here. You just saved me from going through more HASSLES.
I know acer is a good brand
and I can't resist the 11.6 screen and the crystal clear graphics it offers.

BTW, acer should put this fix up in their website.
I've read a lot of users having the same issues.

 

My netbook freezes even with WinXP+1012 driver and Win7+1005. Although seems to be less frequent, but I even get random lockups with the IEGD10.1 drivers (XP).

 

I'm by 751h a few days ago. It constantly frezees all time. sometimes 3-4 times a hour.

I'm try to update all drivers(as described before), update bios, update windows - nothing helps. It continue freeze randomly.

Could anybody help, or better return netbook to store and buy another one?

 

I'd return it while you still can. Exchange it for a new one, which will hopefully work properly. Nobody knows for certain what the issue is. All of the solutions from this thread seem to be hit or miss.

 

btw, i'm find a short way to reproduce!

netbook freeze in a few minutes when runing Google Earth in DirectX.

 

SuperDave,

Thanks so much for this information. I am on my 2nd 751h and haven't had any freezing issues this time. I don't know if I just got lucky or what. I have only had it a couple of days but spent all day yesterday removing the software I don't want and reloading the software I want. I got it from Walmart so I have 15 days to use the heck out of it and see if it holds up. I am thinking happy thoughts this time but if I run into and issue I will certainly try the graphics driver. I don't want to put Windows 7 on until I am sure I don't have any issues.

 

Hey guys-- just wanted to say I was having tons of freezes/lockups. I was using the correct drives.

However, I had installed through the setup.exe. It was not failing to detect my hardware or anything at all-- everything was going fine. I tried installing several times-- no problems.

What made the difference for me (and I haven't had any lockups since) was unzipping the driver folder and pointing Update Driver for the GMA500 in Device Manager to that unzipped folder. I believe Intel's setup.exe is borked.

The only thing that will still lock it up is playing (hi def) videos on Windows Media Player. This confirms that we have a software problem.

 

this is my "3rd" netbook from the store where I bought it from.
It freezes still and I;
ive also manually installed the Intel GMA driver update, even installed Vista service pack 2.
I thought it was my ac adapter that's making it freeze specially when it gets hot.... but no.
Even if I'm running on batter, still freezes. I even bought a chill mat because underneath the netbook gets hot easily too.
Nothing seems to work.

So I'm kinda agreeing, maybe its a software problem.
Will have to wait for the release of windows 7 to test it out.
My last option is to send it out to Acer and have it repaired and wait up to 7 days.
Geeesh just bought this last week and it is in need of repair!

 

Turn off window transparency

 

I did that already.
All my settings are minimal and it still freezes.
I don't want to be working on safe mode just not to have any lock ups... lol

 

Man then that's a bummer!
Does it not lock up in safe mode at all? Wasn't there another user that did something where he went through device manager and disabled each device one at a time...until it stopped locking up. That could help you figure out the source.

 

I have a brand new Acer Aspire One, bought with Linux in Denmark. I Installed XP SP2 plus all the drivers from http://support.acer-euro.com/drivers/no ... e_110.html - and nothing else. But every now and then the computer freezes for 1 minut. It happens every time you start a program - it is not possiple to use the computer.

It is definitely not a question of temperature; the machine worked allright with Linux.

Someone suggested to enter Bios setup -> advanced -> change to "compatible" - but there is no advanced option in the Bios setup.
Someone suggested to deactivate the webcam - that didn't help either.

Help would be very appreciated.

regards Svend

 

I went to the acer support website today because I am desperate to fix my netbook that freezes everyday.
So here's what the technical support told me to do to prevent my netbook from freezing (this is through chat)

remove the battery and the ac adapter then press the power button for 30 sec after that plugging the charger
only not the battery and check whether the system is working or not.

RESET BIOS:
1. Shutdown the system and remove all the external devices attached to it.

2. Switch ON the system and when you see the Acer logo press F2 to enter the bios.

3. In the BIOS Setup utility, select the Exit tab.

4. Select Load Setup Defaults.

5. Select Save Changes and Exit (pressing F5 and the Enter key will also load the Setup Defaults).

6. Press Esc and then Enter to exit Setup.

Will do this a little later and will update as soon as I've done it.
Hope this will resolve the freezing issue. (*crosses fingers)

 

Sometimes I can do most of my pc tasks without any problems while other times it freezes all the time. After trying this last fix everything seemed ok but when when using webcam in Yahoo Messenger, the pic froze after awhile. As I clicked the pause button for the webcam, the pc froze. When my pc has good days, using the webcam always seems to make it freeze.

 

Hello ,
I am writing from Italy. I had same experience in my 751h. I had first bad experience when I upgraded it with Internet Explorer 8. Try to remove it and use Mozilla. It seems better now.

 

Sadly, I don't think this is a software issue. And I don't think there is any cure. There's something faulty in many of these systems, and it can come and go.

My 751 had been running perfectly for the past 3 weeks. Now, I can't turn it on for more than 10 minutes without it freezing!

Thankfully I've been backing up my work files daily. And thankfully I am back home (I was traveling all summer) to my desktop computer, so I can afford to send this in for a replacement. What a bummer.

*** Has anyone gotten replacements back from Acer themselves? Do they send a brand new computer with all the packaging, or just a plain box with a refurbished one inside? It's finally time for me to send it in and cross my fingers...

 

Same here but I'm only using skype.
I can only use the webcam for a minute or two then the video freezes on to the other end (the person whom I call always says my webcam freezes)

There are no new drivers for the webcam in the acer support website. I hope they come up with a fix soon. I'm getting dissappointed with acer day by day.