Netbook freezes randomly

I just got this new item. I’ve bought dozens of laptops since the1990s, cheap or expensive, but this is the worst item/SERVICE I have ever got. Frozen totally if the video camera was lunched…. Frozen from time to time even if just typing.
Got no any response from ACER USA. Why customers have to pay the first postage to ship it back to fix it if these “frozen” issues are so common? Why so many customers have to waste their time? Is that fair? ACER please STAND UP FOR your CUSTOMERS!!!!!! :evil: :evil: :evil:

 

GMA 500 driver version 8.14.10.2003 (as provided by Acer; see download section). The Windows 7 - default driver also seems to work perfectly, but as it does not offer the 751's native resolution (1366x768) it is not really an option...

 

Hmmm... Not quite sure what you mean. I'm using the 8.14.10.2011 Windows 7 driver installed via Windows update and it works fine with native resolution.

 

I think he means the bundled Win7 driver. This was updated through the first Windows Driver Update.

 

Hi,

I haven't wasted my time reading the 39 pages of this thread, so sorry if this has already been said.
I got an Acer Aspire One 751h (11.6") running XP Home SP3. There is a 25 Go partition with Ubuntu Karmic.
My netbook freezes almost every time I use it, it will sometimes do a thing where I get multi-coloured horizontal lines every second line of pixels, it will freeze, and it will make a sort of crackling digital beeping sound. I once openned a pptx file in full screen slide show mode in OpenOffice Impress, and I got a BSOD for half a second, then it rebooted. It will do these things randomnly, when I open chrome, when I upload a file to gmail, when I don't do anything at all, when I'm on Facebook, etc. It does this under Ubuntu as well as under XP Home. My dad, a software engineer for over 20 years, says it's a serious hardware problem. He's going to call Acer, and I would prefer to get a new netbook than have something replaced. Especially since my brother has one, bought at exactly the same time, and the only difference is that his is blue, and mine is white. I think either the graphics card, screen, or processor, has a serious error somewhere, but I don't know where.

Any help would be appreciated.

PS
When I told my dad about this, he had Windows check the disk, and it froze at some point, after which it froze three times in a row while starting up, then he turned it off and left it.

 

As I read more and more of these comments, it's becoming clear that different people are experiencing different problems in this thread.

Lewis, I agree that your troubles sound like they are hardware-related.

For me, I only experience freezes when doing very specific tasks. When I disable the graphics driver, those tasks no longer produce freezes. I have never had my machine freeze while sitting on the desktop doing nothing, nor while booting.

 

I was merely answering rjon17469's question

@cmeide: Yup, that's what I meant

Btw.: Which exact driver version is used by somebody is probably only relevant for people experiencing the "freezing issue"...

 

Acer finally gave me feedback and first asked me to test my hard drive myself. Does anyone try that before? I now have no CD burner handy. Have to get one, but I feel I am wasting my time and more money. Any suggestion? Thanks!!!

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
As per your mail I understand that the computer freezes. In order to diagnose the issue better and resolve it please perform the below mentioned step:

=>Please perform a hard drive diagnostics test : GWSCAN 5.12

Note:Back up all data before running GWSCAN, if possible.
File must be downloaded to and executed on a computer running Microsoft Windows.

Please follow the below mentioned link to download the file:
<<http://support.gateway.com/support/drivers/getFile.asp?id=21280&dscr=GWSCAN 5.12&uid=165130279>>

1. In the pop-up dialog window, click Save.
2. Select Desktop as location to save file, then click Save.
3. Double-click gwscan512.exe file on computer desktop.

Once the file is downloaded and saved please burn it to a bootable CD.

=>Running GWSCAN

1. Attempt to backup your data prior to running GWSCAN.
2. Place bootable media containing GWSCAN into CD/DVD or floppy disk drive.
3. Restart computer and start using GWSCAN CD/DVD or floppy disk drive.
4. From GWSCAN 5.12 - Data Lifeguard Diagnostics main menu, use DOWN ARROW key to select Check Smart Status, then press ENTER.
5. Press the ESC key to return to the main menu.
6. From GWSCAN 5.12 - Data Lifeguard Diagnostics main menu, use DOWN ARROW key to select Extended Test, then press ENTER.
7. When prompted to run the Quick Test first, press the R key. Quick Test runs.
8. If Quick Test completes without error, press the C key to run the Extended Test.
9. If uncorrectable errors are reported in either the Quick Test or the Extended Test, replace hard drive.
10. If no errors are reported in the Extended Test, press the ESC key to go to the Main menu. Press DOWN ARROW key to select Quit.
11.If errors were detected and corrected in the Extended Test, press the ESC key to go to the Main menu. Press DOWN ARROW key to select Quit.
Please revert back with the results.
For further clarifications please feel free to visit our web site http://support.acer.com

 

I am thinking maybe people who have troubles using Ao751h should contact Acer’s headquarter in Taiwan. It seems that the problems of Ao751H are endless… :x

Taiwan Acer Inc. 8F, 88, Hsin Tai Wu Rd., Sec.1, Hsichih, Taipei Hsien 221, Taiwan
Tel: 886-2-2696-3131, 2696-3232 Fax: 886-2-2696-3535
Email:[email protected]

 

Hi there from Athens, Greece
I'm another new user of an ACER Aspire One 0751h. I bought it yesterday. After the Win XP were copied in hdd, the netbook freezed 3 times in total and then I began to search on this issue and found this forum. I'm not sure if I would buy it if I was informed on these problems :cry:

Anyway after these total 3 freezes that occured yesterday evening when I first opened the netbook, I didn't experience any more freezes yesterday night and today that I use it since the morning. I hope that the problem is overcomed. What I observed is that it freezed while connected to power supply. Yesterday night and today all day, I use the battery power and experienced no freeze.

I cross my fingers... :shock:

 

Is there a functional url for acer customer support?

What is it?

 

If you are a netbook user, acer has an online support where you can chat with their technical customer support.
Here's the link: http://netbooks-us.custhelp.com/app/uti ... D%3D/sno/0

This one is for their FAQ's: http://netbooks-us.custhelp.com/app/answers/list/sno/0

And for those who are experiencing the random freezes. I suggest you send it to Acer Service Repair Depot until they fix it completely.

My netbook is on its way back (3rd attempt to repair it) and I just called them and said that they guarantee its fixed. They can't even tell me what they did to it
but I will have to wait and see. This time it will take 13 days from shipping it and getting it back (shipped Nov. 6 and receiving it on the 19th of Nov.).

Will update here as soon as I can test it again.

**EDIT: I tried contacting them again through chat support and here's what I got...
They have replaced the motherboard. I hope this will settle the freezing issue and I have to test it out first. Will post again.

 

If you can return it from where you have bought it then go ahead.
Acer will not replace your netbook but only parts of it.

They have already replaced my HDD, LCD screen due to the gray horizontal line they found ( didn't know it was there) and now they are replacing the Motherboard. Somebody here also had their Motherboard replaced and it solved the issue so I'm hoping too, mine will be the same.

Use you warranty while you still have it, this is a serious hardware problem and it wise to send it to them and have them repair it. Even if it takes so many times for them to actually repair it, let them do so. I was hoping they would give me a new one, but no luck. Just as long as they replace every part in my netbook that is not working properly.
If you have bought your netbook not over a month ago, they pay shipping charges but if not, you pay it but if they don't repair it successfully, they handle the shipping cots of the succeeding repairs. Hope this helps.

 

Hello C921,

My Ao751h is only 1-week old. I would like to send it back to Acer for repair. But Acer ask me to pay one-way shipping:

“Please be informed that as per Acer policy customers has to pay one way shipping charge for sending the system for repair.”

So, could you please kindly let me know where you got the info that customers do not have to pay any shipping as long as her/his netbook is less one-month old.

Appreciate it!

Apple

 

Hi Apple!

When I sent mine for repair, it was more than 2 weeks old and when I called the Acer Support number they gave me the service repair number
and the Fedex drop off number. They clearly told me that they handle shipping costs if your netbook is less than a month old.

I have sent mine 3 times already since I bought it last Sept. and NEVER paid any shipping charges.
Just complain and sound angry and demand that you only had it for a week and they will give you the drop off number for fedex! LOL!
Or just say you know an acer netbook owner who sent their unit for less than a month and they didn't pay any shipping cost.

P.S. I'm from the US

Good Luck!

 

Guys, for the last time, this is a driver issue, mine used to do it all the time until I wiped and installed the August release of Intel's GMA500 drivers.

 

In my case its not the driver. I did that but freezing still occurred.
Just got my netbook today and not only they replaced the motherboard but also the upper case of my netbook... it looks new now.
The scratches they did on it before is not there anymore.

I'm testing it out now. I'll be back if it freezes again.

 

I just sent my netbook in for service after attempting many of the fixes posted here, none of which worked.

The varied list of "working" fixes reported seems to implicate a single point of failure: weak memory hardware coupled with aggressive use of Direct Memory Access (DMA). Some background: DMA allows hardware to access the memory independently of the CPU. DMA also operates much faster than if the CPU was involved in the memory transfer. Low-cost PC's map all devices (including video memory) into the main memory and use the DMA hardware to speed up performance. This greatly reduces manufacturing cost while giving up some performance.

DMA transfers will be seen during high-demand operations such as hard disk access, display scrolling, webcam use, audio and video streaming, and any other hardware function that demands a lot of data be moved fast. Since hardware devices are mapped to specific areas of the main memory, a weak spot in one of these areas could cause the DMA to fail intermittently and freeze the computer when the device is in use. Which device is affected depends on where the weak spot(s) is/are located.

The fact that this computer uses mismatched memory that is rated for a higher speed than is actually implemented makes the problem worse. Memory chips are "tuned" for a specific optimum clock rate. If they are not accessed at that clock rate, any defects in the memory chips will become more pronounced and failures will occur more often.

 

I think you are into something here. Using different modules gave different freezing scenarios. The premium Hynix did the trick. I trust it completely now.

This is probably why its so hard to get anywhere with Acer. Isolated, none of the components are faulty. Acer is probably blaming Quanta for the problem who again is blaming Acer for setting up the specs. The result is that service center just looks at their standard repair procedure list; run a test and replace the HDD. :roll:

 

Would this memory mismatch cause the netbook to freeze when nothing is being done with the computer? Out of curiosity, I left my netbook on and after a few hours, came back to find it frozen.

If so many people are having this problem, why isn't the model being recalled? it seems to be a design or configuration problem.