Netbook freezes randomly

Hey, it's me again. My netbook has shown the best of it - freezed 5 times within 1 hour. I almost broke it, but was able to regain control over my body. And today i found a perfect fix. I sold the bastard. I bet the service center would not have done anything helpful at all, so i prefered to lose some money and to save some nerves. So now i'm into choosing another one. Wish you luck with Acer, but, if you still have a chance to return it - do it and never hesitate.
Btw, sorry for the offtop, but what would you choose: hp compaq 311 or acer 1410? I don't trust Acer as much as i did

 

Hi all-- see various countries represented here--I'm posting from the US. Have been running a 751h-1948 for about 10 days now and have had about 7 or 8 freezes so far,have to hold down power button and then it reboots and runs OK.
Problem usually happens when scrolling on a web page. I tried to freeze it at the 2 pages linked in an earlier post here but it ran fine.
My main usage for this little unit is browsing & email so if I lived through Windows 95 I figure I can put up with an occasional freeze,not having severe problems like some on here.
If this was a 10 inch unit I would have returned it immediately.I still have 5 days left to exchange this for another(if they still have any) or get a refund. Due to the fact that the purchase price was 200 dollars new, I don't think I could find an 11.6" model by another manufacturer for anywhere near that price.
Other than the freeze problem and the preloaded bloatware this isn't a bad little unit,not the fastest in the world but I didn't expect it to be.Also it came with a 2 year warranty from Acer so if problem gets worse I"ll mail it back as many times as it takes.

The specs are --- 1 Gb Hynix memory ,160 GB Toshiba hardrive,XP Home SP3
--------Bios version 3204,GMA 500 driver version 6.14.11.1009
--------Manufacture date 6/09----Atheros AR 5007EG wireless adapter,driver version 7.6.1.221
-------------Realtek rtl 8102/8103/8136 driver 5.722.416.2009

Not in a big rush right now to update bios or drivers unless problems get worse, I see that updating helps some people,makes it worse for others.
Just my 2 cents worth!!!!

villasbill

 

"the consumerist" huh ???

not familiar with it, but sounds like a good idea..

i'm really disappointed with this computer. I had another old acer laptop (don't recall the model) that was almost bullet proof.....

I am looking real longingly at the dell inspiron 11 (drooling actually). I travel a lot for work, and frankly, don't care for lugging the full size laptop.

For the stuff I would do, the acer WOULD have been PERFECT if would EVER work right..............sigh

 

Hi everyone!

I bought my AO751 in august (2 GB RAM, 250 GB HD, WVista, red colour, BIOS version 3204). It had the same problem. It used to freeze when scrolling down, using skype (mainly with video) and, sometimes, doing nothing at all. I tried different drivers and it didn't work. I didn't update the bios because the freezes appeared so ramdomly that I was afraid of getting one during the bios update and to lose the computer. Nevertheless, I think I didn't get so many freezes than other people here.

Finally, I installed Ubuntu 9.10 Netbook Remix in a dual-boot way with Vista (after installing it, I had to make some things I can explain if someone wants to). I have been using Ubuntu for 3-4 months without problems (ok, just 2 freezes). I can work with different pictures with GIMP, listen music, open several web pages and make a video-call at the same time. Curiously, the mic doesn't work in Ubuntu, so I have to use an external mic (someone talked about the mic as a cause). Sadly, in the last three days I have got some freezes in Ubuntu using skype.

One strange thing is that, since I install Ubuntu, I get less freezes in Windows (even scrolling documents).

For me, this is not a heat problem, but something with the graphics and the motherboard.

I also think we have to complain to Acer or consumer associations or anyone we can. And, of course, I will never buy other Acer product (or one from a related brand), nor a new computer no one has already tested.

 

Hello

Trying to fix same issues, but anybody knows how to flash a BIOS in Recovery Mode (Esc +Fn + Power On) when the current PC BIOS is stuck ?
Thanks

 

Do it. Even if you have to wait, go to the store and get the request in before their return policy expires. Going through the store will be a lot easier than going through Acer. There is a good chance that a new unit will not have these problems, and it's worth the gamble.

 

Villasbill, or whoever it was that just bought the 1948 model and are considering returning it, please do it.

I had the same model, froze 8-10 times the first day. Nothing you can do or update will solve it. I returned mine because when you pay your good money for something, it is suppose to work. Especially right out of the box. Doesn't matter if it's 200 or 2000 dollars. You will get very fed up with this computer if you choose to keep it, I assure you. So please take advantage of the remaining days of the store's return policy and do it.

I got a call from Acer claiming they read this thread and are going to do something about it. "Ms. Craig" agreed there was certainly a "problem" with these models. Will something get done? Hopefully but I'm not holding my breath nor will my new thoughts of Acer change for the time being.

Good luck though.

 

Let's hope that they do the right thing and recall this model. Please keep us posted. These lock ups are getting old.

For those of you with brand new laptops, if you can return them to the store, do it. Trust me. The problem doesn't improve with age.

 

RUN- DO NOT WALK to the store and return it before it is too late.......

You will thank yourself later....

 

Is the ASROCK 775DUAL-915GL motherboard COMPATIBLE with the INTEL CORE 2 QUAD processor? I am planning to replace my Intel Pentium 4 processor with Intel Core 2 Quad processor but Im not sure if it would be compatible with my ASRock 775Dual-915GL motherboard. And is it necessary that I should also upgrade my hard disk which is only 80GB so that it would match my new Intel Core 2 Quad processor|?
_______________________
market samurai ~ marketsamurai ~ marketsamurai.com

 

That's not exactly on topic, florila... And I doubt it would be on topic on any thread here, being the whole forum about the Acer Aspire One product line. Please look where you post the next time... Anyway the answer to your question is no, since that MoBo supports 800 and 533 MHz FSB and all the Core 2 Quad family is in the 1333 and 1066 MHz FSB range.

Back on topic, my 751 is "Under Repair", as the Acer online client service states. Everybody cross your fingers and wish me good luck.

 

I think I have found a test for whether a 751h will freeze.

First of all, I assume that it is a memory problem, because i have fixed the two of these by changing the memory. It seems to be very picky about memory and heat.

I run windows XP (TinyXP) that is... google it. SP3, bare bones etc...

what you need to run this test is media player classic 32bit and a h.264 encoded 720p or 1080p file to test with.

First of all if you dont care about playing HD then a good way to avoid crashes is to do this...
go to RUN and type "dxdiag" then go to the Display tab in dxdiag and disable DirectDraw and Direct3D acceleration.
this may actually fix most crashes I have found, but not all. but this will not tell you if you have a memory problem.

Next: install media player classic 32 bit, and set the output to DX9 custom presenter and make sure you are using hardware acceleration. and try to play and HD h.264 encoded video. If you still have DirectDraw and Direct3D disabled you may be able to play but it will play choppy because you are not using hardware acceleration.

Now enable directDraw and direct 3D acceleration (it should be by default if you haven't messed with it before).

Here is the test: Try playing and HD video using media player classic 32bit using hardware acceleration. At this point one of two things happen (for me at least). Either I get a blue screen of death... or the video plays smoothly with almost no CPU usage. If you have the first. then you have faulty memory (at least as far as the 751h is concerned) if you have the later then you have good memory and shouldn't have crashes. If you get choppy video, then you are not using hardware acceleration and have and internal filter in MPC enabled that is blocking Hardware acceleration (google MPC and hardware acceleration)

I replaced the memory on 2 of these running XP. obth times I tried PC-4200, with limited success, (at one point I had 2 mathcing sets of 2GB PC-4200 SODIMMS from first choice memory. One stick worked perfectly and the other fried itself after a week...

I have no Idea if this test works in Vista or windows 7 as I have not even tried vista on this pupppy yet.

good luck
Jeremy

 

Wow!!! Why couldn't I have read these forums 5 days ago before I bought this piece of s**t! Bought the AO751h on Thursday for my girlfriend's birthday and it has frozen on me multiple times already. She wanted a simple netbook just to be able to use skype and email and she can't use neither. Worse of all the store had a no return policy and told me to go and use my Acer's Travelers Warranty since I bought in Hong Kong but I don't live there. Called Acer up and they told me they had a solution, I just had to upgrade my BIOS to 3210. I upgraded and it still freezes...and now what? I have to pay shipping fees for something I just bought last week brand new?? I want my money back.

Sorry, but I don't buy something brand new, no matter the price, just so I can spent endless hours trying to find a solution to a problem that's not mine. Acer is using us as "PAID" BETA testers to fix a problem they can't fix or simply don't want to. If after reading these forums which I'm sure they have, why don't they send the word out that these machines are f**ked and whoever buys them will be f**ked too. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$....

You guys sit here trying to find a solution to a problem they should be solving. We should get a lawsuit going here, we're not lacking in numbers that's for sure. I see many more members joining these forums in the next few weeks, especially after all the holiday shopping. We should make these forums a little bit more visible to people deciding weather to buy Acer or not, at least to try and save some innocent people from jumping into the fire.

What a mission this little netbook is going to be...

 

Hi there,

You do make a good point regarding having to spend time trying to repair something which is only a week old, but I think this is more down to the shops policy than Acers realiability!
Certainly if I had purchased my Acer and it didn't work I would have expected a refund/replacement from the shop I purchased it from. But of course, that is the luxury afforded by purchasing in the UK!

I also agree that having to pay shipping fees for a warranty claim is unfair, and that on Acer has to hold its hands up to!!

A lot of us with problems with our Acers have had them for over the year, and as such are out of warranty which is why we try and fix them ourselves, or we are of the mind-set that I can fix this so why should I be without my laptop for xx weeks and pay for the privilege??

I'm sure there will be some people on here, who have had the same problems as you that can suggest fixes which may help!

But, as with all manufacturers, there are just some products which fail to perform. And forums are a good place to find out about these failures, but there aren't a good place to quantify the number of people who have them! The more popular a forum, the worse the product will seem as there are more people who will tell you if they have any problems, if you get what I mean?

I hope you resolve your problem quickly, as when they do work, these little Acers are pretty damn good!!

Paul :ugeek:

 

"I" don't quite get that one, but putting other models aside, this model from Acer is indeed garbage and quite unreliable. When that many machines are shown to be problematic one might assume the manufacturer might do "something" about it. This doesn't appear to be the case so far, most are suppose to write it off as a loss and lose money to ACER (Who, apparently needs the money more than we do? pff)

That comes down to the store's return policy indeed. I had no trouble returning mine(for a REFUND) within the 30-day return in the US, another machine I'm certain would show the same symptoms.

Understandable, but did it take that whole year to find out there was a problem? Was everything "OK" for the first year or was there problems noted pretty soon after unboxing? If problems were noted soon after unboxing, it is the user's fault for not doing anything about it sooner.

I'm curious though. Would ANY one of you accept this behavior from say, a car you just bought? If you just bought a new car and the engine stalled at the same rate as these Netbooks freeze, is that acceptable? Would you keep the car?

Acer screwed up bad on this one.

 

Hi there,

You say that so many machine are problematic, but does this not come down to my point that the perception of how bad a product is one a forum depends on how many users there are on the forum and how many are using that model?
If there are 1 million products sold and 10,000 of them have the same fault that is much better than 100,000 being sold and 1500 having the fault percentage wise.

Look, I'm not trying to back up Acer and it may be the case that there is a specific problem with this model that they should be remedying but don't just assume that cause a lot of people on a forum have the problem that ever other model has the same problem!

As for if there were problems in the first year, that all comes down to how comfortable you are with repairing your PC. If you are a complete novice then you are going to compain at the slightest thing being wrong. If you are a seasoned PC user and something happens that you need to re-install drivers/windows/update drivers then you will just do it cause it's second nature to you and not really deem it as a fault as such!

I don't agree with your analogy of buying a car. If I had bought a car for a few hunder pounds then yes, I would accept it, but if I had bought a brand new car and it developed faults then I would use the warranty. I wouldn't be happy, but I would use it as I did do with my car when it developed faults!

Paul :ugeek:

 

It's not a windows/update drivers issue, but a hardware one.

I bought this netbook because it is cheap. I don't want to spent extra money to buy memmory and see if it works... I don't want to spend any extra money at all on this problematic product.

The best thing is to get rid of it if you can, lol :lol:

I sent mine again for service. I hope they will fix it this time.

Thanasis
Athens, Greece

 

I'll probably regret this decision in the future but I let the 30 days go by without returning the 751h-1948.
I also have a desktop and a 15 inch laptop,so this is not my primary unit,I"ll keep it it my locker at work and use it
once in a while, I don't have constant freeze ups like some on here.

Six months from now I'll probably be kicking myself for keeping it but we'll see how it goes!!!

villasbill

 

i have my netbook 751h on a cooling pad the extra fan helps but my freezes too i think its because there are two many programs running memory just can;t handle and freezes up

 

Hi all from Athens...I also experienced same problems noticed here with my AA1 751h little acer, running WinXP Home edition. For the history, i bought it 5 months ago, i tried all available drivers/updates from the official acer's site but with not luck .. It was still froze s , especially during skype calls (even with or without a camera) and during mass copies to my flash disk. A week ago...i disabled all the hardware acceleration and unfortunately i have never seen any froze again )))) (except sometimes the cold weather heree!!! ).. Not sure if this is a solution, but for me really worked..

For those who are not familiar how to do this, just right click and select the properties from the desktop...move to the "settings" tab...click on "advanced" button...move now to "troubleshoot" tab and ... drag the scroll bar near at the end left...In this way, you put out all the heavy demands from graphic card (seems there is the problem due to DMA access!!!) that MAYBE cann't be handled from this little but cuttiieeee machine..

Hope this help guys...