Acer A0751h Display is half black and half OK

[YfoMp5QBh2]

Hey All,

I Know this isn't a regular discussion about Ubuntu hence why I'm putting in the Community Cafe hope someone can help! I am trying to fix an Acer Aspire ONE A0751-h-52Bk computer for a friend. She told me one day while using the laptop half the display faded to black and the other half stayed useable.

It doesnt appear to be the "black screen of death" problem I've seen in other forums where the whole screen goes black because I can still see half the screen.

The solution I have tried so-far was to flash the BIOS with a USB drive (holding in Fn+ESC while pressing the pwr key which is recommended by the Acer support website) but the computer did not reboot even after 30mins of the power light flashing (Acer support site say will reboot after 10mins!).

So I took out the USB drive and turned the computer back on. This time the screen came back to life but for only 60 seconds

I also tried Windows system restore but this didnt work (Sadly installing Ubuntu wouldnt fix this either, because I'm sure the problem with with the Acer proprietary BIOS otherwise I would of blamed windows!)

Here's what I can tell you about the computer. Can someone please help the computer isn't under warranty and Acer want exorbitant amount of cash to fix it!!

Link from Google re Specs Acer Aspire ONE A0751h-5Bk
VGA BIOS version 3306
Windows XP Home Edition

Thanks,
SPADGE_2356

[cariboo]

It sounds like a hardware problem, almost like the backlight on half the screen is either almost dead or very intermittent.

Check ebay for a replacement screen.

[drawkcab]

Welcome to Acer ownership! LOL

I have an acer Revo nettop and I pray every day that it doesn't explode. It was a fantastic deal but it's not the most well-constructed unit I've ever owned. I'm scared to touch it as a matter of fact

[YfoMp5QBh2]

It sounds like a hardware problem, almost like the backlight on half the screen is either almost dead or very intermittent.

Check ebay for a replacement screen.

Thanks for your quick response (thankfully it's my friends not mine!). I'm not 100% certain that is the case because after flashing the Bios it does work for a brief moment, however it remains black every consecutive time you turn it on after that until you flash it again and then the same thing happens.

I'm hoping someone will be able to make a suggestion I can try before spending money on a replacement screen.

[YfoMp5QBh2]

Ok I've just about given up on it! My friend said her brothers is doing the same thing and he gave it to a laptop repair place who did fresh install of windows which did the trick.

So I tried doing that last night and still not fixed. I'm starting to believe that the screen IS now the problem as previously suggested (I'm sorry I doubted you guys). The thing that still confuses me is that it still works intermittently. It's probably a ribbon cable popped out of the socket!

Anyway she's taking it back to the same repair shop that fixed her brothers, but it still leaves me guessing

[Sean Moran]

Forget the screen. Buy a decent brand of computer. It will save her money to just dump the Acer and buy something reliable.


---o0o---
A ribbon cable half-unplugged won't give you half a display. You'd get either white-noise or black nothing. It's the graphics chip most probably.

[grahammechanical]

My sister had a very bad display on her laptop. The screen was cracked! One of her grandchildren closed the lid with the power cable laying across the keyboard. May be with your friends machine, the screen has had pressure put on it in some way that affects only one part of the screen area. Is there dirt or dust under the plastic screen edging?

Regards.

[YfoMp5QBh2]

A ribbon cable half-unplugged won't give you half a display...It's the graphics chip most probably.

I've given it back to her. I've tried flashing the bios, trying a new harddisk and a fresh install of windows xp, a fresh install of Ubuntu via USB. nothings worked. I'll update the post when she gets it repaired (it's going to cost her £35).

Needless to say I won't be buying an Acer for myself! I have an old Dell Latitude D600 with Ubuntu 10.10. It's portability isn't it's best quality however it does exactly the same job and it's 100% easier and cheaper to fix.

[Spr0k3t]

The problem is the screen, (it's an LED screen so there's no inverter). Do a search for the cheapest screen of this model number:B116XW02. It will more than likely be about 60-120USD depending on the features of the finish (matte, semi-gloss, gloss). Pulling the screen and replacing it is extremely easy. You will need to be careful of the tape around the camera cord.

Did a database search, you can also use model number:N116B6-L02 for the same screen. Just made by a different vendor.

[Windows Nerd]

I saw a video of this guy with the exact same problem when he was trying to demo COD Black Ops. He fixed it by unplugging all the cables from the monitor for 10 minutes. Hope this helps.