ACK! New Aspire 2012WLMi DOA?!

Aspire arrived today. I powered it up and . . . Nothing! Fan came on for about 2 seconds, then stopped. Display never showed anything. Power light remains on. Battery and wifi lights also stay on. I cannot turn it off except by removing battery and disconnecting AC (or by holding down the power button). I checked the RAM module and it seemed fine. Reseated it and still same problem. Problem identical whether it's on AC power or battery power.

User error or bad hardware?

 

Thats not your fault. Its bad hardware. Where did you get it from? I dont know if you can get your money back, or if you have to exchange it for the same item. I dont know what you would want to do either.

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Fujitsu S6210: 1.6Ghz PM ~ 768MB RAM ~ 60GB 7200RPM Hard Drive
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I bought it from NewEgg.com

Unfortunately, I have to pay to ship it back even though it's defective. And NewEgg doesn't refund for laptops, just exchange.

 

Hey guys,

I had the exact same problem - everything worked on my Acer 2012WLMi except the display! I ordered mine from directdial.com and got it this Thursday. I called Acer's tech support on Fri and they called Purolator to pick up the notebook. (I didn't have to pay any shipping charges at all) Hopefully I should get it back Monday or Tuesday.

The strange thing is that when I connected an external monitor to it, that monitor displays stuff.

- Adam

 

adam, will you keep us posted on how the rest of the process with acer continues? seems like people are generally more tempted to post rants when it comes to customer service, yet so far, seems like yours has gotten off to a cooperative start...

thanks

 

I called Acer tech support--Didn't have to wait to speak to a human.

Was told to use external monitor, also to reset CMOS. I played along, but nothing worked. Acer said Purolator can pick up on Monday and return it in 5 to 7 days. I'm deciding whether to return to Acer or to NewEgg.

I wonder if this is indicative of poor QC.

 

Here's an update...Acer just got my laptop but they say that they will start working on it tomorrow and it should be back in my hands at the end of the week.

I agree with you, sedative, I can't believe that Acer didn't test the laptops before they sent them out! But overall, I think their customer service is handling the problem pretty well.

I'll keep you updated on the process...

- Adam

 

Well, I checked on the status of my repair. Acer said that the CPU in my brand new laptop had to be replaced. I'm scheduled to get it back on Tuesday, which will be exactly one week after I shipped it out.

Hopefully, the replacement CPU will be a Dothan

 

Well, Acer sent laptop back with a new CPU (Banias). Took 7 days. Since I never got to boot up before, I don't know if the original CPU was a Dothan or Banias.

Nice laptop, except the wireless reception sucks. Very erratic as to whether I get a connection.

 

The original units had Banias CPUs, but some newer ones had the Dothan in it. I think they've started to switch to the Dothan because of the cost difference.

Regarding the wireless, try putting your router on Channels 1, 6 or 11, these should cause the least interference.

-Vb-

 

Hi Sedative

Is the reception bad, or is the wireless dropping out? I thought it was bad reception too when I first got my TM800.

Try this and see if it helps:
Go to "START"
Go to "Control Panel"
Double-click on the "Network Connections" icon in the control panel
Right-click on the "Wireless Network Connection" and select "Properties"
Click on the "Configure" button on the General tab
Click on the "Advanced" tab
Highlight "Power Management"
Remove the check mark from the "Use default value" option. (Note: The adjustment bar will be greyed out until the check mark is removed.)
Slide the marker on the bar to "Highest"

 

OK, I took Venombite's suggestion and changed the wireless channel from eleven to six. No more problems with wireless!

Here's the strange part: I used to have problems with channel 6, so I changed to 11. Now it's the opposite!

With this problem fixed, the only bad things are
1) Memory slot not CompactFlash compatible
2) Bumps on F and J keys are too small, I can't find them easily
3) No dedicated Home and End keys
4) FAT32 instead of NTFS

Minor quibbles. 4/5 stars! [ ]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Sedative

 

Thanks VenomBite. Regarding converting to NTFS:
The Aspire's hard drive came pre-partitioned. There's the regular C: partition with the OS etc, then there is a smaller partition with Acer stuff. Someone else mentioned a 3rd hidden partition [xx(] Do I have to combine the partitions before converting to NTFS? Or can I convert just one partition?

BTW, I do have a PCMCIA CF adapter--I had forgotten all about it until you mentioned it!

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Sedative