Acer 1410, 1810, 3810, 4810, 5810 Timeline Drivers, Software, Tweaks and Settings FAQ

Tinderbox or Anyone Willing to Help

I have a 1410 w/SU2300 running an older BIOS. I want to flash it to the latest BIOS (3303). I don't know how to do so. Can you tell me the steps I need to follow to flash the BIOS. Sorry to bother you with something so basic. Thanks for your help. Chuck

 

I just did it. All you have to do is go to the Acer site and download the latest bios (3033?). You will need to unzip it. I like to close everything that is running before flashing the bios and then just run the program.

I just completed a clean install of the 64 Bit OEM windows 7 on my new 1410. Can't believe how much nicer the machine runs without all of that crap. Now I can start on some of the tweaks in this thread.

Bronsky

 

Bronsky

I have done what you suggest (download the latest BIOS and unzip the files), I then clicked on the 64 bit version. Nothing happened. Am I supposed to run some special program to update the BIOS or does it take care of itself? Thanks for your help. Chuck

 

Hey guys I'm new to the forum and had a question. My acer aspire 1410 ZH7 is great and everything but the battery sucks. I have it on no volume and on the lowest brightness settings, and it won't work for over 3 hours. I just browse the net on it. Also if the battery is at 90% and I put it on sleep for about 6 hours at night I wake up and it's dead. I heard there was a battery fix for the acer aspire one, but is there a fix for the 1410? Thanks.

 

Beefdawg is sounds like you're using "balanced" power plan. There's 3 power plans in vista/win7. I get 6hrs on "Power Saver", 4hrs on "Balanced" and 2hrs on "High Performance" with a 1410 running Vista. Also each plan has like 15-20 feature/device settings inside that you can customize so edit your power plan settings and go as deep into the plan settings as you can. Eventually you'll find all the settings for each plan.

 

Are you running it as an administrator?

Edit: Hope its not like these folks ... http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=470384

 

To use the recovery partition, start the laptop, hit F2 and then hit Alt F11 (I think its F11 - might be F10) right away.

 

It`s Alt F10

 

Hey thanks for the help i'll definately check that out..i didnt even think about that...ill post again and tell you what happened.

 

Does 1810TZ run Adobe products smooth? such as Adobe Premiere, Photoshop, Illustrator etc...

 

For anyone having trouble with Vista/Win7 using a drive via usb/esata/1394 or some other port that recommends using the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the system tray and programs are not letting go of the drive, try this:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=6061954#post6061954

 

Okay, seriously. I need to clarify some few simple things about win7 x64 and 4810TG with su9400 and HD4330.
The batterylife sucks. Up to 3 hours maximum.
Seems like the automatic graphic-switch does not work. I play CS:Source with 20fps with everything on low.
HDMI does not work.

Yeah. I hope I can get a quick answer, and I think there is a solution to all of my problems, but I can't find any.

 

Acer 1410 - Extend Display to External Monitor

New to this thread - scanned through the posts but could not find any information on this. I'm using Win7 - is it possible to extend the display to an external monitor?

Thanks in advance

 

yup, first plug in the second display then you can press Fn + F5 I believe to switch to the other display. Alternatively you can go into your XP/Vista/Win7 display settings click on the display box numbered 2 and chose one of the options below that say to extend your display or connect to this display, detect display etc.

I assume you can do the same thing with the HDMI port, I havn't used any of them yet.

 

In Windows 7, pressing the Windows key + P you got a menu that allows switching to external monitor, extend desktop or duplicate desktop.

 

I have kind of the same behaviour qwith my 3810TZG. The automatic swith is very strange, frequently it just switches without any reason to the ATI one. Including in battery mode leading to a battery live of nor more than 4 hours. Anyone knows how to fix that? Moreover, it is not always easy to tell which GPU is active.
As a workaround, I set the ATI shortcuts to some ALT-STRG-Fx keys to switch between the two GPUs, but it is still annoying that it just switches back for no reason.
When using the modded BIOS, I could set the notebook to ALWAYS use the Intel GPU but then the HDMI port does not work plus if I want to play a game need to restart...

 

@joemmi & scarn I suggest looking deeply into each power plan's "advanced power settings". In Vista there's a setting to allow changing GPU power consumption for "Optimal Performance", "Balanced", "Optimal Battery Life" or some terms similar to that. Should be at the bottom of the list in the advanced settings. With ATI GPUs, like this Acer Aspire 5050-5278 I'm using right now, the bottom of the list option is "ATI Graphics Power Settings" and a sub option from it says "ATI POWERPLAY(tm) Settings". On this laptop the only 2 values that can be set for this sub option is "Optimal Performance" and "Optimal Battery Life"

 

EDIT: Moved to Timeline Tweaks 2 Thread.

 

Just wanted to pass this along to the group:

I have a timeline 5810 and I thought that the keyboard sucked. So I ordered a keyboard from the higher-end Acer Travelmate Timeline 8571 series and it fits and works 100% fine.

This keyboard has sculpted keys and is not slippery like the timeline 5810 keyboard (why they would ever make a keyboard slippery like that I have no idea).

Anyway, I think this is a no-brainer upgrade - the keyboard cost me $30 shipped from Hong Kong on ebay, just search for "acer 8571 keyboard"

Note i have only tried the the 15", not any other timeline.

-Dennis

 

Hi,
sounds interesting with replacing the keyboard. Actually I also doubt that I will ever get really used to this Apple type of flat keyboard desion on my 3810, so replacing it by a more standard version of one model of the Travelmate series would be great, and they are a bargain on ebay.

However, I found that the one you are referring to has the numpad, so I wonder if there is a similar one suzitable for the 13,3inch version?? And is it difficult to change the keyboard?? do you lift up the cover or replace it from the bottom??
Cheers

EDIT:
Just found it, it is the 8371.

Here is an example for the keyboard that looks from the softkeys etc. exactly like the one on the 3810 ( http://cgi.ebay.de/Original-Tastatu...temQQimsxZ20100222?IMSfp=TL100222122004r25465)

SO I only wonder whether it is easy enough to install it and if the connectors are the same?? Anyone??

 

At least on the 5810, all you needed to do is to push back some clips on the top of the keyboard, then kind of flex the keyboard in the middle of it to let the side clips clear (the side clips do not retract) - did not even need to remove any screws!

I would highly doubt that acer made different motherboards for the 8x71 series travelmate timelines over their x810 siblings - the specs are the same - I think they just use higher quality casings and keyboard.

These travelmate keyboards still do not have a lot of travel on the keys, and are by no means up to thinkpad quality, but at least the keys are sculpted a bit and not slippery fingerprint magnets. Before I did the keyboard change I was going to get rid of the 5810 but now I am going to keep it.

-dennis

 

what about the key height? You all should double check that the keys are not scratching your screen when the lid is closed

 

I was wondering also about the height, but at least from what db999md says, it should be ok?!

The installation however does not seem straightforward to me. At least on the 3810 I have, I did not manage to put the keyboard somehow over the lids that are holding it (there are around a dozen of small lids everywhere so it seems difficult to get it out. Plus, as the keaboard really is hardly bendable, dunno how I can bend it to slip it out.

 

where are the latest drivers for the built in card reader? It's performance with stock vista Alcor v1.4 driver is horrible. My class 10 SD card only gets 3-7MB/s tops.

Code:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 (C) 2007-2010 hiyohiyo
                           Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* MB/s = 1,000,000 byte/s [SATA/300 = 300,000,000 byte/s]

           Sequential Read :    19.563 MB/s
          Sequential Write :     9.094 MB/s
         Random Read 512KB :    19.222 MB/s
        Random Write 512KB :     1.099 MB/s
    Random Read 4KB (QD=1) :     2.797 MB/s [   682.8 IOPS]
   Random Write 4KB (QD=1) :     0.012 MB/s [     2.8 IOPS]
   Random Read 4KB (QD=32) :     3.829 MB/s [   934.9 IOPS]
  Random Write 4KB (QD=32) :     0.016 MB/s [     3.8 IOPS]

  Test : 50 MB [I: 96.3% (7586.2/7879.0 MB)] (x1)
  Date : 2010/04/08 15:56:45
    OS : Windows Vista Home Premium Edition SP2 [6.0 Build 6002] (x86)
  

 

I have a class 6 sdhc and i get a max write of 15mb/s on an external writer and 13mb/s on my 5810t card reader , I am just using the standard Microsoft driver on my internal card reader 6.1.7600.16385

Have you tried Bench32 , when you start the benchmark it will seem to freeze it has not leave it.

http://mirror.filecluster.com/ATTODiskBenchmark/bench32.zip

 

I'm using an 1410 and I'm gonna bet your speeds are actually cached not actual throughput but even then your speeds seem better than mine.

Code:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 (C) 2007-2010 hiyohiyo
                           Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* MB/s = 1,000,000 byte/s [SATA/300 = 300,000,000 byte/s]

           Sequential Read :    14.396 MB/s
          Sequential Write :    11.977 MB/s
         Random Read 512KB :    14.275 MB/s
        Random Write 512KB :     1.985 MB/s
    Random Read 4KB (QD=1) :     3.272 MB/s [   798.7 IOPS]
   Random Write 4KB (QD=1) :     0.020 MB/s [     4.9 IOPS]
   Random Read 4KB (QD=32) :     3.928 MB/s [   958.9 IOPS]
  Random Write 4KB (QD=32) :     0.021 MB/s [     5.0 IOPS]

  Test : 1000 MB [I: 38.8% (1504.8/3879.9 MB)] (x1)
  Date : 2010/04/08 22:22:15
    OS : Windows Vista Home Premium Edition SP2 [6.0 Build 6002] (x86)
 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
CrystalDiskMark 3.0 (C) 2007-2010 hiyohiyo
                           Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
* MB/s = 1,000,000 byte/s [SATA/300 = 300,000,000 byte/s]

           Sequential Read :    14.249 MB/s
          Sequential Write :    10.244 MB/s
         Random Read 512KB :    14.225 MB/s
        Random Write 512KB :     2.498 MB/s
    Random Read 4KB (QD=1) :     3.584 MB/s [   874.9 IOPS]
   Random Write 4KB (QD=1) :     0.025 MB/s [     6.1 IOPS]
   Random Read 4KB (QD=32) :     4.035 MB/s [   985.1 IOPS]
  Random Write 4KB (QD=32) :     0.038 MB/s [     9.2 IOPS]

  Test : 50 MB [I: 38.8% (1504.8/3879.9 MB)] (x1)
  Date : 2010/04/08 22:31:03
    OS : Windows Vista Home Premium Edition SP2 [6.0 Build 6002] (x86)
  

 

New Bios 1.34 ,2.34 , for the 5810T , check for other timeline models.

 

Hmm, I did, and there is no particular option for saying which grafikcard to use when. Plus, I don't see the entries you are referring to.
Also, I resetted all settings to factory defaults and still when I power it up in "optimal battery" or balanced mode, it by default uses the ATI card.

BTW, in the Biso (1.17) there is an option to set the GPU to switchable or DISCRETE. Anyone knows what the discrete mode means?? WHen I tried to activate it, WIndows had to reinstall ALL drivers for the whole notebook and afterwards, only VGA graphics workes...strange. I really liked to have an option of manually saying, I just want the Intel GPU and only manually would choose to switch to ATI.

 

Hi Dennis,

so I am going to try to do the same for the 3810. However, I found that there are two additional keys on the Travelmate series keyboards, a Dollar and Euro sign next to the navigation buttons. Do they work or provide a problem or make navigating more difficult with the half sized acer keys??
And second, so you flipped the keyboard out of the soket by lifting the little lids e.g. by using a jackknife I reckon?
Thanks!
Looking forward to getting a decent keyboard in the aspire series..
joemmi

 

joemmi that discrete option sounds like the method for switching between the the advanced GPU and the integrated lower end intel GPU. Discrete being the lower end one. I don't know if any laptops that let you switch GPUs from within the OS without rebooting. The Asus N10J has integrated intel GMA and nVidia 9300M GPUs and you press a physical button on the laptop itself which then requires rebooting the OS to switch GPUs.

The graphics driver that was installed was the OSes way of setting up a newly discovered alternate GPU. I'm convinced you'll get better than "Standard VGA" from the integrated intel GPU if you install the correct/latest intel chipset/inf software and intel graphics driver along with the latest matching driver for your advanced GPU.

 

I got a replacement keyboard for my 3810T (some of the 'chicklet' keys on my old one came loose) but the base of the new one is about 1mm thicker.

What I had to do was gently file/prise away some material so it would fit under the catches. I managed to do it eventually but it's quite fiddly. The retaining catches on the laptop case above the keyboard are prone to sticking and somehow one of them has disappeared completely! It's not a very good design IMHO (but I guess most people don't take their laptops apart that often...).

Have to be a bit careful with the locking bar on the ribbon cable socket which can come off if you're a bit clumsy.

 

I have a 3810TZ. When I update my Windows-7 64-bit system with these drivers it kills my Windows.

I need to reinstall Windows from scratch as there is no other way to fix it.

Windows starts loading then the screen flashes blue with text and it immediately resets.

 

The firmware v1.34 seems to have disappeared from the Acer website, at least for my 5810T , this comes after there various bug fix firmwares of late.

I am glad i waited before flashing v1.34 , for more user reports of any problems.

 

when starting windows press F8 a bunch of times before windows loads and look for an option to disable administrative restart on error or some option about disabling automatic restart. Changing that will allow you to write down the blue screen message and search microsoft website for its recommendation.

 

thanks GC, i have seen that option, so if it happens again i will do that.

i have win7 reinstalled now, a little scared of 'updating' the new drivers. these drivers work fine:
[wikidrivers.com] Win7_64_15154

what would be the updated version of those?

i also put on jolicloud as a backup OS

EDIT: WinVista7_64_15173 work fine also

 

graphics driver you use depends on the chipset you have. If you have GS45 Express it's the Mobile Intel 4 Series Express chipset you can find all the intel drivers here just sort by date and take all the newest ones http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Sea...et+Family&ProdId=2991&LineId=1088&FamilyId=40 watch out for 32bit vs 64bit and try get the exe file where you can since they're easier to install.

1410/1810 use the same chipset but I don't know what the other Acer #810 models use. If you have the Intel GMA 4500 graphics especially the 4500MHD then you can use 15.17.3.64.2104 (8.15.10.2104) 64-bit or 15.17.3.2104 (8.15.10.2104) 32-bit. I'm currently using 15.17.1.2086 or WinVista7_15171 32-bit.

Apr.5 the 15.17.3.2086 came out, I wonder if there's really a difference for GMA 4500MHD users and what that diff is? I mean the 8.15.10.2104 number always remains the same.

 

Driver details are as follows:

Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
8.15.10.2104
Driver date: 31/03/2010

This was updated from the install file I did today from the Intel website.

Everything is running very well. I also installed the Acer Power Management software and the system seems to run cooler.

 

Regarding Bios 1.34, I've upgraded without any problem so far. My main issue in 1.33 was very slow XP boot when in AHCI mode.
Expected boot duration was only achieved in 1.33 which reported .9V for CPU instead of 1.1V for 1.34. Since 1.33 was already noticed as a patch kernel code (meaning it's serious ????), I decided jump from 1.32 to 1.34. AHCI boot duration was OK. Voltage remains at .9V ???. So far so good. Will downgrade if serious issue gets reported.

BTW it's on 5810TG.

 

make sure you use the latest BIOS (the one just before the LG flickering fix) I think 3303 for Acer 1410 models. Install the latest INF/chipset driver software and the latest SATA drivers or Intel Rapid Storage Technology driver.

interesting find [POST]6166299[/POST]

 

I've just noticed bios 1.32 has also been removed from site support page. So they removed the 2 bios I know that reports faulty CPU voltage, that is. Very confusing !. What the hell are these bios engineers doing? On the other side, it's very likely same bios is provided for differents MB. Probably not the easiest configuration to manage. Maybe the price to pay trying to lower costs by any mean, lol.

Although I said "so far so good", it must be mentioned that suspend/resume or epowermanager are not involved in my configuration.

 

Some days ago I contacted Acer support and they sent me a link for updating my bios to 1.34 (i had 1.21) which still works:
http://global-download.acer.com/GDFiles/BIOS/BIOS/BIOS_Acer_1.34_A_A.zip?acerid=634062090481622987&Step1=Notebook&Step2=Aspire&Step3=Aspire%204810TG&OS=V10&LC=de&BC=Acer&SC=EMEA_8

They didn't mention anything about issues with this new bios and since then my 4810TG is running very stable on Win7 x64 (upgraded from Vista).

The only issue is the standby bug: when on battery, as soon as the Acer recovers from standby (suspend to ram) both graphics card seem to be active boosting power consumption. I've read through different forum threads and I could not find a solution.

Do we have to wait for new ATI video drivers for switchable graphics or does someone know a possible solution? Is the same problem present on factory-installed Windows7 timelines, too?

Many thanks!

 

Hmm , a new bios v1.35 has appeared to replace the v1.34 that was removed, at least for the 5810T , is anybody brave enough to try it.

 

No brave I am, but made it still. [email protected]. AHCI quick boot @XP Pro. No brick laptop. Good enough for me. Thanks Tinderbox for your update.
Bye

 

Anyone has a clue to solve the 2 GPU issue in XP with bios "switchable" mode ? I've read somewhere it is not recommended to install both drivers. At this moment I'm running ATI driver only with power adapter and bios "discrete" mode, but in the future it would be nice to save battery using Intel GPU instead when living mobile.

 

Win7 fully working in 4810tg with 8h battery. Only need right click on desktop and select gpu energy saving in switch graphics (ati selected by default). I´d like to bypass automatic switch and select manually, stopping services, with registry hacking or something. Anyone?

bios 1.35 and all latest w7 drivers from acer.

 

those keys do nothing on my US timeline 5810

 

Since we are on the topic of keyboards, a few of us are looking at ordering German 3820TG's and putting US 3810T keyboards in them. We have found on Ebay 3810T keyboards that support backlighting. There are pics on the Acer arrandale thread. The question is, does anybody know where the backlighting power ribbon on the 3810T plugs into the motherboard. It is our hope that this socket survived the update to the 3820TG and can be used to power the 3810T backlit keyboards in the 3820TG. First, we need to know where to look. Does anybody know where it is? (I mean really know - i.e.-has a backlit keyboard and has seen where it is plugged in). A drawing or picture would be great.

Thanks in advance.

Bronsky

 

Not sure about 3820, but you can use a backlit keyboard on 3810.

here(in Chinese), the backlit can be controlled by adding a sensor or through Fn+F3 Bluetooth switch.

http://benyouhui.it168.com/thread-1025654-1-2.html

 

We have seen the keyboard, we're trying to figure out where it plugs into the motherboard. Any ideas? I just read a translation, do you read chineese. Am trying to figure out which schematic the writer is referring to. I think this has the information we need, its just that the translation is difficulot to follow. I do appreciate you efforts though.

 

You need to register to see all the photos...In short, as there is NO plug or dedicated switch for the backlit on 3810 mainboard, the keyboard has to get its power from a USB port.

To control the backlit, one approach is to use a homemade lighting sensor -- customized PCB and lots of efforts, which is described in post #1. Another way(on page 19, post #189) is to wire the power of the backlit to the bluetooth module, so it can be controlled by BT switch.