Acer Aspire 5114 Keyboard, Touchpad, USB not working...Help!

I own an Acer Aspire 5114WLMi with 1 gb ram and 120 gb hdd with Ati Mobility Radeon 512mb running on windows media center edition 2005. Today evening when i switched on my laptop i found out that keyboard, touchpad, usb ports are not functioning. The systems boots on to desktop. but i cant do anything, booting into safe mode or bios is also not working. Sound (speakers) and dvd drive are functioning ok. Dont know what to do about the rest. Help me.

 

can you go bios and use you keyboard okay?

 

no ... the keyboard and touchpad is like...dead from the switch 'on' of the machine. That way i cant get into Bios or safe mode.

 

Yes you cound pull it apart see conectors are okay but sound like mainboard issues are usb port shorting inside take flash light to them check

 

I am not sure how much help this will be, but I have a Winbook A210 that is doing the same thing. Windows boots fine, but there is no control over keyboard, mouse, or their usb counterparts. The only thing I have discovered is that when a version of linux (i.e. puppy linux) is booted that does not require keyboard intervention to install, the keyboard and mouse work after the o.s. is loaded. This may be more confusion than help, but this is as much as I have discovered.

 

I also have the same problem. I'm using acer aspire 5670 but in safe mode the touch pad and keyboard working just fine. Is my motherboard problem??? Anybody know?? I have tried the start-up utility configuration but its sometimes ok and sometimes not ok..pls help

 

ascrot,
1. What os are you running?
2. How did you get into safe mode?


Anyone?
Does anyone have thoughts on a bios update? Winbook tech support was no help with this. That is the only thing I can think would be wrong, since the kernel is os based (I think), and that is the major boot difference between windows and linux.

 

Porche 924,
1. Windows XP service pack 2
2. Alt+F8 to safe mode.
The instructions I get from acer srvc manual...Pls help..

 

have you try with out battery?

It acpi and bios and battery issues

if go into safe mode system32 and rename two acpi.sys and acpiec.sys

reboot it will work or just reboot with out battery

 

andyasselin,

No, I haven't try wthout battery. I'll try after this.For info my battery had already dead. Unable to recharged. One more thing, How do I rename acpi.sys and acpiec.sys.

 

The battery test didn't give much prevail for my situation, but c'est la vie.

ascrot,
1. I am assuming that since your keyboard works during boot (lucky) that you could then have access to command prompt. I have not used the safe mode with command prompt option, so I can't tell you much there.
a. Do you know much about DOS commands?
b. Do you have a floppy drive so as to boot the command prompt?
- Windows ME disks can be downloaded from a google search,
and will provide such access
2. If all else fails, you could take the route I used to re-install windows. Take the hard disk out of the laptop and boot it up as a slave in your desktop (if you have one, or a friend), and rename the files through windows.

 

When I removed the battery and start and..Yes, the system works fine. All the keypads and touch pad working as it is. Thanks to Carl. I think I need to change with new battery.
Only now I have is too many error from Dr Watson.

Porche 924,
I think I know a liitle bit about DOS command promt and I can try rename it but where can I to find the file? May be after I rename the file all the error might gone. Wouldn't it?

 

you have boot safe mode they will be found in the windows\system32\drivers folders

 

i am running windows media center edition 2005.
i took the machine to the service center and they said it was motherboard problem. They fixed up the keyboard and mouse but the usb ports still doesn't work. They told me that i can get the motherboard replaced after this holiday season. So wil have to wait till then and see.
but what if i try to get linux into the system. will that help.? that worked with porsche_924 rite?
thanks

 

ath007,
Yes, booting a linux distro did work for me, but there are a few things to know before doing that. I don't know what you know about linux (I myself have only very little knowledge), but it is nothing like windows. Some of the newer KDE/Gnome desktop environments are similar visually, but it is still a drastic learning curve. Either that or I am just really slow . . . . . . . .

Anywho, in order to install linux, you would need to find one that does not require keyboard input to initiate install. That would limit your choices drastically. You could always install it from a desktop, or another laptop onto that hard drive, but you would have to play a trial and error game as to which would and would not work.

Second. Linux, even through the use of Wine, does not support all software designed for Windows. I don't know if you have any favorite software, or games (Go Games!) you were using, but they may not work.

Wow! I just had a thought. When I reinstalled windows on my laptop via placing the hard disk in my desktop, everything worked from that hard drive. That means it can't be (at least solely) a software issue. Since the keyboard and touchpad work through puppy linux (Go Puppy!), it can't be solely a hardware issue. Ok, so that may not be of much help, but that's what I was thinking (scary I know).

Good Luck, and let me know if you have any thoughts being as I am still in the same boat with you.

P.S. I think I would try lots of options before spending money on replacing a motherboard, I wouldn't figure they would be cheap (or possibly the answer). Of course at this point it doesn't seem as though we have much choice left do we . . . . . . . . . . .

 

That was a good long reply, Porsch_924. Thanks a lot.

I am a Ubuntu freak. The 'freak' word might not be correct cuz I just got into the thing last week. Yes, just last week and am having lots of fun with it. Rite now am really in the mind to remove Windows from my system. But apparently i am stuck with the choice of 80-20 ratio for Ubuntu to Windows. But I have the strong feeling that i will never have trouble with that (Ubuntu). You get every software related to your general use from the net.

About the games issue, its a sad thought, because as u said so, I am a gamer, maybe even yourself. And that can be one of the points i can make when i consider the 80-20 ratio. I haven't seen much support for games in Linux, but the scenario is changing. Maybe something will come up soon. Wine doesn't support every Win application.

My favorite softwares include 3dsMax, Tools from Adobe and Macromedia (Photoshop, Fireworks, Dreamweaver and stuff like that) and from these itself its obvious. Running proprietary software in Linux seems to be a no-no, as of now. So these wont work either. So that adds another point into the 80-20 thing.

You said that u are going to spend on a new motherboard. You out of your warranty period ? I guess am lucky. I am still under warranty and a month left on the thing. But i am not convinced with the idea. What if it gives us the problem again. What if its something else. I havent tried the remove-battery-then-try procedure. Will have to try that. And yeah, its better to look into everything before making the end move, the motherboard change.

I recommend you go for Ubuntu dude. Its fun and you wont take much time learning it. Believe me, you will just take 3 days to get the basics ready. Give it a try. As for me, i use this in my brother's system. And haven't felt like looking back at windows.

Will give you news about what happens at the service center tomoro. Hopefully they will have got the stuff necessary.

Inform me when anythings new from your side.
Thanks

 

ath007,

I just had another thought. A desktop I worked on a while back would not install Windows. Just kept locking up and what not. It ended up being the main cable from the power supply to the motherboard not plugged in all the way. The battery issue is a similar result. If the power can not travel, then the information can not be sent. I wonder since linux uses a different form of device communication, if it would be possible that one of the cables going to the keyboard came loose.

I have not completely dissembled this unit as of yet, but some I have in the past have used the same cable to communicate and power the keyboard and touchpad. The keyboard cable was mentioned previously in this post, and that may make quite a bit of sense now.

This doesn't necessarily justify the reasoning for the usb not working, but it then again might, if the motherboard is not getting all the information it needs. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm . . . . . . . .

Just my thought of the moment.

I am currently having my Father look at the machine right now, but as soon as I get it back, I will give it a try.

 

I too had the same feeling that the cables might have gone loose. But i didnt open it up then. Removing and reconnecting might have helped. Usually thats a solution when concerning desktops.

But another thought. What if it might have been some heating issue. My laptop doesnt heat up that bad and i havent noticed any heat leaks (heat felt on the casing, keyboard and touchpad area). But my problem started (I think) when i had left the system for an overnight download the other day (i usually do that, but this time it was different), i had closed the monitor down. Next morning when i opened it, the mouse wasn't responding for a few seconds. I also noticed that heat (a gentle warmth) was felt around the top corner of the keyboard, near the monitor hinges and even at the left bottom corner of the screen. (The top left corner is the location of the exhaust fan). I hadn't bothered about it then and went on to my work after shutting the system down. Later that day, the keyboard, mouse, usb ports not-responding thing happened.

Another thing i want to mention, when i connect devices to all of the usb ports (4 in total), the system might hang at times and the only solution to that was the emergency shutdown (pressing the power button for 5 seconds). I use usb joysticks and external hard disks, along with printers and scanners at times.
And when i try to restart my system, it wouldn't respond. The lights come on, but nothing else, Nothing on the screen and the dvd drive motor whirs at high speed.
Shutting down and waiting for a few minutes, maybe up to an hour or disconnecting the adapter plug from the power socket and the laptop always helped. I then checked the usb bandwidth in the system resources. According to it, 80% of the bandwidth from one bus was shared between three devices; the webcam(which is inbuilt), and two usb ports. The other two were on a separate bus. Disabling the cam didnt work. The bandwidth seemed fixed and i coudnt change it. So, when i connect many devices at a time, the bandwidth gets clogged so much that it hangs up. Connecting an external usb hub slightly helped.

I think all these affected the motherboard in the end. Did you see any symptoms as mine around the days your problem arised?

 

got any results? anything new?

 

Nothing new yet. My Father has the laptop right now. He is in Ohio, and I am in Missouri. I was going to ask him to bring it down next visit, but his father died yesterday, and it didn't quite seem like the time. I will let you when things change.

 

Ath007,

I got the laptop back, and after re-seating the cables, nothing has changed. I tried to go ahead and install linux, but it won't boot from the DVD drive anymore. This thing is about frustrating, and is close to a meeting through a window. Anywho, I tried to boot the hard disk from the laptop in the desktop, and though it boots XP fine, I am not able to install linux on it. Keeps locking up. Interesting. Makes one wonder if the hard disk may be an issue???? Those are my thought for the moment, I will have to see if I have any other hard drives laying around, and see if the problem is the same.

Any thoughts on why the DVD drive won't boot anymore?

 

Oh so anoying, i have the same problem and i guess the Acer support has long holiday. I have tried to boot without Battery but no diffrence and i cant enter bios since keyboard is already dead at that time. But windows seem to work as it should.
Everything started with a boot failure. One day when i started the comp i came to the blackbackround windows loading screen and then it freeze.

I own a Acer Aspire 5112WLMi

Just wondering if anyone had this problem before and, if you sent the computer to Acer, what did they do about it?

 

Klarre,
Thus far all efforts and advances have been in vain.

Ath007,
I have another twist for you. The laptop boots to windows again (finally), and no keyboard mouse da da da da da . . . . . . So I was trying all of my USB devices for the fun of it, and one of the mice gets a light. It doesn't move the cursor, but it maintains its little red light. So I guess the usb isn't completely dead. No other USB devices work, or get a light, but one does (get a light, not work). I thought the DVD drive was dead, but it auto loads fine in Windows. It still will not boot from startup anymore, and I still can't figure that one out. It's not like something in the bios got changed (ha ha ha). WAIT! Maybe something in the bios did get changed. Do you know where to find jumper settings for laptop motherboards, the manufacturer isn't much help. The bios may have been inadvertently reset during one of its many disassembles.

Ok, that's really all I've got, so I really should get back to work, let me know your thoughts.

 

Ive heard nothing from Acer yet.
Will give them a call tomorrow.

Porsche, any news?

 

I do not have anything. I am at the conclusion that it must be either a motherboard or hard drive issue. Nothing else seems to make since. I am trying (with much frustration) to install Puppy Linux. I have tried many other Linux distributions, and have had terrible time with formatting the hard drive. I have never had problems before, and it makes me wonder if there is something wrong with it. I finally booted the hard disk up through USB on the desktop, and formatted it as FAT32. The drive took ok, but I am still having installation troubles. The restore disk for Windows XP seems to be the only thing that will install. Strange. . . . . .

 

I just registered to say one thing:
I had exactly the same problem, keyboard & touchpad dead in Win XP (usb mouse worked fine though). Keyboard was working in BIOS so I knew there was probably nothing wrong with cable connections etc.

I managed to boot safe mode with networking, googled "laptop boot keyboard" and came up with this forum.

I read about taking out the battery and it works!!!! Unbelievable. I registered just to say thanks because you saved me from an awful lot of trouble (sending the laptop to acer etc)!

Cheers!

 

UPS will come tomorrow and get my.
Will return with update when i get it back.

 

Sorry guys, i was away for a while from my replies as i was busy with other things.

You know one funny thing about Acer? The day after i had given off my laptop at Acer service, i saw this news report of Acer and Fujitsu being awarded for the best after sales service for the year 2007. I was pleased about it, thinking of how fast my laptop will return in good condition. But it was not so. Its been more than a month now and i still havent got a reply from the manufacturer. I just didnt trust my laptop being there at the service center so i went and collected it. I told them to call me when the motherboard they ordered as replacement arrives. And still no info. I call them daily and the only thing they say is "Acer hasn't responded yet, pls wait". Sad service Acer, sad service.

I have the machine right now and use it as usual. The keyboard and mouse works. But the USB just doesnt work. I havent connected anything yet (actually its the information from the service center not to connect). And i dont want to risk anything by doing so. Will bring out more news soon.




http://athlog.wordpress.com

 

Porsche_924

I think its an issue with the motherboard. The keyboard and mouse not working cannot be an issue of the hard drive. Or is it. Well i believe so. Especially since you connected it to a desktop and formatted it and it went right. And when you connected it to your laptop again it shows problems right? My point: its the motherboards fault.

Can you try booting into Ubuntu Linux? I heard that its one of the widely supported linux distros. Try that dude...and tell me what happens. Keep in touch.


http://athlog.wordpress.com

 

Well, it happened that i again left my system at the service center. This time they offered a replacement machine for one week until they get the other machine fixed.

Whats happening on your side? Anything new?


http://athlog.wordpress.com

 

I have the same problem !! Today my notebook is locked and manually restart the notebook. Keyboard and mouse is not working now.

I will send my notebook to service today. Removing battery couldn't solve the problem.

 

Hey guys,
I got the machine back from the service center and its back to normal working condition. So it really seems it was the problem of the motherboard. So when that is replaced, all will be well. Anyways, that short adventure is over. I hope problems wont come back soon.

Porsche924 and Anilo,
what is happening on your side dudes. Hope the problems get rectified soon. Tell me when anythings new.

 

I guess that means I won't bother trying the other hard drive I found. LOL. My machine is not under warranty, so I will have to look around for a cheap replacement. C'est la vie.

Thanks for your help everyone, and I am glad that worked for your Ath007. I got so frustrated with the thing a since my last post it went on a shelf (seemed better than the "through the window" option). At least the mystery is solved. I will try to mess with it again in a week or so. I have to finish remodeling my house and get through our Pre-Paid Legal meeting this week. I will let you know what I come up with.

God Bless.

Chase Gilliard

 

Got my AS5112WLMI back today.
The problem was in the Mainboard as i thought.
They did this to my laptop:

Reflash/Reset BIOS
Replaced FRUS
Mainboard exchanged
System Bios updated

What im wondering is if the mainboard is the same typ and version as the last one? I think it is because otherwise they would have let me know about it?

Hope this was the 2nd and last time i had to send my comp to germany.

 

How much will it cost to change the motherboard when we are not under warranty? If this happens again, then i am doomed...
So, i need to see where i can get sources to fix up the thing next time something happens. And how much would it cost me?

Besides, i will tear up the whole machine and see whats happening on the inside. I havent done that till now because of the warranty thing. Its better doing that anyways...

 

Wow...Where was all this in april 2006 when I made the STUPID decision to buy an Acer notebook. So I have the same issue as you guys.

I have an Aspire 5670 WinxpSP2 2GbRAM, 120GbHDD, ATI RadeonM1400, etc.

Seemed like a real nice machine until....IT just SPONTANEOUSLY freaked out and stopped working right. The power management stopped functioning and battery life suddenly was halved.

Then in the middle of watching a movie, an ATI Catalyst error appeared and from then on, the machine has been useless. Iwas able to use the touchpad running in safe mode and in BIOS. Attempts at using the acer recovery module failed. I let the rocovery run for over 36 hours and it had still not finished.

I took it to a repair shop the sells Acer notebooks. (SOLD Acer notebooks. They said they would not carry them any longer after working on mine.) They reinstalled the operating system. Still no good. The keyboard and touchpad and USB would not work at all. They re-reinstalled operating system. Still no good. They swapped the hard drive. No change. They checked all connections within the unit. No change. They returned the machine to me stating that I was not the only one having this issue and showed me discussion forums where users complain of similar problems. I am told that perhaps it is a motherboard or processor issue.

The machine is no longer under warranty. I should have purchased the extended plan, but I thought I could trust in Acer's good name. I paid over $1,000 for this notebook and I now have nothing, not even two years later. The machine does something different every time it is booted. It typically fails to load all drivers and is totally unreliable. In my business, unpredictable means USELESS.
Sorry for the long post but I had to vent to someone who UNDERSTANDS. I havn't the cash for a MOBo replacement (i don't think anyway. Anyone have an idea of the cost? USDollars.)

So, I hold out hope that Acer will initiate some sort of product recall. (RIGHT!) so all you disgruntled Acer user out there...Let your voices be heard!!!!

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

I had the problem with my Acer laptop with everything working fine in safemode. If I booted normally the keyboard/mouse wouldn't work and the machine was pretty much locked up.

I did as suggested and removed the battery. Everything is now working fine.

Like an above poster I registered just to say thanks.

-B

 

I had the problem with my Acer 3003WLCI laptop with everything working fine in safemode. If I booted normally the keyboard/mouse wouldn't work and the machine was pretty much locked up.

I did as suggested and removed the battery. Everything is now working fine.

Like an above posters I registered just to say thanks.


RPA

 

lol... how come I didn't find this thread 2 months ago? Now that I think about it, my battery had been getting worse and worse before the problem started. Since then, I've hit the hard drive with everything I could, tried different OS's, flashed the BIOS, and generally beaten the computer about.

It never occurred to me that the battery could be at fault :/

oh well, at least I learned something from all this, and I can certainly laugh at it

Thanks!

 

kma.. same here Acer Aspire 5050, no keyboard & mouse.. Take out the battery works fine.

Thanks a bunch for the help!

Question - Has anyone found a way to get the laptop to work w/ the battery in?

Everytime I put the battery back in - no keyboard & mouse.

 

i was gonna gripe about reviving old threads...

but in this case i think it's a good reminder for some of old-timers...

that's always the first thing when having hardware problems... try w/o battery and it may also help to hold in the power-button with both AC plug and battery removed... (hold the power button in for atleast 10 seconds)

 

there is a COSTLY fix....

buy a new battery FROM ACER!
your battery is old, damaged, and basically working as a huge capacitor that is connected to your laptop... so short of replacing the battery i've not seen any success with RESETING BATTERIES on ACER laptops... but some DELL users have been able to take the battery apart and work some magic.

best bet is buy a new battery