Acer Ethos AS8951G/AS5951G Owners Lounge

random restarts are always signs of overheating (to me atleast). But by restart do you mean BSOD (blue screen of death)? Did these problems start happening after you installed the RAM? If so its probably the RAM. Take the ram out and see if the problem stops. If it continues, make sure you don't have any type of software issues. Since it happens while gaming, try updated drivers/direct X, also set the nvidia optimus to work with the game, sometimes the auto select GPU feature doesn't aways work as it should. BTW I got BSOD/reboots when i upgraded to 16gb. I knew right away it was the ram, and exchanged it (no problems since).

 

no BSOD just switch off then back on.
yeah it did start when i installed ram , any suggestion on RAM (type speed etc.. 1066, 1333, of the kingston hyper x (i dunno what that is but a few talk about it)
i have some g-skill one in atm, i guess thats what u get for being cheap! lol
all i updated was nvidia driver (latest was a update last month on their site)

 

This is the ram I used. KVR1333D3SOK2/8GR I basically matched the ram already in the system. I know they use different rail's but better safe then sorry.

 

that sounds like a power failure preoblem - system can't fulfill the power requirement and kills the switch instantly - sorry but don't know any more about it than that I had this problem on a desktop

 

Good point. Whats the ram voltage of what you installed? 1.6+ volt memory increases power demand (the system came with 1.5v mem). Performance mem can make an already power tight system even tighter. Then again you could also have a faulty capacitor on the MB or faulty power adapter. Are you overclocking? I would try different mem first (1.5v spec), then different power source if that doesnt do the trick.

 

there 1.5v, as for over-clocking i have no idea how to do it, the power board where the power adapter is full, could be ? i am pretty sure its faulty ram thou, cause the problem only started once i installed,

 

It's going back.
NewEgg agreed to take the machine back and give me a full refund after a month even though Acer threw out the box when I sent the machine in for repair after 2 hours of ownership.

I sent my 8951g into Acer after bricking the laptop with a bios update.

I got the machine back with new problems after a motherboard replacement; the Nvidia card simply does not work regardless of the drivers, BIOS, etc.

They want the machine back and offered to replace it but I'm done.

In addition to the Nvidia card not working (error 43); the
a) several of the keys stick
b) the ESC key is literally falling off
c) the power button is crooked
d) the touchpad just randomly either stops working all together or begins to move erratically. not to mention the scroll function is crazy.

I've never experienced worst customer service from a company.
Acer eventually offered to replace the unit but with a slower processor and a French Canadian keyboard (seriously?)

Good luck to everyone and thanks for all of the help.

 

Wow lucky me.... I just got mine aswell... I was going to buy the one from newegg a month ago!!! when i signed on to purchase it had sold! I am sorry you've had issue with yours. Mine is great. I got from amazon, drop shipped from Acer

 

Oops my bad. Question is still valid though

 

Um, hello. I'm Kat. I'm new (not to computers, but to this site).

I bought an 8951G a couple of weeks ago...

i7 2670QM 2.2/3.1 Ghz.

8 Gb DDR3

2 x 750Gb HDD

GeForce GT555M 2 Gb

Oh, and it has the 1.11 BIOS.

Just upgraded from an AS 5735, with which I never had a problem.

Gonna use the 5735 to test Win 8.

I seriously love this thing, and stumbled upon this site while researching
info and advice on this lovely bit of kit, and spent a couple of hours reading it.

I've implemented a few tweaks, and have taken on board much advice.

Nothing I've tossed at this so far has even caused it to raise a sweat....

I'm NOT a newb, (25+ years on computers), but a new comp always
takes a bit of getting used-to, and advice is always welcome....

Thanks again for this site, it's going to come in handy.

And if I can help with any advice or tips,I am more than happy to do so.

Thanks...

Kat.

 

Hey peeps

There's been a handful of hints here at how to restore the BIOS from a USB stick. I managed to brick mine from foolishly running the asus bios update in Windows so I thought I'll go through the steps I did to recover.

Download the latest BIOS revision from the acer website. As a previous post mentioned, the file you need ends with a .fd. This is actually kept within the EXE of the Windows BIOS directory in the zip file.
So extract the zip file, then use winzip to extract ZRH_113W.exe file. You'll find the ZRH.fd bios file within that.

Copy it to a Fat32 formatted USB stick (no need to rename it)

You'll also need a copy of FLASH-IT.exe. I got mine from downloading an older asus netbook bios file from the asus download support website (I just picked an older aspire model), I couldn't find a copy held within the 8951g download.
Stick FLASH-IT.exe on the usb stick and insert. (I didn't use the USB 3 port).
With the laptop off, hold down fn and Esc. On mine the power button immediately started flashing, then after a few secs it started reading from the flash stick, then after a couple of minutes auto restarted and Bingo! back up and running.
I've read posts describing the need to hold down fn & esc, press power button so it starts flashing, then press the power button again so it reads etc but on mine at least, just fn & esc then the sequence started.

Hope this helps!

 

Hi all, new owner of a as8951g-9424. Very little info on this model but that is ok. It's from Frys.

I read through as much of the 52 pages in this thread that I could and did not see anyone bring the issue I have up. It's a weird one. Most of the time when I have the laptop flat the mouse is reversed. I move the touchpad/remote left right and the mouse on screen goes up/down. Or I move up/down and on screen it goes left/right. The only way I can make it work "normal" is to tilt the whole laptop to the left so it's not level any more.

Any ideas on this one? I can't see any mouse options on this one. I know I can just use an external mouse but that's not the point.

Overall I really love this laptop. It's my 5th or so and boy is this one a beast. Finally got all options I've wanted in a laptop, full HD screen, backlit keyboard and Blu-Ray writer (though I would have been happy with a reader).

 

well, like most devices based on movement sensors (a.k.a. tablets), the mouse pad will remain in the last tilted state before being laid flat. I don't usually move my own laptop around much, but when I do, when I leave it on a table, I tilt it towards me before laying it flat, and that takes care of the mouse pad

 

hi, I would like buy this laptop for 1300€ , please if someone who has already opened the bottom, please could you take a photo and send it here ? thank you ( I have the 8930G )

 

Seems once I "re-paired" the remote all worked fine after that. Haven't had this issue for about a day now so I think that's all I needed to do. Not sure why but I'm not questioning it.

This laptop would be perfect for me if more of the ports were on the back. Ethernet, power and a couple USB ports at least. Having this laptop on my desk as the desktop replacement it looks kinda old having all these wires sticking out the sides.

 

i want to say 2 things about the touchpad

1- to scroll up/down USE 2 (two) fingers (if there is a way to use side scroll, please, tell me
2 - it NEVER goes "crazy" changing up/down to left/right, It have a sensor, so you can use it easy with only one hand when not docked
like this:

#=============================#
#=============================#
#===[___]======================#
#=============================# Now, up is up, down is down
#=============================# If it got crazy, is beacause you
#=============================# lifted only ONE side of your
#=============================#computer, or you lifted it first
#=============================#or its on your lap...
#=============================#
#=============================#
#=============================#
#=============================#
#=============================#
#=============================#
#=============================#
#=============================#
#=============================#
#=============================#
#=============================#
#=============================#
#=============================#
#=============================#
#=============================#
#=============================#
#=============================#

to fix it, only take it of and then back again, or tilt you pc screen down

 

Hi everyone - I just got a new Ethos from the recent MS Store sale and I have a question...

This computer is supposed to be dual hard drive capable. I even bought an SSD at the same time I bought the computer. But I opened up the bottom this evening, and while there is a space for the drive, there is no metal bracket and no SATA cable. Is it supposed to be there?? Can I order it from somewhere?

I'm going to swap out the stock 750GB drive for now so at least I can get started on installing the OS, but I want to put the 750GB drive back in. Please let me know what I should do...

Thanks!

 

Hey imokruok,

It's correct, the Acer 8951G is dual hard drive capable, however, there are different versions sold, with some having only 1 HDD inside (probably one you've got)

--In the model sold with only 1 HDD, Acer did leave one HDD-bay empty.
Not including the extra HDD-brackets and Cable for a later upgrade..
Acer even said 'that model can't be upgraded... which is just BS.... (hoping to get people to buy the more costly model.. )

I bought one with only 1 HDD inside as well, (also without extra HDD-brackets and Cable..)
But as you may find earlier on in the Thread, i upgraded the 8951G with a 2nd HDD --no problem at all --IT Does support 2 HDD's.
You just need to know where to get the right parts.

Here are the links where I got the HDD-brackets (you need to order 2 of those!!)

Acer original bracket - AC44033 - $19.95US : Notebook Solutions, Parts, Service & Support

And here is the link for the cable (I bought 2,.. one backup just to be sure)

Acer original cable - AC44753 - $24.95US : Notebook Solutions, Parts, Service & Support

They ship worldwide.

Hope it helps you out.

 

Is there any news that this laptop will be upgraded with new generation GPU and CPU???

 

No it can't be upgraded. No MXM means no way to change GPU and CPU can be upgraded only within current generation. Each new generation means new chipset so no dice here.

 

Hello everybody, thank you for this thread, i got a lot from it.

I have an 8951G-9000 and want to replace the cd drive with a drive that can burn blu ray discs. I am looking at Panasonic UJ240 6x Blu-ray burner.

Did anybody change the cd drive? I am assuming I would need to load the driver for that.

Any input appreciated.

 

No need for any drivers- Windows takes care of that. You'd probably need a proper software to burn Blu-rays though.

 

Thank you downloads.

I just discovered a problem: I am trying to play a blu-ray movie with DAPlayer ( DAPlayer - Free HD Bluray Video Multimedia Player Software) and it tells me it fails to read the disc. It plays ok with normal dvd movies.

I uninstalled clear.fi but I don't think the player is the problem. DAPlayer is advertised as a blu ray player as well.

Anybody verified that this laptop can play blu ray movies?

And if so, any ideas what can cause disc reading failures?

Thanks

 

If you mean "refreshed" or "updated", then that's the exact question I have. I've been considering the 8951G, but if a newer model is released with Ivy Bridge and a 600M-series GPU, that'd be my preference. I don't expect anyone knows yet, but I'm crossing my fingers.

My understanding was that Ivy Bridge CPUs were compatible with Sandy Bridge motherboards, just that it might need a BIOS update-which probably isn't out yet. Is that not the case?

 

Technically you're might be right but that would probably work only for desktops.

Compatibility has been confirmed for desktop chipsets H67 and P67- no word about mobile ones. There is news to the contrary- that mobile chipsets will be excluded from the update (see here).

 

I don't read Chinese, but based on the translation that's an assumption rather than an explicit confirmation. However, going off of that I was able to find this, which not only seems to confirm it but is much more recent.

That's a shame, but thanks for correcting me.

 

I know, I just was about the new model if there is any news.

 

Does anyone know if something can be done about the CPU fan on the AS8951G? Mine just goes on an off often. I was wondering if there was a way to turn it up so it runs at a higher speed all the time, especially when plugged in. I don't want it to run at full speed, just a higher speed all the time so it doesn't keep turning off and on often.

 

go to power options and select power save mode or balance mode
check how many programs and services u running
if your fan is slowing down or speeding up u have set balance mode cos it auto decides what cpu power will use

 

Hey guys
Anybody managed to get service manual ? or somebody tried to fit Intel Core i7-2960XM in this machine ?

 

Ok I tried that DA Player. It would only read a handful of Blu-Rays. When it did play a commercial disc it skipped right over all the previews, menus and such and went right to the movie which I thought was cool.

Good program but way too buggy for me. I don't really care for clear.fi but I need something to play Blu-Ray movies. I don't want to pay the $90 or whatever it is for PowerDVD. It looks like clear.fi is based on it in part, made by Cyberlink it seems.

So I uninstalled DA Player. Will consider coming back to it if they get the bugs out of it. It seemed to play older titles fine but newer ones like Avatar and the last Harry Potter movie refused to play.

 

Thanks for that.

I am already in Balanced plan. The only change I made to that plan was to make it so that when on AC power it does not turn off the display or put the computer to sleep or dim the display.

I was hoping more for some Acer utility to change the behavior of the fan. Doubt one exists though. Or some 3rd party application that can do that.

 

yeah does exist but doesn't work on our acer ..

 

-----

Okay thank you for feedback.

So at this point I am looking for a good program that can play blu-ray movies. I run VLC and that plays ok for all video formats (including regular dvd movies) but it would not play blu-ray.

Any ideas ?

Thank you

 

I found references on the net about an open source Media Player Classic (mpc-hc.sourceforge.net/), I installed that and still cannot play blu-ray.

I used a couple codec packs (K-lite, and CCCP), still no joy...

Si I guess i'm out of luck playing blu-ray movies on this laptop.

 

Hey bubbl111,

If you are looking for some free-software to play blu-ray movies,... I guess you will have to look very hard.

On the other hand, there are enough paid software options to play blu-ray movies like a charm.

Just to name 2,
PowerDVD suite 11,
or
Total Media Theatre 5 (by Arcsoft)

Like those 2, There are many more 'paid' options.

I have used different programs on my Acer 8951G, and can play Blu-ray movies beautifully, (even through HDMI on my Led-TV)

 

man why u using such crap soft? there are two leading apps for bluray !
IT is WinDVD 11 and PowerDVD 12 ..

I prefer WinDVD ..

 

RAY24 / GalaxySII: Thank you for the info, i don't mind paying for software as long as it works well.

I will check those titles out.

 

Hello Folks
Has anybody updated gt555m drivers to new ? how about gpu performance?
Thnx

 

Wondering if anyone can shed some light on the different models in the 8951 series?
I'm in the market for another 18.4" laptop (currently have a HP HDX18T) and given the fairly scant 18.4 product lineup in 2012 am leaning towards an Ethos.

My regular supplier has indicated the 8951 is EOL but is prepared to install the 2860QM and 16 GB RAM into a refurb for me... is there any particular model number that I should be looking for though?
I see variances like LX.RJ202.153, LX.RJ202.170 and LX.RJ207.011 and have no idea what significance these bear on the end product (presumably regional?).

In any case, I just want to make sure their weren't physically improvements in some way (e.g. thermal design) that might catch me out if I end up with an earlier version.

Appreciate any info anyone has.

 

Can you please upload the ZRH.fd file?

 

Hello! I recently changed my laptop from Vaio VPCF1390X to Acers Aspire 8951G. I already have a OZC Vertex II SSD and want to buy the new one, OZC Vertex III SSD which support up to 6Gb/s but nowere i found if ACes 8951G Support 6Gb/s speed. so please let me know if it wortHs. Tanks!

 

Hy RAY long time no write
How are you ?
Just wanted ask you
Do u have any idea how to disassemble LCD display ?

 

Anyone have any microphone problems? When I record and play back it is very, very distorted. Tried audacity and input levels seem right.

 

HI
yes of course it does ..

 

@ GalaxySII

Check/Download Acer AS8950G PDF Sevice Guide for LCD replacement

Figure 6-2. LCD Assembly Exploded Diagram
Table 6-2. LCD Assembly Exploded Diagram
No. Description Acer Part No.
1 Camera HF1315 (in LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.) See LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.
2 Screw M2.0 x 3.0-I 86.S0207.001
3 Glass Hinge-L (in LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.) See LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.
4 Screw M2.5 x 4.0-I 86.PWC07.001
5 LCD Bezel Tuba Sleeve Sub Assy. (in LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.)
See LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.
6 LED/B Assy. (in LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.) See LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.
7 Screw M2.0 x 3.0-i 86.S0207.001
8 Glass Hinge-R (in LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.) See LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.
9 LCD Cover Sub Assy. (in LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.) See LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.
10 LCD 18.4” FHD Glare 6M.RCN07.004
11 Glass 0.7-2 See LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.
12 LCD Non-bezel See LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.
13 LCD Bezel Tuba Sleeve Sub Assy. See LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.
14 Hinge Cap R See LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.
15 Screw M2.5 x 5.0-I Not available at time of printing
16 Cable Assy. (in LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.) See LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.
17 Hinge Cap L See LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.
18 Hinge Cap R See LCD 18.4” FHD Glare assy.
19 Screw M2.5 x 6-I 86.A08V7.004

 

Can u give me direct link ?
thnx

 

The sevice manual link is @ Acer Aspire 8950G Owners Lounge
page 13, post #125. Just a few licks here @ NBR.

 

Oh yeah i know about that but i need 8951G not 50

 

Anyone know whats new in the 1.13 BIOS ? Prior versions had a brief description, this one just says "BIOS", and there's nothing in the readme.