New Laptop: Acer Extensa 4420-5237

Hey, new to the site and new to Winbloze laptops as well.
I broke my Macbook recently and needed a new laptop but I don't have the money for a new Macbook right now. Plus I need to run Windows for Computer Programming at college next year (I would have preferred to do it from my Macbook but whatevs ).
I found a similar computer (EX4420-5874) at the Source (in Canada) for $700 (Canadian) with 3GB RAM, 250GB HD, ATI Radeon X1250 and an Athlon 64 X2 TK55. It was better specs than ones I'd been looking at in the same price range so I figured I'd buy it. And...
I'm glad I did. I've been pleasantly surprised by it. Even with Vista. I haven't had any problems with it (except Call of Duty not letting me move around because it doesn't seem to see my keyboard.. but thats what XP is for anyway lol). Cubase works. Winamp works. My iTunes library loads right up in Windows Media (with the excpeptions of m4a files for some reason but I'll probably dl iTunes for Windows and convert them all and then try again).
I haven't had any problems with it and once I disabled 75% of the things in startup inside msconfig it starts up nice and fast as well.
Now I just have to install acronis to triple boot it with XP and a cracked version of Leopard for AMD chips. Should be fun.
Overall its been a good buy and will serve its purpose

 

http://www.thesourcecc.com/estore/p...y=Notebooks_English&catalog=Online&tab=1#more
Here's the link to the one I purchased btw. I like it

 

Hi all, I'm Joanne. Bought the EX4420-5237 at BB about a week ago, and of course cried because it was SO different than my cherished HP. After HP repair accused me of spill damage (hah!) I'm done with them for good. So this Acer is ok, hate the curved keyboard, and the fan does run but it is SO quiet, I don't know what ya'll r talkin 'bout.

I have dumped only Norton at this point, jury is out on Empowering Technology (what, exactly, does it do for me? except tell me how long I've been wasting time on the computer) and since I discovered OpenOffice.org, it's goodbye Office 30-day trial!

Meanwhile, I was so intrigued by the idea of installing XP on the partition, but no vista discs. I am so totally crushed right now. I may just dump vista and go XP full time.

WHERE DID YOU FIND DRIVERS for this machine?? (thats all I really wanted to ask.)

Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place

 

I called BB in regards to this and was told that it has Bluetooth but that I needed to download a driver for it. Looking elsewhere I discovered that the switch is misleading and that there is no Bluetooth. I have contacted the Geek Squad due to my DVD burner not operating and mentioned that I tried to download the driver from the Acer website and it stopped saying that Windows had discovered a problem and needed to shut down the program. The Geek Squad agent didn't make mention of the Extensa possibly not having Bluetooth.

Aside from the somewhat crappy customer service I feel I'm getting I must say that the Extensa (insert joke here) has the best bang for my buck. I actually like Vista not just because it's "all pretty like" but I can make the windows transparent which I find handy when transcribing one type of text format to another.

 

I recently picked this system up and am enjoying it. I am just wondering if there is anyway to turn this into an actual system that can play some video games? I'd like to upgrade graphics, as that is the main slowdown for the windows score. I don't want a crysis full res type system, im just looking for hope of a video card upgrade, and some suggestions if possible. Thanks.

 

support.acer.com click "drivers' and look for your machine

 

I picked up mine too from BB (can't find it on their website now) last week. First thing I did was I re-formatted the hd to get rid of Vista and loaded WinXP. Haven't noticed any issues with the fan noise... and after downloading all the needed drivers and updates, I love this little machine !!
I had a Compaq Presario which weighed about a pound more so I love how light this feels. In retrospect I probably should have left Vista alone and did a dual partition so I could play with Vista later but oh well......
IMO, this is a very nice little laptop for the price.

 

Thank you. Are the XP and Vista drivers the same? I'm terrified to just throw my XP disc in and start loading. Since I can't dual-boot vista, what does anyone suggest I do? I want XP back. THANKS

Did anyone else have prob with PowerDVD? It freezes when I put in a retail movie disc.

 

I still haven't figured out why my burner isn't functioning properly. Any suggestions? Does anyone know if Bluetooth is really available on this if I download the driver? I'm kind of frustrated at having a useless button on my machine if it really doesn't come with Bluetooth.

 

It really doesn't come with Bluetooth. I was suprised too. And my DVD player isn't working, haven't tried the burner. I think we both got 'burned'

 

Are Acer Vista drivers the same as XP drivers? I don't see a seperate set.

 

I don't think they are. I say this because when I was attempting to download that Bluetooth driver their were 3 available and only one was for Vista.

 

The XP drivers are on the Acer Euro site-
http://support.acer-euro.com/drivers/notebook/ex_4420.html

 

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to go about installing an internal Bluetooth module? I've looked online for one to buy but I keep coming across external USB powered ones. I would prefer to not have a button on my laptop that does nothing.

 

I'm not above crying to make my point.

 

This thread has some useful info. Looks like what one of us will need to do is open their 4420 and see what pin connector is there.....and then share the info.

I've never installed an internal bluetooth but it looks like it should be doable on this model (mobo-wise) due to the switch being present....just have to get the right module.

 

I like the computer and haven't had any problems with it at all (except that it starts a tad slow but that's because Vista because its no slower than any other Vista machine that I've seen startup) but I'm thinking about taking it back. The only reason is vanity really.
At the store I bought it from they also had this computer on sale for the same price:
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/ca/e...9212-78299212-78299212-80632394-81212422.html
and after using the acer for a bit I realize that even though it didn't seem "clunky" at first, it kind of is. Coming from my Macbook and using this is a huge change. I'm thinking of taking it back and getting the hp because its more sleek and macbook resembling. Plus the cd drive is on the right and the ports are on the left (which im used to/prefer) and the 1GB loss of RAM and 90GB loss in HD aren't that big of a deal for what I need it for (especially once I put XP on it).
Any objections to the swap? Anyone ever use the HP dv2608ca before?
Let me know

 

I'm thinking of installing Visa Business edition on this laptop, I want to know if anyone has had any problems so far with a procedure like this.

I also notice a very slow startup with the laptop, Acer's management utilities uses quite a bit of resources so once again can someone tell me which to keep and what to install.

 

I would think this would come down to personal preference. What some one feels is useless somebody else may think it is great. If you think they are taking up to many resources, turn some off to see how that improves things.

 

The Acer is my wifes computer, so I'm not on it everyday. But we took the Acer management toolbar off the startup menu and the tools are still available in 'programs' if we need them to reconfigure settings. We're going to continue using Vista with it since she's not putting many applications on the laptop.
Wrote to Acer about the fan short cycling every 30 seconds or so and below was thier response. Plan to give them a little more time to come up with a bios update or e-management fix that addresses this issue but so far they seem pretty clueless, like I'm the only one with a 4420 that has a short cycling fan. We won't wait too long before trying Snoops fix.
PROBLEM WITH FAN SHORT CYCLEING


Discussion Thread
---------------------------------------------------------------
Response (Online Agent-11) - 02/25/2008 03:13 PM
Dear Mike Gladu,

Thank you for contacting Acer America. I'll be happy to assist you with your fan issue. Based on the information provided I suggest your Acer product be checked by our authorized repair depot. You can set this up for service yourself by going to http://www.acerpanam.com; click on the US or Canada then select the link for Depot Repair under Fix My Acer. I hope this is helpful.

Respectfully,
Acer America
Online Technical Support

Customer (Mike Gladu) - 02/23/2008 02:40 AM
The fan on our 4420 short cycles on and off every 30 seconds. This is a known problem for this model on several forums. I there a plan to fix this with a bios update or e-managemnt fix?
Thanks for any assistance in this reguard.
Mike Gladu

 

I have also bought this Extensa 4420 at The Source (Canada). The unit was just the size, physically, and had the specs I wanted. I didn't realize the Bluetooth switch was a non-functional dummy until I read the postings. Annoying, I had intended to use it with my cell phone. On this machine, the fan does not turn on until the DVD starts working. Then it is fairly loud. I have been using it for three days. I use Network Magic on my wireless home system, and it picked up the Extensa right away. So far so good. I have used company laptops for years, and this is the first of my own.

 

Might sell this laptop....

A couple things I don't like.

1. CD drive constantly whines when a cd is playing, I'm playing my trainsignal N+ learning disk and the drive won't shut the freak up.

2. Mouse at times goes haywire, doesn't respond, doesn't go over the item.

3. Startup is very slow, I installed business and it's no better.

This laptop is borderline average, it's a Acer after all.

 

I haven't experienced the drive problem, though I have just played a few DVDs and haven't used a program on disc that would maybe need to start and stop spinning frequently.

As far as the mouse going haywire, are you using a USB mouse or are you referring to the touchpad?

Vista Home Premium was somewhat slow starting and shutting down until I tweaked it....now it is very fast. I more or less followed this guide. There are also some good free utilities that will do some of these steps for you. Tweak VI and WinBubble are just two but there are many more. If you spend a little time optimizing Vista you will see a very noticeable decrease in startup and shutdown times......I did.

Finally, if you state that this laptop is 'borderline', what are you comparing it to? I would hope it would be to another $600 laptop. If so, post the other notebook or notebooks you think are better then this one. If you are just generally disappointed in the performance of a budget notebook, then you probably should return it. My experience with Acer is that you get good specs for the price and build quality is okay. Knowing this if I buy a new Acer notebook I'm not expecting Dell XPS specs or Sony Vaio build quality. I'm of course also not spending an extra $500-$1000 on the notebook.

Andrew

 

Anybody wishing to upgrade the 4420-5237, it can take an S1 socket CPU all the way up to the AMD Turion TL-66 2.3ghz X2

It also uses the same internal 4-pin Bluetooth module as the Acer 5420 which are readily available on Ebay, the 4-pin plug is on the top side of the motherboard beneath the top power panel so you really need to disassemble this laptop down to near parade rest to install the module.

So far on mine I have upgraded to 4gb of RAM (3070mb usable in 32bit Vista) and installed a 200gb 7,200rpm hard drive, for the money it's not really worth the marginal improvement in performance the 2.3ghz CPU should help some more when it arrives, then I'll have a low budget high performance machine so to speak.

I kept the OEM parts so that if I have any warranty issues I can put it back to stock and let the warranty cover the repairs.

 

Thanks for the info on the CPU upgrade. I have been searching for info on that for a couple days now. Might upgrade mine if I can come across an S1 TL-66. I already have it upgraded to 4GB of RAM, just not to happy with the CPU speed. It seems it has to work a little to hard at times. But for the price of the Laptop can't beat it.

 

I contacted Acer about the bluetooth and was curtly advised that they had been shipped without the module and, if I needed one, I should buy an aftermarket device. There was no chance of having a module installed by Acer. ,Oh well, I am very satisfied with the machine so far. This particular machine is very cool while it is running and the fan hasn't come on without the DVD running..

 

I used an aftermarket blue-tooth device and was able to connect my phone to the this laptop and other devices also. It's pretty easy. Wasn't that big of a deal for me. I am a little dissatisfied that when I upgraded the video drivers from ATI for the x1250 I wasn't able to watch DVDs anymore and any video playback was horrible. I had to switch back to the Acer drivers. Also, the HSF for the GPU/CPU is very small and gets hot rather quickly IMO vs. other laptops I've used in the past. I think they could have beefed up the heat pipe a little better to help disperse the heat and to keep the fan from cycling on and off.

 

Mind telling us where you were able to find the processor online?

Thanks for the tweaks, my machine has sped up exponentially.

PS, I ordered the blue tooth device from this guy on eBay:

http://wl.to/eb3ed2

(Link has been shortened with wl.to, similar to tinyurl)

 

Anyone know where people can get a battery for this computer?

I searched the Internet,which is how I found this place, but the Acer site does not appear to have any batteries that are made for this model [extensa 4420-5237].
Best Buy, where I bought it, has nothing on it's Web site either.

I bought this computer last week [on sale - floor/open model], but I can tell it's already outdated, Acer has moved on to the 5***-**** models
They have this on their site as of 3-22-08:
"
Extensa 5620
Extensa 4620
Extensa 4220
". They skipped the 4420!

The closest thing I found on the Web was at batteryfast.com at:
Home > laptop battery > acer > 2420
But that would mean ordering from China.

POLLS:
1- Did your extensa 4420-5237 come with CyberLink PowerDVD ?
2- Did your extensa 4420-5237 come with the Acersystem User's Guide in the BOOK directory?

I would like to know because mine did not. Because mine was a floor/demo BB had to remove "Achie" their program, and I was wondering if maybe customers had erased something and BB did not reinstall all the programs that came with the computer originally.

About BlueTooth, if someone does what SoFloAcer said, and open up their extensa 4420-5237, take pictures of it please, so we can all see the pins and connectors [ That means you ZX1100F1 ]
but if this computer/motherboard was capable of BlueTooth would not something be in the setting and, or bios about it? Or do we have to download a driver? Yes I know it has the BlueTooth switch in front, but they probably use this shell for many different models.

So far I like the extensa 4420-5237, it has so many communications / I/O features. Fact is I did not even notice when I bought it that it had an Infrared port, but I installed the PalmDeskTop 4.something and I was able to Sync PDAs that I don't have the Sync cradle for:
PalmIIIx, and a Handspring.
I also like the size, it is nice and small, really just about the size of a notebook; and that is what I was looking for.

I am very glad I found this site because I think I will have many more questions, especially about the programs that it blocks on startup.
It is too bad that not everyone who bought the extensa 4420-5237 knows about this site, as I said I only found it because I was and am still looking for an extra battery.

Most of the batteries on the Acer site cost $149
The one at Batteryfast only cost a little over $70, but I suspect that with S/H it would be no big savings.

So back to the point, since Acer does not have this battery [ or computer - it appears ] Know where I can get one from within the USA?
And Answer the POLL questions, thanks.

 

I had the same problem with the battery and ac adapter and bought mine on ebay, had to ask a couple of sellers if it was compatible and they finally answered. Eventhough the aftermarket ac adapter gets HOT AS HELL compared to other laptops I have.....IS THAT NORMAL FOR THIS BRAND?

As for the fan issue can anyone post the answer as to how to fix this annoying issue, cause otherwise I'll have to read the 20 pages or more....
and if you guys think this fan is loud and annoying, i also have a toshiba satellite M35X-S349...now that's a super loud annoying fan....

 

Can you please tell me where in acer's site is this download? i've looked but couldn't find it....can you please or anyone post link? thanks

 

http://support.acer-euro.com/drivers/notebook/as_3610.html

 

there is a bios update out - it's helped out with the fan issue greatly.

 

TO SOFLOACER;

As stated, I also just bought this notebook. I ran out to Best Buy just to look at it after seeing the ad in the Sunday paper. I didn't even need a notebook as my two-year-old 15.4" Acer was still meeting my needs......but after looking it over I had to get it. I agree with engsohere that the 14.1" size is the perfect balance size-wise between big enough to watch a movie and small enough to easily carry. The finish and overall design is also pretty nice....definitely doesn't look like a $500 notebook. I also really like the gently curved keyboard and the USB ports on three sides. My previous Acer notebook (Aspire 1691wlci) was nothing but great (routinely got 4 hours of use from the battery when using NHC).

I also overclocked it from stock 1.6 to 2.13 with pin mod, so it worked out well for me.




My question is how did you do this pin mod?!?!?!?!?! i have looked all over and can't find how to do this. Can you please let me know.

thanks

 

I just got the Acer 4420 laptop and I really like it a lot. I also got the Acer 5620 laptop. The guys at Acer seem to have there head on correctly. I own some many computers that I usually end up giving them away to relatives. Ij get a new computer every two months or so. The thing I like about the Acer that's better than all the rest is the simple and easy way you can return to the factory settings like when you first turned on the computer, and also you can add all your programs and then set a user backup and it will set the computer back to new plus include all your programs with it. That's a real dream machine to me. It only takes me about 45 minutes to set the computer back to new again. (The only other way to set the computer back like Acer does is to buy a separate program called Acronis True Image 11, and install it in the computer, but it's not so easy for others to understand how to recover there system because of the wording and the number of steps to complete the recovery.) Acer has the best you can get as far as any user backup recovery program for the general public.

 

The fan is a good thing. I would never complain because the fan was coming on. It's when you don't hear the fan any more that you may want to get concerned.

 

can you tell how to update the bios?
and which bios are you using now?

 

I am thinking about buying this laptop with a wiped drive and adding Ubuntu as an operating system. Will I have problems locating the appropriate drivers?

 

@exten-ace.
open the ram bay cover. write down the code on the sticker thats on the top slot for me and post it on here.
Thanks,
Phil

 

Erm, I'm not exten-ace but maybe I could give it a whirl. I have a 4420-5239. Are you talking about long white sticker on top of the beige plastic for the memory slots? If I remember correctly there are two set of numbers.

 

So I bought a bluetooth module for my 4420, took out all the screws I can find from the bottom, and I can't get the top and the bottom apart. I can get the touchpad half of the top piece apart from the bottom... but that's it. The back (towards the monitor) is really sticking, and I don't want to just keep prying, for fear of missing something and breaking it.

How do I get it further apart than this to get the bluetooth module in?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

 

I have two questions after reading this thread.
1. I created the acer recovery disc, if I install xp and delete the factory 3 partitions to create one big parition, Will restoring VIsta with the acer recovery disc give me those 3 paritions back to the way it was ? Or Do I just need to delete the partition with Vista and leave the other two alone.

2. Where can I find the Omega driver ?

 

I bought this same exact laptop at Office Depot 4 weeks ago for $450. Upon power on, I immediately noticed the fan. It ran constantly, loudly, and noisily. Like others, it kept cycling on and off for 30 seconds, except mine would cycle off for about 10 seconds and run for 30 seconds. It pissed me off terribly. I went to exchange it 2 weeks ago for another one because I thought mine was defective. The second one also had the same fan issue. Of all the other people I talked to who bought the same laptop on another forum, they said that theirs was dead silent. Maybe Acer sent a bad batch to the OD that I purchased my laptop from. So far, this fan has been a curse on me. It has been my worse purchase to date. How do I solve the fan issue? I have read through all 10 pages desperately trying to find a solution. Snoopy's solution is to download Acer eManagement, however this is for Windows XP, and not for Vista which I need. Can anyone help me with this fan issue? I can't believe Acer hasn't fixed this yet.

 

instead of acer's EPOWERMANAGMENT

i'd suggest you try flashing your BIOS to the most current version... if it is already at the most current version, then maybe you should try a slightly older version of the BIOS....

to the best of my knowledge there is NO applications that can actually control the FANs on ACER notebooks.... the fan is controlled by the APCI and the BIOS... when the temp sensors of the CPU reach 50c APCI sends a signal to turn the fans on, and they remain on until the temp drops below 45c when the APCI shuts the fan off....

the BIOS updates often contain changes to the THERMAL COOLING PROPERTIES (read the changelog.txt or BIOS.DOC file inside the bios zip files

if your fans were not comming on at all you could use I8KFANGUI it's a fan control program for DELL laptops,, and while it cannot CONTORL the FANS or thier SPEEDS.... the program does poll the thermal sensors in the CPU and report the info to the APCI which turns the fan on or off depending on it's current state and the current temps

this info was pieced together by ASPIRE 5315 owners who downgraded to windows XP before BIOS version 1.33 came out for the 5315's.... prior to that anytime our PCs went into standby mode, the fan would NEVER become opperational until after the system was rebooted or LOCKED UP due to over-heating (forcing the user to reboot)

 

I scooped the 4420 a few days ago, and immediately wiped vista off there and replaced it with xp... but now the problem is that my audio isn't working anymore. I've tried drivers from the realtek site, the acer site, and a few other drivers I've found on various forums, but nothing is getting it working. My device manager is showing an 'unknown PCI device' which astra32 identifies as 'ixp sb600 high definition audio,' so i suppose that would be my audio device which refuses to accept any drivers I dig up?? I apologize if this was covered elsewhere on these forums, but I can't seem to find the answers anywhere. Perhaps a problem with HOW I'm trying to install the drivers?? (I've run the bundled setup apps, tried updating/reinstalling drivers from the device manager, automatically and by manually pointing to the files I've downloaded). Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

 

bump......

 

Hi HAYAMAKUM and all...this is my 2nd 4420-5239 ...i returned the first due to SCREEN FREEZES/ dark blue - black will be seen...and this one is acting the same now. Could you please advise how you were able to resolve the issue and advise how to go about it? Your assistance is greatly appreciated...tnx a lot!

 

Ok I've been loving my 4420-5237 for quite some time now but finally decided I needed a memory upgrade. I bought 1GB of DDR2-667/533/400 PC2-5300, opened the computer up and have no idea where to stick it. I see where the memory compartment is, and where the two sticks that came with the computer are, but I don't see any slots to put more in are.

I've only installed ram on older PC's so maybe I've missed some quantum leap in memory technology.

Thanks for any help in advance!

 

Unfortunately you only have two slots for memory on this laptop. Most, if not all laptops, only have two memory slots. If you want to get the laptop up to 3gb then you are going to have to return the 1gb sodimm, buy a 2gb stick, and replace one of the 1gb sticks that are installed now with the 2gb stick. If you want 4gb then you are going to have to buy 2 2gb modules and replace both modules that are currently installed in your computer.

 

I was afraid of that, thanks for your help.