Terribly disapointed with Aspire 1802SWMi

I have a brand new Aspire 1804SWMI (P4 3.2Ghz 512Mo/80Go Wifi & Bluetooth inside ;this is in FRANCE) with bios version 2.4 ( from September 2004) and the HD is stuck at UDMA2 even with the latest Intel chipset drivers.

Also the 3 fans on the machine keep runing even when no activity and the machine cold ! So it is veru noisy. [ ]

AIDA32 indicates that there is no temperature probe on this machine, but ilt might be vrong.

Do you know guys if I can stop this horrible fan noise ? Very unusual for a laptop !Nothing in bios parameters or elsewhere.
[ ]

je suis très décu par cette machine![ ][ ][ ]

 

fr.st,

You might have to update your bios to get your HD out of UDMA-2, the intel chipset doesn't fix that.

The problem with your fan being noisy might be an indication that its faulty and you should have it replaced by acer or swapped out if you can.

 

Dee
I'll try to update the bios later ( 1804 is gone to the final customer) but I already have a very recent One ( 2.4 )The 2.5 release does not say anything about the UDMA problem and I read in this topic that some guys did correct the problem with a older bios update. Do I understand that Acer came back with this modification ? Concerning the fans , I do not think these are faulty but only always on, full speed ( the 3 of them )regardless the CPU charge ot temperature.
Maybe the temprature/fan speed table in Bios not realistic.
Thanks for your answer
regards from France [ )]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by fr.st

 

I had the same standby bug with the acer 2012.
I supose it has to do with usb wireless mouse. Do you have some?
The only solution is keeping it from going suspension, by using hibernation.

 

spire

So far no bios update because I saw somewhere it does not change anything to my fans problems and the UDMA on hard disqk is not so important to my custumer

Thanks for reporting the behaviour of yours fans

[:I]

 

For those getting discouraged in getting this system or lost in this forum, a short recap of the problems encountered on this forum with its status in brackets:

1. HD stuck at ATA-33 (Resolved with upgrade to Bios v2.2 http://csd.acer.com.tw/SI/Download2.nsf/0/0cafe0c3f42902d848256f1700320eaf?OpenDocument. V2.5 is also available)
2. Burn DVD-R at 8x is slow on IDE bus (Likely caused by the presumed configuration that the HD is set as Primary Master and DVD burner as Primary Slave'. Requires testing by someone who upgraded bios to v2.2 to see whether this improves)
3. X600 videocard not upgradable
4. Performance of 3.0 Ghz system at 1.2 Ghz on battery power (results seem to differ)
5. Keys resonate when playing c:/windows/media/ringout.wav (does so on mine, but subjective whether it's hindering)
6. Awake from standbymodus doesn't work (not resolved, XP software bug?? or USB mouse issue??)
7. No sound from base subwoofer (subwoofer does work on mine alright but far from impressive)
8. Bluetooth missing (check configuration before buying, could be a factory issue)
9. Burn CD, when reading up to 31% it reports "Power Calibration Error" and process failed (not tested, one reported case in forum)
10. Get's a little bit hot on the right side, not problematic.
11. Fans scale up when CPU is stressed, noise is barely noticable, for some of us.
12. Battery life is around the 45 minutes

A few positive comments:
13. Good bluetooth
14. Excellent wifi reception
15. Good overclocking possibilities of videocard
16. Performance is fairly high

IMHO, the major problem is fixed (ie HD at ATA-33) and apart from points 2, 6 and 9, the issues are experienced differently. In all, the Aspire 1800 serie isn't all that bad[ ]

 

HI.

I am considering getting the acer 1804, as on paper it looks very good. However can anybody advise on its games playing perfomance? AS it has PCI express and 128MB i assumed it would be excellent?

 

Halo,

I have the same problems as most 1800 users, but I think that fun noise is the biggest one.

As I noticed there are three or four fans and two of them keep working all the time (even when no activity and the machine cold like wrote fr.st ). Noise is louder than from my desktop [ !].

Additionally when CPU is using harder then additionally fan starts. [ ] .

So, have you got the same problem ? Maybe somebody has the idea to solve this problem.

Please replay fast couse I am stil able to return it to the shop.


regards

marcin

 

There is new bios for 1800 Aspire

http://stkts.sertek.com.tw/notebook.nsf/f8216decdda3731a482568a3002c860b/960310c4c8039b7748256f93002f5335?OpenDocument

regards

marcin

 

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

 

Well, waynerobshaw, back to UDMA with 2.60 bios..!!. In fact I think you're lucky to manage an UDMA5 with 2.50 bios. My 1804SWMI never switched to anything but UDMA2 with 2.50. maybe the problem does not reside into bios update !!!

1804 is a very weird machine. Never saw that before on any laptop.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by fr.st

 

So, waynerobshaw I have the same situation: 2.50 bios gave me UDMA 5 and machine returned to UDMA 2 with 2.60. My machine is a 1801WSi.

What is strange I noticed that with 2.60 I can change CPU speed using ePower management. Processors speed can be changed like Pentium Mobile. But unfortunately a current that processor use is nearly the same all the time ( I think), because battery life is not longer. I slow CPU speed to celeron 266 MHz (sic!)and the battery suffices for one hour like usually. For speed measurement SiSoft Sandra was used.

With slower CPU laptop remains quite cool and I think that there is a chance to extend battery life. If there only would be any possibilities to change fans speed too.


With 2.50 my CPU doesn't answered to ePower management. [ ]

regards

marcin

 

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

 

You can install ePower management ( special software for mobile processor)from
http://www.acerpanam.com/synapse/forms/portal.cfm?recordid=2240&formid=3394&website=AcerPanAm.com/us&originwebsite=acerpanam.com&central=1&words=All&keywords=epower&pupv=pu


http://www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11012

It works with 2.50 but as I said - longer battery life is not noticable.[ ]

marcin

 

I installed the ePower software, powered my CPU setting down to low and then ran wcpuclk check the CPU speed and it still showed 2999 MHz. The system ran a little slow but the clock speed was still the same(i used another software and got the same result).

This would result in a lot of power being consumed which is why i think that the battery life is still the same regardless of the lower setting. Wierd?!?

 

I bought this wonderful notebook some months ago.
It is very strange to read such bad things aabout its performance.
I am very happy and proud of it, the screen is amazing, the video card is great (DOOM 3 works fine at 1024*768 medium detail).
Well, the hard disk performance is not so good, it's true, but you can't have averything (maybe you can upgrade the hard disk with a 5400 RPM one).
Nice choice!

 

Here are some pictures of my acer 4001LMI.. I have realized that the case of the screen (all noteebook) is worthless.
It seems like screws (totally delusion) but i can pull it softly with 2 fingers. There is gap between the casing and the screen, all the casing is cracking like a toy machine.
Any comments?



Pulled with 2 fingers.



Pulled with 1 finger.




Normal status




6:3

 

Hi, firstly I want to say that I'm not wishing to flame anyone or be disrespectful. However I'm quite suprised at the critism that this laptop has received and I can only put that down to poor research on behalf of the individuals that have purchased it.....
Therefore I'd like to respond to the list:

1 Doesn't really affect performance much, unless you do huge amouts of video processing, which is probably unlikely
2 Burns fine on my system
3 Whenever have you been able to upgrade mobility video cards?
4 Laptops always power down various components on battery power
5 Who the hell wants to play that wave file anyway, I've just played Massive Attack, the Snatch version, full blast and I had none of the reported symptoms
6 Works fine here
7 Yeah bluetooth is missing, but it wasn't in my uk specs anyway
8 Sound works form my subwoofer, if you put the laptop on a soft surface it will absorb it, stands to reason
9 Burns fine here
10 No sign of running hot or even warm
11 Yup the fans do spin, a result of a good cooling system, a reflection of Pentium 4's known heat issues. Quieter though than my desktop
12 The specs state a max of an hour for the battery depending upon type of use

I feel I should also say that this laptop is not really meant to be a mobile one, this is a desktop replacement, as it says so, and for me this one works very, very, well.....

Thanks you for my 2p's worth....
ChrisC

 

I doubt it possible to get a desktops chip into a laptops, a notebooks frame has been shaved almost 80% to fit into he smaller size...

If you mean upgrading the chip, its possible but it prolly wont be worth the money i believe....

Pass on the RAM question, but I think you can, as long as its not the new type of ram only compatiable with Sonoma processors..

And GPU's can not be upgraded yet...

 

Hi everyone!

I 've got Aspire 1802WSMi and I have some questions to all people who want to upgrade their laptops.-->

1.Is it possible to change my Pentium 4 530 processor to Desktop version of 560 P4??
2.Is is possible to increase memory from 512 DDR 333 to DDR 2 Kingston 400?
3.I think that it would be cool if I could add more ram to my x600 Ati card,but i am not sure if it is possible [?]

My score in Sisoft Sandra Lite 2005 is 8600points in CPU Arithmetic test and 3900points in 3dmark 2003 using Omega drivers [ ]


Regards
muczyn

Muczyn

 

HI Everyone

I have big problem with my Aspire 1802WSMI with bios 2.50 (previously I had 2.60 but I have changed it on 2.50-becasue I wanted to have udma 100 full support)

I have noticed that my CPU Pentium 4 530(3.0ghz) has slowed down :-( in Sisoftware Sandra 2005 I ve got just Dhrystone ALU 3875 MIPS and Whestone FPU 1592/2733(previously as i rememebr i had ALU 8700MIPS!!) and in CPU MUlti-Media Benchmark integer iSSE@ 9200it/s(previously about 22000!)

Please help me change my CPU speed !!!

p.s

I can add that my Aspire works 24h all the time and yesterday I wanted to restart windows xp but my Aspire didnt want to reboot(after the bios post ,there was blank screen)-after that I turned off my Aspire and I waited few minutes-and it worked- windows xp started normally after that (I think that it is too hot in my room that is why my Apire is overheating ).


Any idea how to increase my CPU speed .I want to how the same cpu performace as one week ago!!HELP ME!








Muczyn

 

As everything with Acer I only can say that you should evaluate the possibility of gather more money for the next year and buy another brand, more powerful and with extended warranty. Don't surprise if motherboard fails after the year.

 

this is what i can see here

#1 Toshiba just SUCKS for anything (everything toshiba i have has died or is dieing, anything panasonic i have is still working flawlessly)
http://www20.tomshardware.com/mobile/20041213/notebook_hd-14.html
proven by that benchmark, notice toshiba is at the bottom of almost ALL the benchmarks even though it has double the cache of my drive? (i have a samsung 80GB)

#2 Toshiba SUCKS for R/W and Access time so when you swap its going to bag your machine. solution is to take out whatever memory you have, throw it away, get 2 512MB sticks of low latency ram, disable your swap

#3 take your toshiba drive out, either throw it away or smash it because it caused you so much grife, get a 60GB 7200RPM drive or at least a 80GB 5400RPM 8MB cache drive NOT TOSHIBA.

#4 defrag your HDD after you reinstall xp

what i find funny is toshiba doesnt use toshiba DVD/CDRW/DVDRW drives in their own laptops and neither are the HDDs toshiba. i just checked out my friends toshiba laptop and he has a mat****a CDRW drive and a hitachi HDD, both of which are respectable. why does toshiba not use their own products in their notebooks? lol

also on a side note your HDD speed will not be affected by your CDRW or DVDRW speed AS LONG AS they are both ATA, if your CDRW drive is for some stupid reason using PI04 then both devices have to go back down to pio4, on my desktop i have 1HDD and 1ODD on the same IDE ch, the HDD is going at DMA6 the ODD is going at UDMA4 (maxtor 40GB + Pioneer DVR108)

-->Asus M6BNe | Pentium M 1.6GHz Dothan | 1024MB PC2700 Micron Ram | Radeon 9700 Pro 64MB | 80GB Samsung 5400 RPM 8MB Cache | Gigabit LAN | CDRW + DVD Combo |
-->Compal CL56 | Pentium M 1.6GHz Dothan | 1024MB Ram | Radeon 9700 Pro 128MB | 60GB HDD | 10/100 LAN | DVDRW |

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by chriscatt
5 Who the hell wants to play that wave file anyway, I've just played Massive Attack, the Snatch version, full blast and I had none of the reported symptoms
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>
Do you really believe that that particular file is used for amusement?
I introduced that file as an easy way for anyone to see whether or not the keyboard vibrates.
Anyway, try it to see for yourself if you can hear the effect (ctrl+T for repeat in windows media player) and get back to us.

 

Hi George, no I didn't think that the wave file was introduced for amusement, I've tried it on mine and I really don't understand what the problem is. For me, the real test is when you are playing music files or DVD's, mine doesn't seem to have any issues anyway.
Hell I'm not spoiling for a fight, I respect you alot so don't please don't take my post as being critical.
Nuff said and keep up the good work....
ChrisC

 

I bought the 1801 WSMiB today and it was delivered with BIOS 2.70, everything seems ok (UDMA 5) didn't got any problems.

HD tune (with original acer setup) (not sure if I did it right, but I wil try another test tomorrow)
Toshiba 80GB 4200tr
min= 8,1mb/s
max= 27,5mb/s
average=22,4mb/s

acces time=19,2ms
Burst=68,5mb/s
Cpu-usage=3,6%
40°

 

Hi

I am about to purchase ACER Travelmate TM2308WlMi. After reading some of the comments I am now tossing between ACER and another brand such as HP/Compaq.

Can someone advise.[?]

Thanks

Howard

 

Hi, if I was you I'd ignore this thread and go ahead and purchase the Acer, if that's your first choice. These guys on here are just chasing numbers that really won't be obvious in normal use.....
ChrisC

 

i have a 1801 wsmi with bios 2.50 installed.... but i wanted the latest bios....
in a previous reply there was someone with bios 2.70....

has anyone got it?could someone send it to me?

i want to make my HD faster!

it´s strang...sometimes my laptop starts in PIO mode....other times it starts in mode 5 mode (faster HD mode)
when it´s in PIO mode it´s sooo sloooow.....

unacceptable for a laptop of this level..... even in mode 5 it´s slower than previous laptops i´ve owned....and for this 1801wsmi i have paid a lot...

please someone help
thank you

 

Its strange, according to everest the bios v2.70 is already released on 17/2/2005, and still nothing to download[|)]

 

Acer Aspire 1804WSMi
Bios: v2.50 (not the version that came with the notebook with UDMA 2)

HD Tune: Hitachi HTS726060M9AT00 Travelstar 7K60 Benchmark (not the one that came with the notebook)

Transfer Rate Minimum : 18.4 MB/sec
Transfer Rate Maximum : 37.5 MB/sec
Transfer Rate Average : 29.3 MB/sec
Access Time : 14.9 ms
Burst Rate : 80.1 MB/sec
CPU Usage : 2.1%
Temp: : 33º

Btw, i change the memory to 2x512MB 400Mhz soDIMM Kingston KVR400X64SC3A.
My next step: change de CPU to Intel PIV 560.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Mu7e
My next step: change de CPU to Intel PIV 560.
<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

Are you sure you can change the CPU of the notebook, i opened mine up and it looked like you could just wasn't sure.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Gray
I bought the 1801 WSMiB today and it was delivered with BIOS 2.70<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>

Anybody knows were i can get my hands on that version and if it supports Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST) and Intel Enhanced Memory 64 Technology (EM64T)?

 

I think all new notebooks are delivered with this bios-version (but ask your shop, the versionnumber is also on the box[ ])

 

Get this for overclocking for ur x600 http://www.guru3d.com/article/atitraytools/189/ it rocks!!

Also forget what people have said about this noteook,some people are expecting Ferrari performance for Skoda prices, it just isnt gonna happen. If you spend £2000 for a Dell or Alienware you will get a laptop thats a little better at playing DirectX9 games, but they still dont come near the performance of a desktop you could build for £1000. The Aspire 1800WSMi is half the price of the Alienware but delivers 80% of that laptop, which to me is a bargain.

I recommend to buy an Aspire BUT upgrade immediatly to 1gig RAM, reformat HD from FAT32 to NDFS and overclock your graphics (not too much though!!) and as long as you ignore some of the "technophobes" who chris rightly says are chasing numbers, you will be more than happy.

 

my acer aspire 1801 wsmi had a strange problem....the first time it booted it was vey slow...and then i checked in System>hardware>device manager>IDE ATA /ATAPI controllers>primary IDE channel to see that it was in PIO mode...although it DMA was enabled...
when restarting ,the next boot would already be in DMA mode 5....
the probabilities of booting in PIO mode were higher when the power outlet was unplugged(at least is looked like it)

So i decided to try and look into forums ....these have helped me...but i have only tried it some hours...hope this lasts...
Hope it can help you


Hope this helps....






---------having 2.50 bios (the only that activates DMA mode 5)in your aspire 1800



-------------
http://sniptools.com/vault/getting-back-to-dma-mode-in-windows-xp.htm


CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives can revert to using PIO mode, despite being set to use "DMA if Available." Here's how to

make Windows XP redetect the DMA capabilities of the drives.
This behaviour occurs with the following conditions:

Windows XP is the operating system
A CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, which is known to support DMA mode now works only in PIO mode.
The drive controller is set to use "DMA if available" but reports to be only in PIO mode.
Following is the mechanism that has worked for me, please try it at your own risk, it involves hacking the registry:

Open RegEdit
Find the following KEY:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControl Class{4D36E96A-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}00x
The last four digits will be 0000, 0001, 0002, 0003, and so on.
Under each key, delete all occurences of the following values:
MasterIdDataChecksum
SlaveIdDataChecksum
Reboot the computer. Windows will now redetect DMA settings.




------------- Use dmachcki.exe and activate dma detection (the link to this download is in a sublink of the address

above)


------turn off network boot
----- When booting there should not be any CD or DVD in the drive....Changing boot sequence can also help...

 

hello!

anyone got any details about bios 2.70 ??? is that downloadable ?

Acer1804WSmi GR biosV2.60

 

Hi, I'd be interested too as I've not found 2.70 anywhere....
ChrisC

 

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

 

I got it with my new 1801
but I don't know why they don't distribute it.[?]

 

The 2.60 bios got it back to UDMA2(ata33) (lol) . Strange...we hope 2.70 will fix it. However the difference beteween 2.60 and 2.50 on the HD tune tests is not that huge. A big problem is the fan noise. I have tried CPUrightclock utility but dont think I can see any difference. I dont remember the fans to spin that often the first 2 months i used the notebook. At the time here in greece is about 20-25 celcius so it can be an issue for that difference. Maybe the fans need some cleaning of the accumulated dust. who knows...
I cannot see any software that can control any fan speed or temp control. Only HD temp is available. Any suggestions? I wish i could make a few mods at the cpu voltage...Someone said about bios 2.60 and e power management... is the working for non M cpus? any results?


Acer1804WSmi GR biosV2.60

 

Hi, changing the udma mode only seems to affect the burst speed, it is the average transfer rate you really need to be concerned with as burst is rarely used.
As for the 2.70 bios, I think this might be a case of everest misreporting the number...
Chris

 

I just got a list of updated bios numbers this week, and it lists 2.6 for the 1800, so I can't see a way there is one. What does it say when you go into the bios?

 

I made a few pics of the etiket on the box and one of the bios.
http://users.skynet.be/fa529119/bios.jpg
http://users.skynet.be/fa529119/box.jpg
I bought it at an online-shop in Holland 1 month ago.[ ]

 

that is strange...although it can happen sometimes
i hope that 2.70 will be soon available
i tried to clean the fans of the notebook (pressured air from the ouside) and they now act more normally and not that often. (ar direction from the bottom where the fan locate to the rear part where the heatsinks locate)

Acer1804WSmi GR biosV2.60

 

Hi Grey, thx for the screen shots, that clears up a misreported bios version. I did actually d/load everest and it does identify my bios, 2.60, correctly. Lets hope the bios is posted up soon....
ChrisC

 

Somebody asked me to send him a copy of the bios, is this possible?
and how do you do it?

 

If you're talking about sending him the bios off of your computer, its probably not possible. If you want to send him the 2.60, you can get it here.