Need lots of info on Warranty! Barcode like bars/dots on my screen after leaving my computer for awhile.

Ok it happened again and this time I swear its worse...

Here are pictures I managed to snap with my phone because my camera is out of battery:







Laptop: Acer 5742G

I also need some information. I will take the computer back to the store but I have replaced the HDD and RAM that the laptop came with. Have I voided my warranty by doing that? I haven't done anything else except replace those. I haven't opened my machine up or even unscrewed anything except for the cover that covers the RAM and HDD.

Could this have in any way voided my warranty? This screen thing is an internal issue obviously. My current temps are low as...

GT 540M GPU: 46C
CPU i5-480m: 50C
HDD WD7500BPKT: 35C

So it's definitely not an overheating issue unless I've damaged the computer before by playing games too hot. Which is weird because I never had the games shut down on me before or anything.

So is this a GPU RAM corruption or is this a general RAM corruption or is my GPU dead? What will happen with my warranty, will they replace the GPU entirely or just desolder the RAM and resolder new RAM onto the GPU? I mean if the GPU is dead does that mean that my computer is basically a brick? Will I get a new one?

I've never had to send anything for warranty before. I cant believe this is happening. I just called my mate and left a message to see if I can secure his second laptop for Uni.. I'm in the process of transferring everything over.

Another question, can I remove the RAM and HDD incase they want to dispose the laptop and give me a new one or something? Will they need them to check if it works or do they just put their own in and then boot the Laptop?

Thanks a lot guys and I'm sorry for all the questions, I'm really gutted after this.. man this is the worst day ever...
I hadn't even had the time to test it out whilst playing a game...

 

Call Dell, they will send out a tech to replace the GPU and/or the motherboard. I wouldn't worry about voiding your warranty, adding ram or replacing a hard drive are common place and easily accessible. :/

Such a bummer when a brand new toy breaks.

 

They won't solder anything. Just replace the whole motherboard that has CPU and GPU soldered onto it most likely.

 

It's an Acer... I wish it was a DELL because DELL have awesome warranty deals... ASUS just replace your entire laptop.. I have no idea what Acer will do...

Also:

I tried putting my laptop in here: http://secure3.tx.acer.com/FindSystem/FindSystem.aspx?title=Information
But it says that my SNID and SN are wrong. (You can put either). It returns that both of them aren't valid numbers.

When I go to register my product and put my SNID it gives me a DIFFERENT (SN) Serial Number than the one on the bottom of my computer. When I enter the SN under my computer in there (you can do either again) it says it's invalid.. ..?

If I try to check the different serial number they gave me when I put my SNID in it tells me:
Description: AOD255E-13899-US SNW7ST32/N455/1G/250GB/6L2.2/10.1
Country: US
Warranty Type: SMW-1 yr (Mail In)
Warranty End Date: 3/2/2012

That is NOT my computer.. so what's up with that? It also says I can only register the PC in the US or Canada... I bought the computer in Europe.. (Germany).

So my SNID is not invalid but my SN is??
Also my SNID says that my computer was purchased in the US??

Ugh I have no idea what to do. I'm trying to check what warranty my laptop is under.. I have a warranty receipt here in my hand so I DO have a warranty.

When I turned my computer on for the first time it asked me to register and I did... I don't know whats wrong.

 

Sadface. D;
Guess you got issues with the GPU.

Is it possible to RMA it back to Acer for a fix?

 

Well my store said to take it back to them and they'll work it out (when I purchased it). I'm going to do it first thing tomorrow, it's a little late here now. I have no idea what they'll do with it. Probably charge me like 20€ or something to get them to send it back, tell me to wait like 4 months in a waiting line and then finally I'll get my laptop back..

EDIT: My wife tells me that it's under a warranty from the store which is why I cant find the SNID or SN online.. she says it has nothing to do with Acer, and that the store I got it from will work it out.. Either way I'll find out tomorrow.. I have an ITW on the laptop as well as whatever the store has given me, 12 months of warranty. I don't know what type though.. I'm guessing an SMW.

Ok I logged into the customer page of Acer and it says:

Product Model: AS5742G-484G50Mnkk
Serial Number / SNID LXRB9020191041EB1D1XXX
Date of Purchase 3/12/11
Warranty Contract yes

Which is my machine and it does have warranty so yeah. I'll take it in tomorrow and hope for the best.
Does anyone know what Acer's policy for this kind of thing is?

 

Can you still take it back to the store for a refund; I would try that.

If you have to send it into Acer, make sure you remove your upgraded ram/HDD and replace with the stock parts.


Keep us updated

 

I cant replace the stock parts. I sold them 3 months ago to take cost off the new parts.. surely I don't have to return the item with it's stock parts?

I doubt the store will give me a refund after 5 months??

 

ACER could void the warranty if they suspect you fooled around with the machine. I think some manufacturers are more strict than others.

Also, they are under no obligation to keep your upgraded parts with your laptop. I have heard of many stories where a user would upgrade a HDD, send it in for repair, and they replace the HDD with a stock model because the repairer ruled it faulty (not knowing it was upgraded by the user). Same goes for ram and any other parts that deviate from stock specifications.

Good luck and keep us updated

 

I doubt the store will refund you, but they might be able to help you especially if you changed out stock parts. Find out if you can send it in without hard drive and RAM (if that's what you changed), otherwise they may just send you a refurb and you will lose your hard drive and RAM. They may just send you a replacement without those parts too. Best to call and ask. These days RAM and hard drives are considered user serviceable items so I doubt they will fault you for that. I'm sure they have bench parts to use.

 

Well I think it's a store warranty. Well either way I could replace it with a crappy HDD that I have in my cupboard. So I'd just lose that crappy hard drive and the RAM I upgraded.. which is still a huge loss...

Why cant they just send the 'faulty' items back to me with the laptop? It's not like it's their problem if I want to keep 'said' faulty items and not accept a Stock HDD. It means they don't have to give me a stock HDD or RAM...

I'd like a whole new Mobo or a replacement.. I guess a replacement is asking a bit much though.

I haven't tampered with the machine at all. Just opened the little cover for the HDD and RAM twice. Once to take the stuff out and once to put the new stuff in. I hardly call that tampering. I definitely haven't opened the laptop and cut the warranty seals or anything.

I'm going to burn down their factories if they deem my laptop broken due to my fault.

 

Call and ask. That's your best option.

 

Omg I don't want a darn refurb.. I'd rather my mobo replaced with a new one. Honestly this is what you pay extra for a longer warranty for. Not to get a refurb that probably only has 5 months of life left. When that one breaks your warranty is over, you're out of a computer again and back to square 1 except this time you have no warranty left!

This is a disaster!!

 

Actually it should be in your warranty contract what they will do. Everything should be outlined.

And refurbs aren't always bad. Refurbs are ensured to work and get more stringent testing than a new machine. You can see where that got you?

Usually the remainder of your warranty is intact, unless the extended warranty replaces with a new machine, then that warranty is void, usually you have to option of buying a new one though.

But read the fine print and/or call the store where you bought the laptop and warranty from.

 

I never got a 'warranty paper' from my store. Just a little receipt saying 'Bring it back if it breaks and we'll deal with it' basically. So I have a purchase receipt and a warranty receipt. Apart from that I have a little blooklet that's the ITW. International Travellers Warranty which doesn't apply as I am still in the country of purhcase.

I cant call now, it's too late. I'll walk in tomorrow and ask them what I should do. I'll also ask if I can take the RAM and HDD out and give it to them.

Should I turn it off now? I mean like I'm using it to post. So far it hasn't happened again, It's only happened twice but I could just be making it worse now right?

I'm thinking of sending it back with junk parts in it if they want me to send it back with parts. Like an HDD I have in my cupboard that is old and an old stick of DDR3. I really hope I can just send it back barebones though without the HDD or RAM.

 

One thing to check is if you have a monitor is plug it into the external monitor. It may just be the lcd connector internally.

 

I have an HDMI port on my laptop and a huge tv I can plug it into but I don't see what that would prove? The problem has only happened twice I don't even know what triggers it. So I'd probably have to let it sit for hours.. and I don't even want it to happen again.

I just read the warranty book that my wife found. It says I have a 1 year Limited Warranty.

It states that they may replace the defective parts with either brand new ones or refurbished ones. No talk of sending me an entire refurb though. There isn't much info here, it's just a single page in English and 1 in German and the rest are in different languages. Both say the same...

I'll take it in tomorrow, ask them what the process is. They might get some techie to have a look at it first or something before they send it to Acer. I have no idea. I'd like a new Mobo if possible.

I guess I should turn it off now.. I'm using it to post these messages...

 

Just for the future it is always better to keep the stock parts when upgrading for warranty purposes. I know wit Dell that if the stock parts are not included with an exchange you can be charged for them or Dell would void the warranty. I didn't sell my 4870's to make up the cost for my 5870's for this reason.

 

You can check if it's just an issue with the monitor or with the motherboard/GPU by plugging in an external monitor. If the image is fine, then the laptop's screen is bad. If the image looks the same, then it's a problem somewhere else.

I guess it doesn't really matter much if the retailer is going to replace the entire computer either way.

You should definitely do this in the future.

 

Right. RAM and HDD is fairly inexpensive these days, best to hold on to it. Something like a video card though, it'd be hard to hold on to something that is worth a couple hundred $$$. But if it means trashing a computer worth a couple grand, maybe not.

 

That is exactly why I wouldn't sell my parts to make up the cost. I don't want to loose the rest of my warranty which is valid till 10/2013, and we all know that Alienwares are not cheap.

 

Print those photos with bars on the screen and show them to the store. Otherwise if they won't see the bars during testing they'll return the laptop and say they didn't find anything wrong with it.

 

Ugh.. why is this so complicated. I'm dressed and ready to go (using another laptop now) and I need to print the pictures? Well they're on my phone and I don't have a printer.. I've never needed one. It's 8:41am and the store opens at 9:00am. I'm already late for school. If I had have known this earlier I would have just gone to school normally.

I'm going to have to get my wife to print the picture out at school and then I can take it in with me this afternoon... They're blurry as anyway, I bet they're going to tell me "How do we know that's your laptop" rofl.

I cant do anything about the original parts. It's absolute bs if they want the original parts. The warranty book I have states that if they are changed it just means they wont be replaced or fixed if they are the item that deems to be broken. Not that I would have to buy new stock items. Which I bet they would love to charge me an absolute fortune for.. I cant believe I bought a warranty to get screwed around this bad. A warranty means that if it breaks and it isn't my fault that it's going to be fixed without any problems. That I just pay the shipping which is reasonable and they do the rest. Not that I have to make it exactly the way it was when I got it. People are allowed to change their HDD and RAM.. what if the RAM sticks went bad?? or the HDD died?? These things need to be replaced.

I suppose I should stop being paranoid and just go in. No one knows what will happen here so I will just go in this afternoon now after I have the proof that the computer is broken. Ugh I hate sly companies, it's their job to fix their crappy products if they break whilst under a guarantee. I'm the one who's out of a computer, not them. The buyer is always right in any case because he loses his money in the equation.

I'll try and work this out. Thanks for all your help. As for my current HDD it's a WD7500BPKT and it cost me 120€ I consider that really expensive. I paid more for it than I did my smartphone. The ram is 8GB DDR3 1333Mhz which I also paid a ton for. So I'd say in those components I've paid about 190€. The computer cost 900€ so that's a good percentage of the computer right there. I wouldn't say that these components are cheap at all.. (HDD & RAM) so I'm keeping them. The component I sold were 2 sticks of DDR3 2GB and a WD5000BEKT that came with the computer so I made a lot back on what mine cost. Which is how I was even able to afford the upgrade.

I plugged in the laptop to the TV and it doesn't show any bars. I used the HDMI connection. I don't have a VGA cord at the moment. There are no bars on the television at all. I don't know if it would take time though (like it seems to always do) for the bars to appear and I don't have all the time in the world. I also tried a print screen when it happened last time but the bars didn't show up on the printscreen picture. I don't know if that means anything though.

The faster this goes back to the store or gets shipped off to Acer the better.

I'll keep you guys posted.

 

Print screen captures the "internal" image inside your notebook.
Any defects on the screen like dead pixels wont show up in a print screen.

But i hope you get to work something out.
My stepdads eMachines (budget Acer) still works like new, nearing its 1st year of service.
Its a Core i3 with a low end AMD gpu, so might not be as quick as yours though.

 

If the GPU was bugged and rendering incorrectly wouldn't it show up on the printscreen regardless of the condition of the LCD?

My first priority will be to get a refund if possible as its died before even the halfway mark of it's warranty.

If I cant get a refund I'm going to ask what service they will do. It's not really any of my concern as long as it runs well but I don't want to get ripped off. If they say it'll take like 8 weeks to get it back because they'll send it to the US (2 weeks) then take a month to fix it (4 weeks) and then send it back (2 weeks) then I'm obligated to ask for a refund. I know a few people who've taken items such as, in 1 instance a friend of a friend took a Samsung Galaxy Tab back because it overheated in a month and she got a refund. I also know of another who took his Macbook back because it just died.

Store credit is one thing they offer. So failing that I might accept 800€ of store credit (equivalent to what I bought it for) and buy something perhaps more useful. I can always shell out a little more and get a small netbook from somewhere else. Maybe this signals the end of the 'gaming' era of my life. I suppose I cant complain the GT 540m cant play any of the latest games like Dead Island. Perhaps I could settle for an iPad or well.. there are a ton of things I could get for the house from that store.

I'm taking it in, in a few hours. Still at school now.

This looks a lot like my problem:

 

You should try getting a notebook with proven cooling capabilities and / or superior warranty services.

I bought my Clevo from a Clevo builder (Like Mythologic i guess) in Norway for this very reason, even if it would have been insanely cheaper to order from the US and get it shipped here.

First i am allowed to open the notebook to clean fans, replace thermal paste ect, so that i dont have to worry about heating issues.
Secondly its much easier to ship it locally than abroad, making any nessesary repairs faster because of less time being wasted in transport.

I think you could get a really nice notebook for 800 euros.
The new AMD Llano fusion notebooks are really cool, the owners in the HP subforum are pulling off crazy benchmark points with the OCing the quad cpu.
They also ship with a discrete AMD Radeon HD 6770m.

 

I got this computer for 800€... and it's an awesome computer, or it was. If I can get a refund and sell the RAM and HDD I bought I could easily make 900€. I'd either put that towards perhaps a PC, as I don't really need a Laptop even for Uni.. or stuff that I need to buy.

On top of that I could always just replace my laptop with an iPad or something. I don't know.. it wouldn't really matter to me. That's only IF I even got a refund, most likely it'll just get fixed. I really have no idea what they'll say.

I have a warranty book with me that came with the computer, it's a Limited warranty. It helps that it's died before it's (half-life) so perhaps I could pressure for a refund. I know that in Latvia (lol) it's their obligation to give the buyer a full refund if a technical product fails before it's (half-life) but I have no idea what Germany's policy is. Especially the store I got this from.. it's a huge techinical store, I doubt they'll give me a refund without a fight. Which is why I'd say either store credit, or they'll send it back to Acer, Acer will refurb it and swap it with someone who has a dead laptop and holds an Extended Warranty.

Or they'll either send it to Acer themselves, or fix it themselves or whatever. I checked the warranty status on Acer, all it says is "covered". The book that came with it, is the Limited Warranty book. The details of the warranty in the book are very vague and it doesn't really explain much except that non Acer hardware isn't covered, no reponsibility for data-loss.. that kind of thing. In both German and English it says the same thing.

Hopefully the store will understand. Like I said, if it takes 8 weeks or something I'll pressure for a refund. Because it means I either have to rent a laptop for school (just at this time) or that I will be without, and perhaps my grades could faulter.

We'll see what happens anyway, school ends in an hour. I'm taking it in after that. My wife printed the first picture I listed out and it looks a bit blurry but it's still proof that it's broken. I still need to ask them at the store though if I can take the HDD and RAM out because if I cant I'll pop back home and replace the HDD with an old one and the RAM with an older stick and keep the upgraded components I have at home.

Thanks for the help though. I just hope that selling the original components isn't the 'deal breaker' in this situation.

 

I think Acer has a service center in France, at least thats where i had to send my Acer Aspire 1800.

 

ahem: http://forum.notebookreview.com/gam...leaving-my-computer-awhile-2.html#post7801273

 

I did that HTWingNut. The picture came up fine.

Anyway so I went into the store, they told me that they don't do anything. That they wont give me a refund and that if I wanted store credit I had to talk to the manager and have that approved. Since I live in Berlin there is a service center in my city. It's kind of far away from where I live but I can drive in and drop it off. They said it would take approx. 2 weeks, or less. The woman I spoke to on the phone (the store said to call them) was absolutely useless. She spoke the worst German ever and even worse English... she was the least bit helpful.

Acer's policy on HDD's you've replaced is that they wont send them back to you. So she said to send a message with the laptop on paper that I want the HDD and RAM back no matter what. She said that even then they cant gaurantee that they will give either of them back. She said if I had the original drive and RAM that they would have both been replaced free of charge, which is why they aren't responsible for data-loss. Seems pretty good though, if I still had the components I would have gotten a free drive and RAM back.

She said they wont charge me for a new drive and will either take my drive... (omg...) and bin it, as well as the RAM if they find either faulty. Or that because I left a note that they will return it to me the way it was.

So basically I ghosted my drive, completely restored it to another really old crappy slow drive, and popped that in my laptop. I also removed a stick of RAM so I only have 1 single 4GB stick, it's better than losing BOTH my sticks if they do just throw out any upgrade/modifications I've made.

I went down to the post office and bought a perfectly sized box as well as soft things to place around the box, newspapers/foam etc.

One thing I want to know is will they want my AC charger? I forgot to ask the useless woman I spoke to on the phone if I should include the AC charger when I send the laptop back. I mean they have to have what... about 1,000,000 of those? Do I have to pack that also? I think I can fit it into the box I have...

So there you have Acer's policy on upgraded stuff. They do want the HDD and RAM because the woman said they wont test it on stock HDD and RAM they have, that they will test it on your own and then if it seems broken they will cross-test it with their own but they wont just test it with their own in the first place.

It seemed pretty complicated. The store was useless at helping me as well. I'm hoping I'll get a new Motherboard because the computer died 1 day before it's 5 month purchase birthday. I really would rather not have a refurb. 2 weeks is a pretty short wait though. I don't mind working with that.

At the moment my current HDD is in this computer and this computers HDD is sitting in an anti-static bag in the cupboard. Now we just play the waiting game.. my mate also agreed to lend me his second laptop for 3 or so weeks if I need it.

 

Don't send the AC charger. Usually it's just the laptop. You mentioned you had an older cheap hard drive, I'd throw that in there and do a system restore, and maybe see if you can scrounge up a 2GB RAM chip and throw that in there too.

 

Unfortunately I only have a single stick of DDR2 and a single stick of DDR3.. so the DDR3 one has to go in...

The old drive was ghosted and just restored. So it's a duplicate of my good one. The woman said to include a note etc. so yeah I wrote that I want to keep the drive and RAM in both German and English. Especially because in no circumstance will they give me the original stock drive and RAM for free.

I'm going to hand it in tomorrow. Now that I know they don't need the AC I'll start bubble wrap and newspapering it now.

 

Have you tried searching through the forum for this problem? There have been posts about the exact same problem before. My m11x displayed the exact same thing as in your pictures.

(sorry my bad; I thought I was posted in the m11x forum, not sure if your acer has the same intel graphics as the m11x, but it's worth a shot. hope all goes well.)

One solution is to check the Intel graphics drivers. There was a update to the drivers that was released through windows update. Right after I applied the update I had the exact same lines on my screen. Freaked me out. I rolled back to the previous driver and never had the problem since. That was about two or three months ago, if I remember correctly.

Good luck

 

I would have sent the computer in if it's under a warranty if I were you. This seems to be an issue that is hardware related anyway which means it needs a replace. I can do without my laptop for 2 weeks and if I get a new Mobo it means that my laptop is basically new again. It's only exactly 5 months old today (from purchase date).

I searched around before but all the info in the other threads is absolutely useless to me. The only 2 I remember actually went entirely offtopic in the end. As for the intel graphics I have them disabled because my laptop never leaves my desk, never leaves the AC power and I used to game really regularly so there was no need to even use the Intel GFX at all. I even have the battery taken out, it saves on heat and doesn't slowly ruin the battery. Every so often I pop it back in so it wont die though. I turned optimus off and used the Nvidia card as the main GPU for everything. I had the latest drivers for my Nvidia chip, dunno about the Intel one.

I've had the problem before and my GPU was dead. It was an old 7500 LE for the PC. It just died once in basically the same way except that it caused the comp to freeze while it was at it. Same sorta lines but thinner and red, not that the colour really makes a difference. Swapped the cord, lines changed colour, ended up binning the card, it was a p.o.s. anyway. Got myself an 8800GT 1GB Overclocked the next week. That thing played everything even well into 2010. Died whilst playing COD 4 on the level where you massacre all those Russians. Lasted 3 years or whatever though. I stopped with PC's after that.

It doesn't matter now, the laptop is boxed. Bubble wrapped and stuffed with newspaper to prevent the box from caving in if someone was to step on it. Taking it in tomorrow afternoon after school. Funnily enough even though I can just take it a few kms down the road they still want it 'coffined' I suppose because they have to give it back in something. The woman said that I still need to pack it properly regardless haha.