Acer Aspire 7736Z-4809 Troubleshooting

The laptop freezes often or randomly powers off.

The laptop will shut down if its internal temperature is too high to prevent damaging its internals. Signs of overheating include loud fan noises, a warm back cover and random shutdowns. If the laptop has overheated, unplug the power and wait for the laptop to cool down. Unscrew the back cover and clean off any dust build-up around the components with a lint cloth, hand vacuum or can of compressed air. To prevent future overheating, use the laptop on a flat, solid surface rather than a bed or sofa.

A battery’s health deteriorates if it remains at either a 100% or 0% charge. If the laptop must always be plugged in, even at 100% charge, then the battery may be dying. Replace the battery with a compatible one using the battery repair guide.

The CPU (central processing unit) or GPU (graphics processing unit) fans may be failing. Shut down the laptop, then remove the power cord and the battery. Open up the back cover with the proper screwdriver. Clean any dust around the fans using q-tips, a lint cloth, or a hand vacuum. As a last resort, replace the fan using the fan repair guide.

Hard drives have an average lifespan of 4 years and must be regularly replaced. If there are clicking or other disk noises coming from the laptop, the hard drive may be failing. Create a backup of the laptop's files and replace the hard drive using the hard drive repair guide.

If the laptop’s performance is slow, the RAM (random access memory) may be failing. Remove the RAM using the RAM repair guide, and clean it with a soft lint cloth. Reinsert the RAM. If the issue is not resolved, replace the old RAM with a compatible one.

The hard disk or fan is not whirring, the power indicator and laptop screen does not light-up.

If there is a USB drive or memory card inserted in the laptop's ports, it could be interfering with the startup process. Remove these storage devices and power on the laptop again. If desired, reinsert these components after the laptop has successfully booted.

Unplug the power cord and remove the laptop’s battery. Press and hold the power button for a minute to release residual power. Plug in the power cord without reinstalling the battery and try booting the laptop. If the laptop powers on, shut it down and reinsert the battery. If the problem persists, replace the battery with the battery repair guide.

If the laptop is not charging with the power cord plugged in, the cord may be damaged. Use a spare power cord and see if the laptop’s charging indicator lights up. If it does, there may be a blown fuse in the original power cord. Check both the plug and the power adapter for blown or damaged fuses. If there are, remove them with a screwdriver and install new fuses.

If the power cord does not have a blown fuse, the power port may be malfunctioning. Look for a loose power jack as a possible indicator. Disassemble the laptop and remove the motherboard, which contains the broken power port. The following video provides instructions for disassembly. The port will either need to be resoldered, or replaced using the power jack repair guide.

Any of the hardware components in the laptop may have failed and need to be replaced. If a new component was installed recently, try removing it and using the old component to see if the issue is incompatibility. If no new hardware was installed, try replacing the battery using the battery repair guide.

If all of the previous solutions do not work, the u58 IC chip may have blown. The power supply is integrated into this chip, which is embedded in the motherboard. Replace the motherboard using the motherboard repair guide.

When pressing a key on the keyboard, the laptop either does not respond, or displays the incorrect letter, number or symbol. For example, typing j results in j8z.

Remove the keyboard using the keyboard repair guide and thoroughly clean the cable. Use a soft pencil eraser and lightly rub the contacts. Try to remove any dirt under the keycaps by holding the keyboard upside-down and carefully shaking the dirt off. Afterwards, reinstall the keyboard and use it again.

Keyboards may have manufacturing defects or mechanically fail over time. Replace the keyboard using the keyboard repair guide. Alternatively, use an external USB keyboard.

The laptop’s power indicator lights up but the screen displays either no image or a distorted image.

The computer’s residual electricity may have shorted out the laptop’s screen. Unplug the laptop’s power cord and remove the battery. Press and hold the power button for a minute to release residual power. Plug in just the power cord and attempt to boot up the laptop. If the laptop powers on, shut it down and reinsert the battery.

Inverter failure may occur due to capacitor wear or overuse. Place the laptop in a dark room and look for a faint image on the screen. If there is a faint image, replace the inverter board using the inverter board repair guide.

If the laptop boots up but there is no image displayed, turn off the laptop and remove the power cord and battery. Press and hold the power button for a minute to release residual power. Remove the RAM one stick at a time and look for a beep or a video response. If there is such a response, replace the problematic RAM using the RAM repair guide.

If there is no response from removing the RAM, replace the RAM and remove the hard drive. Power on the computer and see if the screen displays anything. If the screen operates as usual again, replace the hard drive with the hard drive repair guide.

If the monitor displays vertical stripes, either the video card, video cable, or the LCD monitor may be faulty. Try the following video tutorial, or replace these components with the video card repair guide.

If the LCD displays normally but the colors are swapped, faded, or vibrant, try connecting the laptop to an external monitor. If the monitor displays the correct colors, the laptop’s internal LCD cable could be faulty. Replace the LCD cable connector on the motherboard using the LCD repair guide.

If the problem persists, the LCD monitor may be faulty. Replace the LCD using the LCD repair guide.

The laptop’s internal speakers produces cracked or no sound from videos or music, but sound can be heard correctly through headphones or external speakers.

If there is visible dust, debris or crumbs on the speakers, power down the laptop and use a hand vacuum or dust buster to clear the dirt. Smaller pieces can be cleaned using a cotton swab. Do not use compressed air because the pressure can push the dirt into the speakers.

If the laptop’s speakers produce a cracked sound, try connecting the laptop to an external speaker. If the external speaker produces the proper sound, the laptop speakers may have blown. A common cause of blown speakers is playing music through them at the maximum sound level. Either use an external speaker or replace the internal speakers using the speaker repair guide.

If both internal and external speakers still produce a cracked noise, the sound card may be fried. Uninstall the sound card using Device Manager, then restart the laptop to automatically reinstall the card. If the sound still does not work, the sound card is fried. A USB sound card can be bought as a replacement.

The laptop does not power back on after it is put into hibernation or standby mode, or cannot enter hibernation or standby mode.

When exiting hibernation mode, some components may fail to power on again. Unplug the power cord and remove the laptop’s battery. Press and hold the power button for a minute to release any residual power. Then reinsert the battery and power on the laptop. If the device makes noise while attempting to power up, but the screen still does not display an image, try replacing the video card using this video tutorial. Otherwise, replace the components with the video card repair guide.

After a Windows Update, the display may turn off even while the system is still turned on. Restart the laptop. Click on the Start menu, select System Tools, and then select System Restore. Follow the onscreen instructions to restore the laptop back to its settings prior to the update.

The external device ports, such as the USB drive or the disk drive, do not recognize any external devices.

If none of the ports detect an external device, make sure the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is up-to-date. To find the current BIOS version, restart the laptop and hold the F2 key when the Windows logo appears. The resulting screen displays both the BIOS version and the most current version available. If the BIOS is not up-to-date, click the BIOS to upgrade to the newer version. If it is up-to-date, press the Escape key to exit the screen.

If the BIOS is up-to-date and the ports still do not detect any external device, uninstall the external device’s driver using the Device Manager. Then plug the device back in to reinstall the driver. If the device still does not work, go to the Device Manager menu, expand the Universal Serial Bus controller, and uninstall each item. Restart the laptop to automatically reinstall the Universal Serial Bus controller.

If the BIOS is up-to-date, and reinstalling the Universal Serial Bus drivers did not fix the problem, the USB port itself may have failed. Replace the USB port following this video tutorial.

If the disk drive can not open up, it is possible a disk is stuck inside the drive. Open Windows File Explorer and right click the DVD drive icon. Select “eject” to eject the disk. If that does not work, forcefully eject the disk by using a toothpick or a pin to push the small hole near the face of the tray.

If the laptop cannot read the disk inserted into the disk drive, make sure the disk type is compatible with the laptop’s disk drive. If it is compatible, clean the disk drive using a specialized cleaning kit. As a last resort, replace the DVD/CD drive using the CD/DVD Drive repair guide.