Hello,
i bought this Acer ASpire One ZG5 in October 2008. Everything worked fine on it until last nite when I tried to start it up and I am only getting a blank screen...no sounds. what can I do to fix this? there are files on the system that I need to retrieve.
Just go to the acer website http://global-download.acer.com/... and d/load the bios update 3309, open the folder and copy two files to a formatted fat usb stick. Rename the file FLASHIT to FLASHIT.EXE and the second file 3309.fd(bios file) to ZG5IA32.FD rename them precisely like that, please check your spelling is correct. Insert the usb stick into the usb left hand side make sure the charger is plugged in . Hold down keys fn+esc and power up the laptop, when the power led begins to blink release the two buttons and press the power button just once, observe the usb stick flashing indicating it's flashing the bios, please note this can take a few attempts, I once struggled for a few hours until I finally tamed the beast :) be patient okay, I would like to point out if you wish to update within winxp use the same bios update 3309 , extract the zipped files to a formatted usb stick and rename the two files again but DO NOT REMOVE or interfere with the other files in the folder , with the laptop up and running open the folder and click on the Insysdeflash file only within the winflash file, this will flash your bios within windows and update it to the latest version, I read that flashing it when using the fn+esc keys merely restores the bios , I have tested this and mine updated to 3309 only when I flashed my bios within windows using the complete d/loaded bios update as mentioned . It will be worth reading the read me file to see what has changed in this bios version, I can tell you that for those out there that have password issues i.e. hdd set, the need to enter password with upper case is not a requirement more and there are a lot more fixes too, enjoy and I hope this bit of info was useful:)
You are just brilliant! I tried so many times to get it to work and after reading your post I did exactly what you said and the flashing led on my power button lasted alot longer than it had been and it worked! I am sooooo happy now I cannot live without my laptop I was just glad I read that it took someone else a few attempts to! other wise I was sure I would have given up!
Thanks a bunch! x
I love this page it's helped me with 2 problems within a few weeks with my acer aspire one! x
I saw the step posted for flashing the BIOS everywhere but this is the only place that told me to rename flashit.exe to flasit.exe
That was it! The flash drive light finally lit up after hold fn/esc and powering on the AAO, after about 3 minutes it rebooted normally.
I manage a network for a large school district with over 1000 AAO's so this trick will certainly be a lifesaver for me. You helped a lot of kids with this post, thank you!
Hey frustrated... I had the similar problem ur having... had posted regarding it... somewhere on the third page kinda more in detail I think...
well what I had figured was the flash drive I was using was a 16gb which u cant format on FAT... FAT is reserved for smaller sized drives or somthing like that... I think only upto 2gb... im not completely sure about that... I dont know if it will work if u format it to FAT32 and try but I didnt take the risk...
if u have any memory card lying around and have a card reader as well that should do the trick... thats how I solved my problem... so in conclusion... just look for as small a flash drive as u can and use that... even a 64mb would do... since the files are like a total of 2 mb I think...
Hi, I have tried it and it worked. open the file that they gave above. extract to the desktop. both files that are asked for above. close it. go on the desk top and find the file and right click with the mouse to rename it, copy and paste the new name so you make no mistake. then copy both files to a USB stick and then put the stick into your acer put the power on the electricity, press both the FN and esc together till the power light goes on and release. It will booth by itself and you will then have a picture. good luck.
When you flash/upgrade your BIOS while in Windows XP, do you still need to use the USB stick? Also, I am wondering why people are not recommending this process of upgrading, rather than the method mentioned and shown on the you tube video which merely only restores the BIOS. Thanks guys.
hi rainbow im wondering if you could help me with mt dell xps m1530. Its a blank screen no dell logo cant go to bios set up. the power button when you turned on it will light up for only 2 seconds and it will gone no POST, the fan is working and the driver slot but when I inserted a dvd it cant eject anymore the dvd continue to spin. I've tried a lot of things like holding the power button for 30-1min. remove the ram and put it back nothing happens so im worried that my board is dead. And when I visit your forum about the flash bios, Im wondering if you can help me out to flash my xps bios. I spent $1600 on my dell xps m1530. I called DELL already but no one helped me it said that my laptop is 14 months old and out of warranty and I dont want to pay $45 for diagnostic coz I know it will only end up to dead motherboard. My Dell xps SPECS ( intel core 2 duo 2.4ghz, 3 ram gb, 360gb hdd, nvidia m 8600GT.
I would really appreciate for any help,
Thank you very much
Thanks a lot man, that was really helpful. Worked on the 2nd attempt (only because I was too inpatient at the first one =-). Your really spotted the problem there man!
A0A110. Flashed following precise instructions with 3310. Worked 1st shoot. BDW computer takes sometime and will reboot by it's self when done... son be pasiente 2-3 mminutes of nothing... but a blinking led in the usb drive
Keywords to help searchers
acer aspire one ZG5 AOA110 AOA150 boot problem blank black screen start bios 3309 3310 flash usb dead
Thanks Very Much!!!!! Thought it was dead!! Did exactly as you said and it works. The only difference was the BIOS file was 3310!! If it doesn't work the first time try formatting the USB drive used to FAT32. Reading other blogs that it the only variable....
Thanks for all the time taken to find this fix for the booting issue. This saved me some addtional money and it was a learning experience if this happens again. Thanks again.
RAINBOW - Thanks much. I tried this solution many other times from other blogs w/out success. I followed your instructions in detail and it worked. Thanks for sharing. Al R
Same problem with ZG5, today I went to the PC service: "need to repair the main board, 200 USD...", didn't leave the PC there, after coming back I contacted the AUTHORIZED (PL) ACER SERVICE: the same answer and the same price, nearly the price of new Acer, decided to discard the PC. After reading your procedure I applied it in 10 mins. worked at once, PC is working properly.
Shame to Acer Services here who I'm sure knows very well how to fix the problem in 10 mins. but the want to robbe the customers.
Great Thanks - my daughter's PC is working again.
Holy macaroni! I was so upset when I found my acer in this condition. I have so much stuff on it I can't replace! Anyway, this worked on my zg5 also1 I only had to try it twice and boom she booted up !! can't possibly thank you enough!! I hope others are lucky enough to find you rainbow_Demon
Thank you sooooo much I called acer and they actually told me that since my warranty had expired that I would either have to send my computer to Temple, TX (???????) to be repaired and it would cost me $99 to do this, OR he could provide 1 1/2 hours of phone support for $129!!!!!! I told him that he MUST be joking their product that I had purchased less than two years ago malfunctioned and you were going to charge ME AGAIN to fix it??!!! He told me that no he was not joking and he was SOOO serious! I asked for the corporate phone number and after being on hold for 5 minutes he finally gave it to me. what makes it worse is that my computer did this about a year after I purchased it and they sent me a USB flash drive while I was still under warranty with instructions on how to use it....soooo all I was asking the tech for this time was how to use it because I still had the drive I just could not find the instructions. And he literally was telling me that I had to pay him to get instructions!!!! Absolutely ridiculous and I will NEVER buy another Acer product again. THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR HELP!
Δούλεψε κανονικά αμέσως Greek
Format το usb με τις εντολές από αυτό το site https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200124(v=ws.11).aspx και αντιγραφή των αρχείων από το Link του Rainbow
Ακολουθήστε τις οδηγίες και θα επανέλθει ο "άρρωστος" στην καλή του λειτουργία.
ISSUE : Aspire One powers on but the screen remains blank
When my Aspire One powers on, the screen remains blank. How can I fix this?
Updating the BIOS will require a USB flash drive to store the BIOS information on during the update. To perform the update to the BIOS:
1. Go here and download and extract the latest BIOS for the netbook.
2. Rename the BIOS file from 3310.fd to zg5ia32.fd.
3. Copy zg5ia32.fd and Flashit.exe to USB flash drive
4. Ensure that the AC adapter is plugged in.
5. Insert the USB flash drive into a USB port.
6. Press and Hold down the Fn and the Esc keys together and press the power button.
7. When the unit's power light comes on wait a few seconds and release the Fn and Esc keys.
8. After the keys have been released the power light will start to blink.
9. During the BIOS update process the display will be blank.
10. Let the unit run and after approximately 1 to 7 minutes, the unit should reboot and the BIOS will be updated.
If the unit fails to reboot, or the BIOS was not updated sucessfully, try the steps again.
Note: These instructions are only for the Acer Aspire One AOA-110 and the AOA-150 netbook series and should not be performed on any other model Acer Aspire One.
It worked perfectly, it booted up in 1 min... Use the 3310.fd (zg5ia.fd) and Flashit files in the Dos_Flash sub folder and follow Louise's instructions....
Thank you!
Thanks Dear it's really works for me. I was to upset when last night I got this problem. I thought my netbook totaly gone. but after this solution now my pc running well.
Thanks again.
acctually I also had the same problem with my ZG5 30 minutes ago, than I follow kenneth advice to click at or paste this link to your url to download this file
http://www.acerpanam.com/synapse/data/7117/documents/AS1_BIOS_3309.zip there is the following instruction there
Create a recovery USB drive to update the Bios on the unit. The specific steps to perform this recovery with the USB drive are:
Download & Extract AS1_BIOS_3309.zip
Rename the Bios name from 3309.fd to zg5ia32.fd.
* after renaming this 3309.fd file I thought I should also edit batch command inside 3309.BAT
* so I did, it's not difficult just open 3309.BAT using notepad and edit *
* flashit 3309.fd /mc /all /dc ===> to ===> flashit zg5ia32.fd /mc /all /dc
* than I save this file under the same name (3309.BAT)
Copy zg5ia32.fd and Flashit.exe and (3309.BAT also) to USB flash drive.
Start the restoration process:
A. Plug the AC Adapter into the unit.
B. Insert the USB flash drive into a USB port.
C. Press and Hold down the Fn and the Esc keys together.
D. Keep these keys held down and press power.
E. When the unit's power light comes on release the Fn and Esc keys.
F. After the keys have been released the power light will start to blink.
G. Let the unit run and after approximately 1-7 minutes (by the fact in My case I Only need 10 second), the unit should reboot.
H. Video should now be restored.
tadaa.. my zg5 post like it used to be
thank you very much for the programmer, kenneth for this useful link and all of you,
I had hoped this would fix my customers problem. However, it does not apply to the Acer Aspire One Series Model ZG5. As a matter of fact, Acer has NO information available for the ZG5, AOA150. Not even a Users Guide.
Go through the menus, and select the AOA150, then select the BIOS tab. Download the one you need (I used 3309, that was the one attached to the support response) Follow instructions below.
Requirments
256MB USB drive or higher capacity.
1. Insert your USB drive/thumb drive into a working windows system. Open up my computer or computer and locate your usb drive and right click and select format. Format the drive with ‘FAT’ file system and not FAT32 minimum 256 MB in capacity.
2. Download the attached zip file AS1_BIOS_3309.ZIP
3. Extract the files on the root directory of the USB Flash Drive.
4. Turn off the Aspire One and make sure that both power adapter and battery are connected to the netbook.
5. Plug in the USB stick to any port on the failed Aspire One
6. Press and hold Fn+ESC and then press the power button. The power LED will now be blinking.
7. Press the power button ONCE. During this time, it will now initiate the BIOS update, DO NOT INTERRUPT IT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.
8. After about 2 minutes, the power LED will stop blinking and the Aspire One will reboot. The BIOS is now complete.
9. IF the unit DID NOT REBOOT BY ITSELF, wait a further 5 – 7 minutes before rebooting the unit as the BIOS may still be flashing.
When the power LED is blinking (this is after the ESC/FN and pressing power button step), press it ONCE. The the USB stick flash the bios. It will reboot itself when finished.
A youtube link stated in this forum said to rename the 3309.fd to zg5ia32.fd but your post didn't say anything about that and your post was the first instruction I saw and followed so I wasn't able to rename the file. My laptop still isn't working after doing the steps you said. Maybe renaming the file was the missing link! but how do I do it? I tried to insert my usb flash to the working OS again but my pc can't read my flash anymore! Please reply!
hi I read you post regarding the fix for an acer and the fat32 usb drive. I happen to have the exact same problem with my acer and also my hp dv2700. would you happen to know what where I can download the file that I must put onto the usb for the hp dv 2700??
Hi Nowonmai im wondering if you could help me with mt dell xps m1530. Its a blank screen no dell logo cant go to bios set up. the power button when you turned on it will light up for only 2 seconds and it will gone no POST, the fan is working and the driver slot but when I inserted a dvd it cant eject anymore the dvd continue to spin. I've tried a lot of things like holding the power button for 30-1min. remove the ram and put it back nothing happens so im worried that my board is dead. And when I visit your forum about the flash bios, Im wondering if you can help me out to flash my xps bios. I spent $1600 on my dell xps m1530. I called DELL already but no one helped me it said that my laptop is 14 months old and out of warranty and I dont want to pay $45 for diagnostic coz I know it will only end up to dead motherboard. My Dell xps SPECS ( intel core 2 duo 2.4ghz, 3 ram gb, 360gb hdd, nvidia m 8600GT.
I would really appreciate for any help,
Thank you very much
Your ram is dead, you HD is dead, or your board is shot. In that order of likelihood. 1st Take your ram out and ask a friend to replace his with it to see if it is good or not. If it is good....move to the HD. If both of those pass....your board is gone.
Thank you Thank you Thank you!!! Acer support is awful. You have saved all my info as I was about to throw the thing out the window. I cannot thank you enough!!!!!
It worked for me. I only had to rename 3309.fd to zg5ia32.fd.
People who still have this problem,(Acer Aspire One ZG5 won't boot up, working with black screen) this is what I did:
------------------------------------------------------------------
Download & Extract AS1_BIOS_3310.zip (from : http://global-download.acer.com/... Rename the Bios name from 3309.fd to zg5ia32.fd.
Copy zg5ia32.fd and Flashit.exe to USB flash drive.
Start the restoration process:
A. Plug the AC Adapter into the unit.
B. Insert the USB flash drive into a USB port.
C. Press and Hold down the Fn and the Esc keys together.
D. Keep these keys held down and press power.
E. When the unit's power light comes on release the Fn and Esc keys.
F. After the keys have been released the power light will start to blink.
G. Let the unit run and after approximately 1-7 minutes, the unit should reboot.
H. Video should now be restored
==========================================
i copied all three files: 3309.BAT, zg5ia32.fd , FLASHIT.EXE to root of my USB
you must also format your USB with fat file system (not fat32) with "Allocation unit size" set to "Default allocation size" before coping those three files
Many thanks - the link to the support.acer site gave me the softwater link and it all worked perfectly - the Acer was under warrantee but I'd been told it would take 6 weeks.!!!
Thanks mate. It worked for me as well.
For those who couldn't get it to work, please note this instruction
"Rename the Bios name from 3309.fd to zg5ia32.fd.
Copy zg5ia32.fd and Flashit.exe to USB flash drive. "
This helped me out. Because normally when you extract to USB stick, it extracts to a new folder, which is not the root directory.
I talked to acer 4 days after my warranty expired and they said there was nothing they could do for me. I was seriously about to thow this thing in the trash until I stumbled across your post here! you are awesome! I knew it had to be something simple to fix, your help was verrrrryyyyyyy much appreciated!
Brilliant! Can't believe an IT fossil like me got this to work. My daughter thinks I am an IT wiz getting her Aspire One to work. I still don't know what BIOS is!
Thanks lads
Thank you so much for your easy to follow instructions.
This worked on my Acer Aspire One.
I followed your instructions and my system in just over a minute is working again and all my data is still here.
Thank you so much for this help.
Hi,
I just had the same problem,
I called ACER, they told me: your ACER isn't anymore under warranty (just over a year after I bought it...) they told me: you have to pay from 80$ to 200$ to get it solved...
Then when I said I didn't agree, the very nice person on phone gave me the tip of : get a USB key and get the bios flashed it should work but I can't tell you how.
So I look out and phone this forum, used this procedure with 2 different change (maybe not needed but just in case, I puted on the USB key the 3310.fd ( iused the last bios version the 3310.fd) as well as the renamed version zg5ia32.fd as well as adding a renamed version of flashit.exe into flasit.exe (just in case as someone in some other post said he had this problem).
Crossed my fingers (harder to push the keys but... who knows maybe it helps)
then followed those steps, and after only a few seconds it rebooted and it worked.
Thank you very much.
I have this model and the method described farther down by Dejas with the Youtube clip worked like a champ. Rebooted in about 1 minute eliminating the Black Screen o' Death.
I hid mine in the dust for almost a year after looking for accurate information and support that I couldn't find, but this was a piece of cake. I am so thankful that now I can use my netbook like a netbook again.
The difference is essentially to rename the file 3309.fd to zg5ia32.fd and to NOT press the power button again after holding FN+ESC and pressing the power button once.
Hi I don't know who you are but thanks for your post it worked after all else failed even Acer were not helpful as the machine was bought in another country. Thanks again.
to the person with the youtube vid I have been working with computers now for over 10 years and couldnt get the bios to flash untill your vid so thank you u have saved my bacon
I woke up to find my Aspire One not booting. Thanks for all the tips here, I managed to revive it with the USB flash to BIOS. Used the 3309 version and renamed to zg5ia32.fd and works perfectly. USB flash and reboot took under a minute.
If BIOS flash doesn`t help, probably the problem is not the BIOS. Try one of thies steps (info from aspire one service manual). I tried reseating memory module and it helped. I had to take my acer apart. Do it on your own risk.
1. Make sure that the internal display is selected. On this notebook model, switching between the internal display and the external display is done by pressing Fn+F5. Reference Product pages for specific model procedures.
2. Make sure the computer has power by checking at least one of the following occurs:
* Fans start up
* Status LEDs light up
3. Drain any stored power by removing the power cable and battery and holding down the power button for 10 seconds. Reconnect the power and reboot the computer.
4. Connect an external monitor to the computer and switch between the internal display and the external display is by pressing Fn+F5 (on this model).
5. Disconnect power and all external devices including port replicators or docking stations. Remove any memory cards and CD/DVD discs. Restart the computer.
If the computer boots correctly, add the devices one by one until the failure point is discovered.
6. Reseat the memory modules (RAM).
7. Remove the drives.
Q: No Display / System will not POST Aspire One AOA.
A:
Download
AS1_BIOS_3309.zip
Create a recovery USB drive to update the Bios on the unit. The specific steps to perform this recovery with the USB drive are:
Download & Extract AS1_BIOS_3309.zip
Rename the Bios name from 3309.fd to zg5ia32.fd.
Copy zg5ia32.fd and Flashit.exe to USB flash drive.
Start the restoration process:
A. Plug the AC Adapter into the unit.
B. Insert the USB flash drive into a USB port.
C. Press and Hold down the Fn and the Esc keys together.
D. Keep these keys held down and press power.
E. When the unit's power light comes on release the Fn and Esc keys.
F. After the keys have been released the power light will start to blink.
G. Let the unit run and after approximately 1-7 minutes, the unit should reboot.
H. Video should now be restored.
If these steps fail to resolve the no post, no video issue please contact Acer Technical Support.
This procedure expects the USB to be read, but there is a large amount of people that are asking for help because this method does not work. Step G will never start, as the USB is never read. The power button blink, fine, but nothing more.
By the way, the power button does not blink when you release the Fn+Esc buttons, but just after half a second after pressing the power button, and still having the Fn+Esc pressed.
Hi I have the exact same problem power light on and nothing else. can hear the CPU fan and HDD but the screen is blank no light from it. does this mean a new screen cannot get the bios to flash and make pc boot. it worked fine last night now though...!
Any chancw of some help?
Hi I had the same problem changed downloaded the bios chenged the file numbers all as described. But I have it sorted now... what was causing the problem for me was that I too was using a 8gb mem stick and wouldnt allow me to format it as fat.. windows will only allow you to format mem stick under 2 gb I had a smaller one just under 2gb put it in to format and yes it let me format as fat. done as described form the others and it rebooted first time. so has worked perfect since. hope this is some use as it tripped me up for a week or so...
The screen is blank during this time. Mine took about 5 minutes total time. It can take a bit longer. Keep an eye on the thumbdrive, if it has a light on it, it will be blinking while it flashes the bios. Then the machine will reboot on its own.
hi! I have the same problem too! I already downloaded the said bios but iam afraid I will choose the wrong bios for me. they have this warning:
Flashing the wrong BIOS can cause harm to the system. Acer recommends that you should only upgrade your firmware/drivers if you have been instructed to do so by an Acer Customer Care representative. By using these firmware/drivers you agree to accept the possibility of product failure.
so, for my ZG5 netbook.. what do you think is the right one?
That is the standard warning. Each of those Bio versions on the Acer site address different issues. the 3309 is for the blank black screen, unresponsive machine.
My Acer Aspire One wont boot at all. I applied the instructions from Rainbow_Demon and it solved. Just did it once! machine is running fine now. Thanks, Rainbow_Demon.
Holy Crap!!! I put ours in the garbage bag yesterday and thought I'll try one more time. I found this site and low and behold I have a screen on my computer again! Thank you thank you thank you!!!! I'm still in shock that it works!!! Thank god I pulled it out of the garbage!
Guys, many thanks for the tips, it saves me a lot. My Acer One got BSOD just now and I followed your link. It works!!!. I got all my PhD thesis data in my laptop and I have no warranty since I bought it overseas. Thanks, God loves you ...
i have the sam problem my acer notebook not booting up. I have a lot of photos, I dont want to lose will I lose the all if I reboot and follow your instructions? its due to go back to acr for repair as its under 2 months old but they said I will lose everything once thy repair it.
Hello community !
I have a ZG5 from one friend from Japan (so japanese Acer !, maybe it is important)
yesterday he had the famous blank screen, won´t boot)
I looked on internet a find your procedure. but still it does not work it is a A0A 150
we did
1- go to acer and download the BIOS 3310 version (the 3309 is not available anymore)
2. I format one USB 1Go stick with windows in FAT
3 we decompress the files 3310.fd and flashit.exe on the usb (only these 2 files on root of the usb)
4- we follow the procedure : press Fn+Esc + start button
5- the led power starts to blink and my USB led is blinking also (good sign)
6- after 5-7 minutes, the led power stops blinking and stays fixed green BUT the usb continues to blink, again, and again, for more than 30 minutes until we decided to stop
we did not interrup the flash while the led power was blinking
we tried to change the name of the 3310.fd file to ZG5IA32.FD
Same results, the procedure seams to works, but after the power led stops to blink, the usb continues to blink and no reboot
we tried to press ONCE the power button after start with Fn + ESC = same result
so my question is :
1- does someone succeed on ZG5 A0A 150 and frimware 3310?
2- do I have to fin on the net the 3309 firm? or 3310 is ok also for ZG5 AOA 150 ?
2- Why do we have to change mane, or even copy the flashit.exe program, because this flashit.exe is a DOS program. editing the 3310.BAT, it shows "flashit 3310.fd /all /dc" => then , for me, flashit is a program that run under DOS. is it a DOS program calling the flash 3310.fd so Why do we have to change the name ? or why do we have to copy the flash.exe which only work under DOS, and here the dos does not start.
I went out and buy a new 1gb usb pendrive because I was suspecting that my usb was not ok to do that.
If you use usb stick, please pay attention to what I say because some of you will have the same problem
in some usb pendrive, like "USB disk pro", when I plug it on my xp, It creates 2drives:
A: disk 3 1/2
E: USBPRODISK
A: is like a virtual floppy disk drive, where I find document respecting the pendrive (PDF, .EXE for security, ...)
E: is my pendrive 1Gb where I previously copy the *.fd and flashit.exe
Even if I format my pendrive (clic right, format, or manager...) I cannot remove, or format the A: I cannot delete it
so I was thinking maybe the ZG5 could not flash the bios because it did not access the correct drive (access on A: instead of E:)
So I went outside and buy the cheapest, no security, basic usb pendrive 1Gb (not more because of FAT)
I copy the files *.fd and flashit.exe (I tested it with either 3310.fd or zg5ia32.fd and it worked, which is for me logical because name should doen not matter in my opinion)
Then I did the procedure. I take few seconds for me, only less than 20 seconds and the PC rebooted !
The fact this it is not clear if I did flash the bios or not, because After restart, I open the bios, strike F2 and the version is still V3301 ! and not V3310 so I am not really sure I did a complete flash. but what is sure is the PC works now.
Regards to all
ouioui
Thanks very much for all the information in this thread. The BIOS flash cured the problem on my just-out-of-warranty Acer Aspire One AOA150Bb. I followed the instructions carefully and it worked first try.
Δούλεψε κανονικά αμέσως Greek
Format το usb με τις εντολές από αυτό το site https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj200124(v=ws.11).aspx και αντιγραφή των αρχείων από το Link του Rainbow
Ακολουθήστε τις οδηγίες και θα επανέλθει ο "άρρωστος" στην καλή του λειτουργία.