Author Topic: Aspire notepad  (Read 709 times)

Offline collin

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Aspire notepad
« on: Friday 03 July 20 11:28 BST (UK) »
Hi  last year when the old computer died my son sent for a laptop & printer only £232 for both and has worked fine for a year but last night the screen went black. He told me to hold the power button down but it's still the same.  I never bothered to register it and it's just over 12 months old, I have downloaded the manual onto this tablet but it's Dutch to me. It says press ctrl and alt and del to restore the system but that hasn't done anything. It is an aspire1 notebook and previously I was getting pop ups saying low dißc space & create disc space but there is nothing on it apart from a couple of photos as I print off downloads then delete them.  Also said can't install updates
 I will have to wait until my son comes unless anyone has a suggestion.
Many thanks
Collin Oldham Lancs   Rogers Dudley  Abbott  Ripley Derbys    Hartley Outwood Yorks

Offline groom

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Re: Aspire notepad
« Reply #1 on: Friday 03 July 20 13:35 BST (UK) »
Try taking out the battery, holding down the power button for about 30 seconds and then replacing the battery and switching on as normal. Years ago I had a black screen, so took it back to the shop who told me this trick! He said it was something to do with static electricity.

I now have a Macbook and you can't take the battery out!
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Re: Aspire notepad
« Reply #2 on: Friday 03 July 20 14:28 BST (UK) »
I agree with Groom to try the reset process.

Your Laptop is made by Acer, with Aspire being their model name.

At £232 with printer indicates to me that it was perhaps an end of line model with minimal specification which often has a small hard drive hence it is not surprizing that you are having the low disc space warning.

Once you get it working again on your Desktop you may see Recycle Bin, if you do click on it then right click and select Empty and then confirm once asked.

Now start up Windows Explorer, Click on the This PC text in the left Pane of the Window and select the Hard Drive.

Right click on the Hard Drive and select properties.

You will then see how much space has been used and what is free.

Click on Disc Clean-Up and once the analysis is finished select everying amd click on OK then select Delete files.

You have now deleted all the readily accessible files that are not needed.

Once your Son visits ask him to see what Bloatware is installed on your Laptop, deleting un-needed software will free up space on your hard drive

Offline Nick_Ips

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Re: Aspire notepad
« Reply #3 on: Friday 03 July 20 15:48 BST (UK) »
He said it was something to do with static electricity.

It sounds like he was confused.

What that process actually does is ensure the device is fully switched off to clear any fault.

Many modern devices never really turn off completely, especially battery powered ones. Switching them "off" just puts them into some level of standby.

If some kind of fault has caused the system to 'hang' then pressing the power off button won't necessarily stop whatever is going on, often because the system needs to be running in order to go through the shut down/standby process.

The screen might go black, but inside the processor might still be stuck in an infinite loop or some other situation which will never complete.

Removing the battery is the equivalent of removing the mains plug from the socket, but with electronic devices there may still be enough residual electricity in the internal circuits to keep the system running for a few seconds, or to keep information stored in RAM.

So keeping the power button pressed down (after removing the battery) is done to ensure any residual power has drained away and the device is fully 'off'*.

That means when the battery is replaced or the power turned back on, the device is starting from cold with the previous problem fully cleared.

(*except if the device has a real time clock (for example) in which case it may have another internal battery and some parts of the system will still continue to run)


Offline groom

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Re: Aspire notepad
« Reply #4 on: Friday 03 July 20 17:24 BST (UK) »
Not arguing with you Nick as you obviously know better than a computer expert. I didn't ask for a long explanation and I notice that you haven't actually given any advice, unlike Biggles50. 
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Offline Nick_Ips

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Re: Aspire notepad
« Reply #5 on: Friday 03 July 20 18:13 BST (UK) »
Not arguing with you Nick as you obviously know better than a computer expert.

A man in a shop isn't necessarily a "computer expert" and a computer "expert" saying "it was something to do with static electricity" is clearly confused.

You don't need to be a computer expert to know that. You only need to read a laptop manual or have the ability to use google.
Quote
With the battery and power cord unplugged, press and hold the Power button for about 15 seconds to drain any residual electrical charge from the capacitors.
https://support.hp.com/gb-en/document/c01684768

I didn't ask for a long explanation and I notice that you haven't actually given any advice, unlike Biggles50.

The information I gave was advice why it is important not only to remove the power (battery/power lead) but also to press and hold down the power button.  Understanding the process is important to understand why you need to do it, and that it isn't some kind of "trick".

The information was offered for general consumption by any Rootschatters who might be interested or find it useful to expand their knowledge.  There was no obligation on you personally to read it or respond. Moreover, I was unaware of a rule that requires us to wait to be individually asked* before offering information on a topic being discussed on Rootschat, I thought sharing information was the fundamental purpose of the site. If I've misunderstood that, then I sincerely apologise for any offence caused. (*With the exception I believe of the photo dating and restoration board)

Offline collin

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Re: Aspire notepad
« Reply #6 on: Friday 03 July 20 19:24 BST (UK) »
Thank you for all the advise. I know the laptop was only £169 and the rest was the printer. Should have known there would be a reason.
I think I will let my son read through all this and leave it to him as I am out of my depth
Many thanks
Collin Oldham Lancs   Rogers Dudley  Abbott  Ripley Derbys    Hartley Outwood Yorks

Offline collin

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Re: Aspire notepad
« Reply #7 on: Saturday 04 July 20 12:39 BST (UK) »
I left it unplugged & turned off and when I tried it again last night, it was back on. I will have a go later with your advise regarding the disc space  Thank You 
Collin Oldham Lancs   Rogers Dudley  Abbott  Ripley Derbys    Hartley Outwood Yorks

Offline Nick_Ips

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Re: Aspire notepad
« Reply #8 on: Saturday 04 July 20 13:08 BST (UK) »
I left it unplugged & turned off and when I tried it again last night, it was back on. I will have a go later with your advise regarding the disc space  Thank You

That's good news Collin.

If you do have any important documents/photos on it (although your first post suggests not) then now would be a good time to make sure they are backed up on a USB stick or CD/DVD. Sometimes a random failure of a PC/Laptop is an early warning of worse things to come.

Something else to add to your 'to do' list would be a Check Disk to make sure there are no errors on the hard drive.  Such errors could be the cause of a crash, or the result of one, so it is worth running the check to make sure that isn't part of the problem.

Straightforward instructions here:-
https://computing.which.co.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/115005587645-How-to-use-CHKDSK-Check-Disk-to-repair-a-hard-drive

Personally I'd do the Disk Check before anything else as emptying the Recycle Bin and running a Disk Cleanup will make changes to the data on the disk, which might cause further problems if there are pre-existing disk errors.

Good luck.  :)