It is the second time that my brother, left me his Acer Aspire One ZG5 because the screen was not working, and he complained because his computer was dead.
Acer Aspire One Screen not working - Reboot BIOS
Like last time I started to search (or better google) the most common keyword I could think typing stuff like:
- “Acer Aspire One ZG5 screen not working”
- “Acer Aspire One ZG5 screen black”
- “Acer Aspire One ZG5 BIOS PROBLEM”
- “Acer Aspire One ZG5 don’t start”
A i believe if you are reading this post you’ve done the same…
Like me you’ll probably start to read 1000 of blogs with many information but most of the time are wrong or incomplete.
I’m writing this post to all those who have the same (common) problem, I hope this post will be much useful for you.
How fix your Acer Aspire One ZG5
First of all you’ll need:
- a working windows computer (apologies for all the mac people, but you need a window friend!)
- a usb key
- the lastest version of version zg5ia32.fd (click here Download)
Once you have all those you have to:
from http://macles.blogspot.com/2008/08/acer-aspire-one-bios-recovery.html
The AA1 has a built-in BIOS recovery routine, making it possible to flash the BIOS even if the system doesn’t boot anymore. It’s only meant for emergencies and may void your warranty, so use at your own risk.
Follow every step carefully!
First format an USB stick with FAT.
Download the latest BIOS, and put both FLASHIT.EXE and the BIOS file in the root directory of the stick. Rename the BIOS file to ZG5IA32.FD, that’s important. Do not remove the USB stick.
Turn the AA1 off, make sure both battery and AC adapter are connected. Press Fn+Esc, keep it pressed and press the power button to turn the AA1 on. Release Fn+Esc after a few seconds, the power button will be blinking. Press the power button once. The AA1 will now initiate the BIOS flash, do not interrupt it under any circumstances. After a while the power button will stop blinking, and the AA1 will reboot shortly after. Wait patiently.
The BIOS has been flashed and all settings reset to default.
If for some reason you made a mistake during the procedure and it doesn’t reboot by itself wait 5 minutes before turning it off, just to be safe that it isn’t still flashing the BIOS.
Also a must see Video:
Also I found this great video on youtube about how fix your Acer Aspire One ZG5.
It is quite funny because it features a very buy voice in the background the video is the best:
The video has been made by Joseph C, check other videos from: youtube.com/joecox406
Popularity: 100% [?]
Hi Leosquarez, When I do the procedure, the bios seems to be updated everytime I do the procedure because I can seee the BIOS version in bios setup. however, it still won’t boot up.
Also, when I try to boot up with “last good known configuration” or I try to enter in safe mode, the computer tries to load the system drivers but then it gets stuck with this string:
multiriskrdiskpartition\WINDOWS\System32\Drivers\dnibobva.sys
That’s the last string of 16.
What is this??
Thanks a lot/………..
thanks that works very good
@Alberto:
I think your problem is with the Windows operating system, not BIOS problem. The screen would be just blank when its BIOS related problem. That’s when you need to flash the BIOS.
Thank you very much, this worked perfectly, also for the problem about battery not charging!
Thank you, thank you! I just flashed my net book and it was a success. Honestly you guys saved me a lot cash.
i have a Acer Aspire one but whenever i turn it on the acer splash page comes up but right after that all i get is a disk read error has occured press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart….. wich does nothing but take me in a circle…
and if i try Alt+F10 all it comes up with… File \ minint\system32\biosinfo. inf could not be loaded. the error code is 4145 Setup cannot continue. Press any key to exit. and thats it..
i thought flashing the bios would work but no luck i keep getting the same results as b4. Can ANYONE HELP???
Tried to re-flash a number of times following the instructions very explicitly. No luck. Does not appear the USB stick is being read – no light. Any thoughts?
if the solution is not working after a few time the problem can be another.
I may suggest you to contact Acer support…
sorry
Thanks for the guide it worked like a charm. Thumbs up
thank you! thank you ! thank you sooooooooooooooooooo much!
Thanks that works so good , Thank you .
you are the best
good work …. my netbook is on 
thankzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I tried this and it didn’t work (and yes I followed it exactly and know I did it right).
I am a sad panda.
Usually if this trick doesn’t work after couple of time I suggest to contact Acer support…
I’m a sad panda too http://bit.ly/aT5X7v
hi
thankssssssss ver very much. i fixed two netbooks.
my AA1 doesnt stay on long enough for me to do this process, does that mean i have a different problem other than the BIOS?
Excellent post.I want to thank you for this informative read, I really appreciate sharing this great post. Keep up your work?
My pleasure mate..
I try to do my best!
Thank you so much for the info on flashing the bios on my Acer Aspire. The instructions worked perfectly first time. I had been quoted $88 to look at it by a repair place before they would give a quote to fix it. But 1/2 work and your instructions fixed it. As a novice techo I did not know what the root directory was on my USB stick(a bit of research on the web showed it is just the regular directory). I could not change the name of the bios file on the USB but moved it to the desk top on my computer, changed the name and put it back on the USB stick. Formatting the USB to FAT didn’t mean much but some research on the web gave the instruction to right click on the icon for the USB stick on ‘my computer’ and then click format as FAT – not FAT322. A bit of research and following the instructions on this site worked perfectly. Thank you so much.
I meant 1/2 hrs work!
Finally a great blog post about the topic, maintain the good work and thus I wish to learn far more within you in the near future.
Thanks for that, saved me a bunch, it worked great. Going on from there, does anyone know why it happens?
Stu
Hello,
My Acer Aspire One (model no.: zg5) is out of order..it’s another “Black Screen”..
I can boot my computer so i think there isn’t any problem with the BIOS.
But when i enter the operating system (Linux linpux lite), I can only see a mouse and the desktop doesn’t show up. There is a black screen besides a small mouse. I can move the mouse, adjust the light of the mon with “fn” key, but i can do nothing.
So how can i fix it?
Thx so much!!!!!!!
I enjoyed your website, keep it comming! from greece! ~blogfanman
Thank you for sharing,
I’d like to add that I needed several attempts to flash the bios, though I followed your instruction by the letter. Only when I formated my usb stick as FAT (not FAT32!) I could flash the BIOS successfully and hence start up my computer as usuall!
Maybe it was just my computer (still using Windows XP).
Thank you very much for the information, great job!
Carlos
Many thanks Leosquarez for an excellent post, very clear and concise and worked first time.
The above procedure apply if I have ubuntu in my netbook?
What is AA1 ?
aspire one zg5 was displaying everything before i tried flashing the bios, now the laptop is totally dead with black screen and power light just on.
i tried to flash the bios, because earlier, i used to face a different problem like if you press any two keys together or simultaneously, the laptop would go dead like power on no display, then we would have to restart by powering it off. but after flashing it has become totally dead. What to do.
This works for win.. not sure about unix machine…
you notebook
I did the flash and it said flash complete but it stay at the same screen for over 10 minutes so i tried to turn off using power button which did not respond so I took the battery out. That was a big mistake because now the laptop will not even power up at all with the ac adapter or battery. Is there anything i can do to resolve this?
You you could change the post name title Acer Aspire One BIOS Recovery – Acer Aspire One ZG5 screen not working? : Leosquarez – Website Design and Development to something more better for your content you make. I enjoyed the the writing still.
This is a great fix, and thank you very much, however my daughters AspireOne gave her the black screen of death, and she panicked (she’s 12… Lol.), I followed these instructions, and the first time, the usb drive started blinking and it went through a few things like a white screen and the other lights started to function again, etc., but after waiting a few hours, it never decided to reboot. When trying to re-flash, now the usb won’t seem to light up as if it’s not booting up from the usb slots anymore when holding the fn+esc keys and powering on. The power light just continues to blink on and off no matter how long you sit and wait. (Up to hours again.) Any suggestions, or is the bios chip itself just fried at this point? Thanks!
mmmm … with a fried chip there is not much to do… sorry
Woooooooooow!!!! thank you so much!!! add me on facebook coz we definately need to talk you the bestest!!!
Hello- i also have acer aspire zg5. Not sure if I should flash the BIOS, as it tries to boot, but I get a blue error screen that I can’t read because it goes off too fast. Then it just keeps going over and over in the same manner. I do not have the continuous black screen that the others seem to have- Please tell me what to do-
Thank You
you do a great job,
thank you so much,
my aspire one works perfectly
Hi BoneDaddy
I have exactly the same sequence of events. The AA1 will not process the BIOS recovery now even though it did try on the first go. When I do power it up after holding down FN + ESC the USB flashes once quickly then the power light begins to blink forever.
I don’t suppose you found a resolution?
I don’t really know what else to do.
PS I have already stripped the AA1 to remove the CMOS battery but that didn’t help either.
Works Perfect!!! Awesome – thanks for the excellent info:)
On the link to the BIOS recovery file there are several versions all updated on the same day, how can I tell which one I need? Sorry if this is stupid ^^;
excellent, my 7 year son was very upset and sad when his AA1 (his first pc) got dead with blank screen, and he got this from her aunt who brought new pc and gifted the old AA1 to him. Your instructions worked perfectly and in just a single try. Thank you very much for putting the smile back to my son.
Just download the last updated.
May God bless you! It worked for me too second time !Youhuuuuuu.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111
Worked for me. i’am realy greatful. Thank You!
Good morning, please I do go to you so that they help me since my acer, the screen is not complete, alone in the quadrant left as if a screen of 7 inches that I can make was.?
pacheco.hans@gmail.com
heeeeeeellllllppppppp meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
mmmm… not sure… what do you mean sorry can you explain it better?
I also did the “one” not “I” in the ZG5IA32.FD file installation, when i had to replace the cmos battery. ( maxell or varta ML1220 3v if anyone’s interested)
Hello,
Jose & Bonedaddy, I have the same problem as you, any luck finding a fix to the problem, I thought it may be to do with the time of pressing the power after holf fn and esc but im having no luck so far, they has got to be something we can try.
Many thanks