Acer Aspire 5242 Service Guide

							Chapter 511 3
Main Board 
Top View
No.CodeConnector
1 SPKR_L1 Left speaker cable connector
2 KB1 Keyboard cable connector
3 AMIC1 MIC cable connector
4 SPKR_R1 Right speaker cable connector
5 PSCN1 Volume button board cable connector
6 TPCN1 Touchpad board cable connector
7 FPCN1 Fingerprint cable connector 
8 RTC1 RTC battery connector
9 USBCN1 USB cable connector
Connector Locations
Chapter 5 
						

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Bottom View
No.CodeConnector
1 BT1 Bluetooth board cable connector
2 LOUT1 Headphone/speaker/line-out jack
3 MICIN1 Microphone-in jack
4 LIN1 Line-in port
5 USB1 & USB3 USB 2.0 ports
6CRT1 VGA port
7 FAN1 Heatsink fan cable connector
8 HDMI1 HDMI port
9 RJ45 Ethernet port
10 DCIN1 DC-in port
11 CPU1 CPU socket 
						

							Chapter 511 5
Clearing Password Check and BIOS Recovery
This section provides the standard operating procedures for clearing the password and BIOS recovery for the 
system. There is one Hardware Open Gap on the main board for clearing the password check and one Hotkey 
for enabling BIOS Recovery.
Clearing Password Check
Hardware Open Gap Description
Hardware Gap Position on the Main Board
Gap name in Aspire 5738DG/5738DZG  Series and Aspire 5738G/5738ZG/5738Z/5738/5338 Series is G78.  
Hardware Default Setting Operation Description
Gap Open (Normal) Short (Clearing Password Check)
G78 
						

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Gap name in Aspire 5542G/5542/5242 and Aspire 5536/5536G/5236 Series is G106.   
Steps for Clearing BIOS Password Check
If the user sets the BIOS Password (Supervisor Password and/or User Password) for a security reason, the 
BIOS will ask for the password during system POST or when the system enters into the BIOS Setup menu.  If 
it is necessary to bypass the password check, the user needs to short the hardware gap to clear the password 
by following these steps:
• Power off the system, and remove the HDD, AC adapter and battery from the computer.
• Open the back cover of the computer and look for the hardware gap on the main board as shown 
in the picture(s) above.
• Use an electric conductivity tool to short the two points of the hardware gap.
• Plug in the AC adapter while retaining the short condition on the hardware gap. Press the power 
button to turn on the computer until the BIOS POST routine is finished. Finally, remove the tool 
from the hardware gap.
• Restart the system. Press the F2 key to enter BIOS Setup menu.
• If there is no password request, the BIOS Password is cleared. Otherwise, repeat the steps above 
and try again.
NOTE: The steps are only for clearing the BIOS password (Supervisor Password and User Password).
G106 
						

							Chapter 511 7
BIOS Recovery by Crisis Disk
BIOS Recovery Boot Block:
BIOS Recovery Boot Block is a special block of the BIOS. It is used to boot up the system with minimum BIOS 
initialization. Users can enable this feature to restore the BIOS firmware to a successful one once the previous 
BIOS flashing process failed.
BIOS Recovery Hotkey
The system provides a function hotkey: Fn+Esc, for enabling the BIOS Recovery process at system power-on 
during BIOS POST. To use this function, the AC adapter and the battery must be connected. If this function is 
enabled, the system will force the BIOS to enter a special BIOS block called Boot Block.
Steps for BIOS Recovery by Crisis Disk
Before doing this, prepare a Crisis Disk (refer to the “Steps for Creating the Crisis Disk in Windows XP/Vista” 
section below) and keep it ready in hand. 
Follow these steps for BIOS recovery:
1.Power off the system.
2.Connect a removable USB storage device containing the Crisis Disk to a USB port connected to the BIOS 
flash failed system.
3.Under power-off state, press and hold Fn+Esc and then press the power button. The system should be 
powered on with the Crisis BIOS Recovery process.
4.BIOS Boot Block starts to restore the BIOS code from the Crisis Disk to BIOS ROM on the failed system.
5.After the crisis flashing process is finished, the system will restart.
After the Crisis Recovery process is finished, the system should have a successful and workable BIOS after 
power on.  The user can then update the latest BIOS version for this system using the regular BIOS flashing 
process.
Creating the Crisis Disk in Windows 
Follow these steps to create the Crisis Disk:
1.Prepare a removable USB storage device (size greater than 10MB).  Note that all data on the USB 
storage device will be cleared during the creation of the Crisis Disk.
2.Set up another computer loaded with the same Windows operating system. 
						

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3.Decompress the Crisis Package Source.  Select WINCRIS.EXE  and then select Run as administrator 
under Windows.   
4.Keep the default settings and then click on the Start button.
5.When the pop-up warning dialog box appears, press OK to continue creating the Crisis Disk.    
						

							Chapter 511 9
6.The Crisis Disk will be created after a few seconds. 
7.Press No if you do not want to create another Crisis Disk.  
						

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8.Reconnect the USB removable storage device and check if it contains the 3 files shown in the following 
figure.  
						

							Chapter 6121
This chapter gives you the FRU (Field Replaceable Unit) listing in global configurations of Aspire 5738DG/
5738DZG Series, Aspire 5738G/5738ZG/5738Z/5738/5338 Series, Aspire 5542G/5542/5242 Series and 
Aspire 5536/5536G/5236 Series. Refer to this chapter whenever ordering for parts to repair or for RMA 
(Return Merchandise Authorization).
Please note that WHEN ORDERING FRU PARTS, you should check the most up-to-date information available 
on your regional web or channel. For whatever reasons a part number change is made, it will not be noted on 
the printed Service Guide. For ACER AUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDERS, your Acer office may have a 
DIFFERENT part number code from those given in the FRU list of this printed Service Guide. You MUST use 
the local FRU list provided by your regional Acer office to order FRU parts for repair and service of customer 
machines.
NOTE:  •To scrap or to return the defective parts, you should follow the local government ordinance or regulations on how to 
dispose it properly, or follow the rules set by your regional Acer office on how to return it.
FRU (Field Replaceable Unit) List
Chapter 6 
						

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Exploded Diagram