Acer Aspire 5738z Service Guide

Chapter 411 3
Intermittent Problems
Intermittent system hang problems can be caused by a variety of reasons that have nothing to do with a 
hardware defect, such as: cosmic radiation, electrostatic discharge, or software errors. FRU replacement 
should be considered only when a recurring problem exists.
When analyzing an intermittent problem, do the following:
1.Run the advanced diagnostic test for the system board in loop mode at least 10 times.
2.If no error is detected, do not replace any FRU.
3.If...

11 4Chapter 4
Undetermined Problems
The diagnostic problems does not identify which adapter or device failed, which installed devices are incorrect, 
whether a short circuit is suspected, or whether the system is inoperative. 
Follow these procedures to isolate the failing FRU (do not isolate non-defective FRU).
NOTE: Verify that all attached devices are supported by the computer.
NOTE: Verify that the power supply being used at the time of the failure is operating correctly. (See “Power 
System Check”...

Chapter 511 5
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 7
Clearing Password Check and BIOS Recovery
This section provides the standard operating procedures for clearing the password and BIOS recovery for 
Aspire 5738G/5738ZG/5738Z/5738/5338 and the Aspire 5536/5536G/5236 Series. 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 5738G/5738ZG/5738Z/5738/5338 Series...

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Gap name in 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...

Chapter 511 9
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...

120Chapter 5
3.Decompress the Crisis Package Source.  Select WINCRIS.EXE  and then select Run as administrator 
under Vista.   
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 5121
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.