Acer Extensa 510 Maintenance Manual

							EXTERNAL
VGA MONITOR
MAIN BOARD
XD BUS
SD BUS
Input From 
AC Adapter
SYSTEM &
VGA BIOS
XD BUS
Super I/O
Controller
RS-232
Serial Port Drivers/
Receivers
C&T 65540
Intel 
100 MHz
Pentium
Processor
Video 
Controller
System
Controller
State Machine
& Glue Logic
     
PC MC IA Adapter
      
Internal Hard Drive
Power Supply
Section
Internal 
Touchpad
Keyboard/PS2
Mouse Logic
Memory
Board
PCMCIA Option Slot(s)
512KB
Video RAM
Clock Generator
640 X 480
VGA LCD
Inverter 
BoardLocated internal
to the LCD
Assembly
RAM
Expansion
Modules
Internal Floppy Drive
Parallel Port
Internal LCD Display
Internal Keyboard
Figure 4-1   Notebook Functional Block Diagram
   
4-2 
  Theory of Operation 
						

							4.2.2 I/O Subsystem
The I/O subsystem, implemented with an NS87334 VJG Super I/O
Controller Chip, provides for such functions as internal Hard Drive control,
floppy drive control, and serial and parallel ports. The Super I/O Controller
includes the following features: 
·100 percent compatible with ISA, EISA, and Micro-channel architectures
· Built-in Floppy Disk Controller
·Software compatible with the DP8473, the 765A and N82077
·
16-byte FIFO (default disabled)
·Burst and Non-burst modes
·Perpendicular Recording drive support
·New high-performance internal digital data separator (no external
filter components required)
·Low-power CMOS with enhanced power -down mode
·Automatic media-sense support
·Two UARTs
·
Software compatible with the PC16550A and PC16450
·MIDI compatible
·Infrared support on UAR T2 (IRDAÔ
-compliant)
·Bidirectional Parallel Port
·
Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP) compatible
·Extended Capabilities Port (ECP) compatible, including level 2
support
·Bidirectional under either software or hardware control
·Compatible with ISA, EISA, and Micro Channel architectures
·Ability to multiplex FDC signals on parallel port pins for external
FDD
·Includes protection circuit against damage caused when printer is
powered up, or operated at higher voltages
· Integral IDE controller
·
Provides a complete IDE interface with DMA control (except for
optional buffers)
   
 Theory of Operation    4-3 
						

							·Integral address decoder - provides selection of all primary and
secondary ISA addresses including COM1-4 and LPT1-3.
·Enhanced Power Management Function
·
Special configuration registers for power down
·Enhanced programmable power -down and wake-up modes
·Auto power -down and wake-up modes
·3 special pins for power management
·Typical current consumption during power -down is less than 10A
4.2.3 Video Subsystem
The video subsystem, implemented on the Main Board and on the LCD
Display Unit, displays text, graphics and drives an external VGA port. The
video subsystem is implemented with a Chips and Technology high
performance flat panel/R T VGA controller and supporting logic and video
RAM (1 MB).
The major features of the VGA controller include: 
·Highly integrated design (flat panel / CRT VGA controller, RAMDAC,
clock synthesizer)
·Multiple Bus Architecture Integrated Interface
·
 Local Bus (32-bit CPU Direct and VL)
· PCI Bus
· EISA/ISA (PC/AT) 16-bit Bus
·Advanced frame buffer architecture uses available display memory,
maximizing integration and minimizing chip count
·Integrated programmable linear address feature accelerates GUI
performance
·High performance resulting from zero wait state writes (write buffer) and
minimum wait state reads (internal asynchronous FIFO design)
·Supports panel resolutions up to  800 x 600
·SMARTMAP intelligent color to gray scale conversion enhances text
legibility
·Text enhancement feature improves white text contrast on flat panel
displays
·Fully Compatible with IBM VGA
   
4-4 
  Theory of Operation 
						

							4.2.3.1 External VGA Drive Capability
On the Extensa notebook, the external VGA port is provided by the port
adaptor fixture in the form of a 15-pin, female, D-type connector which can
be used to drive an external CR T (up to 1024 x 768 x 256 colors.
4.2.4 Hard Disk Subsystem
The Hard Disk Subsystem, controlled by the IDE interface compatible
NS87334 VJG Super I/O Controller on the Main Board, provides disk
storage for all system software and user files. The Extensa 51x Series
Notebooks are equipped with either a 540 or 810 million byte drive.
During the manufacturing process, Texas Instruments formats the hard
disk and then loads all supplied software including Windows 95.
c
Caution: Formatting the disk drive erases any data that may be stored
on the disk. Therefore, do not attempt a format of the hard disk unless
the computer self test and diagnostics confirm that the disk has not
been formatted.
A Hard Drive activity LED is located along the top of the notebook. This LED
lights during hard drive read/write accesses.
cCaution: The notebook should not be moved when the HDD icon is lit to
prevent accidental damage to the hard drive. 
4.2.5Floppy Diskette Drive Subsystem
The Floppy Diskette Drive Subsystem consists of a Floppy Controller and
the Floppy Diskette Drive. The Floppy Diskette Drive can read/write
standard 3.5-inch diskettes.
   
 Theory of Operation    4-5 
						

							4.2.6PCMCIA Subsystem
The notebook is equipped with an on-board PCMCIA host adapter PCMCIA
Controller) and sockets to support Type I, Type II or Type III options. The
PCMCIA Controller has the following features:
· Single-chip PCMCIA host adapters
· Direct connection to ISA (PC AT) Bus
· Direct connection to PCMCIA 2.0 Bus
· PCMCIA 2.0- and JEIDA 4.1-compliant
· 82365SL-compatible register set, ExCA-compatible
· Automatic Low-power Dynamic Mode for lowest power consumption
· Programmable Suspend Mode
· Five programmable memory windows per socket
· Two I/O windows per socket
· Programmable card access cycle timing
· 8- or 16-bit CPU interface
· 8- or 16-bit PCMCIA interface support
· ATA disk interface support
· Automatic flash memory timing support
· Easy host interface using ISA I/O addresses 03E0h, 03E1h
· Mixed-voltage (3.3V or 5V) operation
· Dual-socket-interface, 208-pin QFP
4.2.7Power Subsystem
The Power Subsystem consists of the following major parts:
· Power Management (hardware and software components)
· AC Adapter
· Primary Battery Board
· Primary Battery Pack
   
4-6 
  Theory of Operation 
						

							4.2.7.1 Power Management
The notebook is equipped with a power management function that
minimizes battery usage for prolonged battery operation and automatically
recharges the batteries when the notebook is used with an AC adapter.
The power management modes and warnings include the following:
· LCD standby mode
·Hard disk standby mode
·System standby/suspend mode
·Battery-low warning
·Standby/suspend upon battery low
4.2.7.2 AC Adapter
The notebook uses an AC adapter with built in over voltage and short circuit
protection.
The adapter can withstand a continuous short-circuit to DC output without
damage to the notebook logic components. The adapter operates in Shut-
down mode shorting Vo trail and resets to the normal Power mode after the
fault condition is removed.
4.2.7.3 Primary Battery Pack
The Extensa Series Notebooks use the Duracell DR35 as the primary battery
pack. Specifications for the Primary Battery Pack are provided in Table 4-4.
   
 Theory of Operation    4-7 
						

							Table 4-4 Primary Battery Pack Specifications
Function Specifications
Battery type NiMH (Nickel Metal-Hydride)
Cell structure 9 cells per pack (in series)
Nominal voltage 10.8 V
Cell energy capacity
   Typical
   Minimum2400 mAH
2500 mAH
2330 mAH
Nominal rated capacity 27 Watt-hours
Operating Temperature
_
   Discharge
   Charge-20 to 50°C (at 95%RH)
0 to 45°C (at 95%RH)
Charge and discharge
cycles500 (minimum)
Weight 470 grams
Battery discharge time 3 hours (with APM)
Battery charge time
   
4-8 
  Theory of Operation 
						

							5
Troubleshooting Procedures
5.1General
This section provides the following information:
·Overview of the fault isolation process
·Guidelines for isolating computer malfunctions to replaceable
subassemblies
·Instructions for executing diagnostics and interpreting error messages
5.2Overview of Fault Isolation Process
The fault isolation process (summarized in Figure 5-1) consists of the
following: 
·Quick Check of the following:
·
Notebook power system (including battery packs and AC Adapter
connections) - refer to Paragraph 5.4.
·Switch settings (ensure Power
 switch is On, and press Standby
switch to ensure that Notebook is not in Standby mode; press Shift
to ensure the notebook is not in Auto-Suspend mode.
·All external cabling (if any)
·Check LCD Contrast adjustment (refer to Section 3)
·Record and attempt to resolve any displayed error messages/LED
indications (refer to Paragraph 5.3 and Table 5-1)
·Record and attempt to resolve any series of beeps emitted from the
notebook indicating test failure (refer to Table 5-2)
Troubleshooting 5-1 
						

							START
COMPUTER
TROUBLE
INDICATION
?
DEAD
COMPUTER
SYMPTOMS
?
RUN
SELF TEST
ERROR
MESSAGE
?
MODEM
PROBLEM
?
RUN
DIAG NOSTI CS
DIAG NOSTI CS
E RROR MS G
?
NO
YES
NOYES
SEE PARAGRAPH
5.3.4
NO
YE SSEE PARAGRAPH
5.3.3
NO
SEE
PARAG RAPHS
5. 3.1 &  5.3.2 NO
YES
WHEN POWER SWITCH
SET TO ON,, NO
INDICATION OF POWER;
SCREEN DARK,  STAT US
LEDs EXTINGUISHED
SET POWER SWITCH
TO ON. SELFTEST
AUTOMATICALLY RUNSYES
See Appendix B
(PC Doctor)
Figure 5-1  Troubleshooting Flowchart
   
5-2 
Troubleshooting 
						

							·Try rebooting the system (Ctrl-Alt-Del); restore system from diskettes, if
necessary.
·If the computer is capable of running the Setup program; check the
serial and parallel port configurations, and other features that may
affect system operation.
·Run Diagnostics to further isolate problem area (refer to Paragraph
5.3.5).
·For indicated hardware failures, cycle power and repeat self test to
verify that a hard failure has occurred.
·Remove and replace suspect hardware (as described in Section 6 of this
manual) and retest the system using the diagnostic tests as described in
Paragraph 5.3.5.
The detailed block diagram, shown in Figure 5-2, is useful in performing
fault analysis of various internal subsystems. For example, an LCD
hardware problem can be traced to either the LCD, Inverter Board, VR
Board, or Battery Board. Other subsystem problems can be isolated in a
similar fashion using the detailed block diagram as a troubleshooting tool.
5.3Troubleshooting Procedures
The built-in self test program and the disk resident diagnostics program
(PC-Doctor) are useful tools in computer troubleshooting. However, if the
computer has a power, keyboard or display problem, you should first solve
this problem before running diagnostics. If the computer powers up and
displays messages on the LCD or emits a series of beeps, skip to Paragraph
5.4.3 for further instructions.
5.3.1Troubleshooting a Power Supply Problem
If the computer does not power up when the Power Switch is set to the ON
position, you most likely have a malfunction in the power subsystem (loss of
power at the AC Outlet, faulty AC Adapter, discharged Battery Packs, or
faulty Power Supply Board). With a power problem, all LEDs are
extinguished, the LCD screen is blank, the system does not respond when
the standby switch is pressed several times consecutively and no drive
activity can be heard. The computer is unable to load software and displays
no visible signs of activity.
To fault isolate a power problem, check the following:
·AC Adapter and Battery - Plug in the AC adapter and double check all
connections on the Adapter and computer. Ensure that the Notebook
Power
 switch is set to the On position and that the system is not in
Standby or sleep mode.
  
Troubleshooting 5-3