Acer Aspire M3970 User manual

Acer
Aspire M3970
Service Guide
PRINTED IN TAIWAN

ii
Revision History
Please refer to the table below for the updates made on this service guide.
Date Chapter Updates

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Copyright
Copyright © 2011 by Acer Incorporated. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language or computer language, in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual or otherwise, without
the prior written permission of Acer Incorporated.

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Disclaimer
The information in this guide is subject to change without notice.
Acer Incorporated makes no representations or warranties, either expressed or implied, with respect to the
contents hereof and specifically disclaims any warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular
purpose. Any Acer Incorporated software described in this manual is sold or licensed "as is". Should the
programs prove defective following their purchase, the buyer (and not Acer Incorporated, its distributor, or its
dealer) assumes the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair, and any incidental or consequential
damages resulting from any defect in the software.
Acer is a registered trademark of Acer Corporation.
Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation.
Pentium Dual-Core, Celeron Dual-Core, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad, Celeron, and combinations thereof, are
trademarks of Intel Corporation.
Other brand and product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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Conventions
The following conventions are used in this manual:
SCREEN
MESSAGES Denotes actual messages that appear on screen.
NOTE Gives additional information related to the current topic.
WARNING Alerts you to any physical risk or system damage that might result from doing
or not doing specific actions.
CAUTION Gives precautionary measures to avoid possible hardware or software
problems.
IMPORTANT Reminds you to do specific actions relevant to the accomplishment of
procedures.

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Service Guide Coverage
This Service Guide provides you with all technical information relating to the BASIC CONFIGURATION
decided for Acer's "global" product offering. To better fit local market requirements and enhance product
competitiveness, your regional office MAY have decided to extend the functionality of a machine (e.g. add-on
card, modem, or extra memory capability). These LOCALIZED FEATURES will NOT be covered in this generic
service guide. In such cases, please contact your regional offices or the responsible personnel/channel to
provide you with further technical details.
FRU Information
Please note WHEN ORDERING FRU PARTS, that you should check the most up-to-date information available
on your regional web or channel. If, for whatever reason, a part number change is made, it will not be noted in
the printed Service Guide. For ACER-AUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDERS, your Acer office may have a
DIFFERENT part number code to those given in the FRU list of this printed Service Guide. You MUST use the
list provided by your regional Acer office to order FRU parts for repair and service of customer machines.

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System Tour 1
Features 1
Block Diagram 4
System Components 5
Front Panel 5
Rear Panel 6
Hardware Specifications and Configurations 7
Power Management Function(ACPI support function) 10
System Utilities 11
CMOS Setup Utility 11
Entering CMOS setup 12
Navigating Through the Setup Utility 12
Setup Utility Menus 13
System Disassembly and Assembly 23
Disassembly Requirements 23
Pre-disassembly Procedure 24
Removing the Side Panel 25
Removing the Front Bezel 26
Removing the Heat Sink Fan Assembly 27
Removing the Processor 29
Removing the VGA Card 31
Removing the Wireless LAN Card 32
Removing the TV-Tuner Card 33
Removing the PCI-E Modem Card 34
Removing the Memory Modules 35
Removing the Hard Disk Drive 36
Removing the Bracket of Removable HDD 38
Removing the Optical Drive 39
Removing the System Fan 41
Removing the Daughter Board 43
Removing the Power Supply 44
Removing the Mainboard 45
Removing the Top Cover 48
Removing the Power Switch and LED Cable Assembly 50
Removing the Card Reader 51
Removing the Top USB and Audio I/O Assembly 52
Assembly Requirements 54
Assembly Procedure 55
Install the Processor 56
Install the Heat Sink Fan Assembly 57
Install the Memory 58
Romoving the Side Panel 59
Removing the Daughter Board 60
Removing the Cage of Hard Disk Drive 61
Removing the PCI Cover 62
Install the Power Supply 63
Install the I/O Shielding 64
Install the Main Board 65
Install the Optical Drive 67
Install the Hard Disk Drive 69
Table of Contents

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Install the Daughter Board 72
Install the System Fan 73
Install the PCI-E Modem Card 74
Install the TV-Tuner Card 75
Install the Wireless LAN Card 76
Install the VGA Card 77
Install the Front Bezel 78
Install the Side Panel 79
System Troubleshooting 80
Hardware Diagnostic Procedure 80
System Check Procedures 81
Power System Check 81
System External Inspection 81
System Internal Inspection 81
Beep Codes 82
Checkpoints 83
BIOS Recovery 86
Jumper and Connector Information 89
M/B Placement 89
Jumper Setting 91
Setting Jumper 91
FRU (Field Replaceable Unit) List 99
Aspire M3970 Exploded Diagram 100
Aspire M3970 FRU List 102

Chapter 1 1
Features
Below is a brief summary of the computer’s many feature:
NOTE: The features listed in this section is for your reference only. The exact configuration of the system
depends on the model purchased.
Operating System
•Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium x64
•Microsoft Windows 7 Home Basic x64
•Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium x86
•Microsoft Windows 7 Home Basic x86
•Microsoft Windows 7 Starter x86
•Linpus XWindows
•Free DOS
Processor
•Intel Sandy Bridge Processor includes unlock K SKU CPU.
•Socket type: LGA1155.
•FMB: 65W / 95W TDP.
Chipset
•Intel H67
PCB
•4 Layer uATX form factor 9.6in X 9.6in (24.38cm X 24.38cm)
Memory subsystem
•Socket Type: DDR III connector
•Socket Quantity: 4 DIMMs
•2 channels, 2 DIMMs per channel . Different colors for DIMM 0 and DIMM 1.
•Dual channel should be enabled always when plug-in 2 same memory size DDRIII. memory module.
•Max memory of 16 GB supported (using 4Gb tech).
•Support DDR3 1.5V 1066/1333 (1GB / 2GB / 4GB).
•Follow Acer DT EE Request.
Graphics
•Intel® HD Graphics Support (supported by CPU)
•Follow PCI Express spec.
•Dual independent display.
•Digital display (HDMI/DVI/DP/eDP) and VGA.
•Support Intel InTru 3D technology (via HDMI1.4a port).
System Tour
Chapter 1

2Chapter 1
•DVMT 5.0 technology support.
•Enhanced 3D and Clear Video technology support.
•Need to measure VGA follow Acer VGA SOP.
•PCEx16 socket must with latch and afford the weight of any VGA card.
•Monitor compatible is requested to the monitor AVL and DQM recommended list.
Hard disk drive
•Support up to four SATA ports
•3.5",25.4mm
•Capacity and models are listed on AVLC
Optical disk drive
•Support one SATA 5.25" standard ODD
•Support DVD-ROM, DVD-SuperMulti, BD-combo, BD-rewrite
•Maximum ODD depth to 185mm with bezel
•Models are listed on AVLC
Graphics card
•One PCI-E x 16 graphics card.
•No mechanical retriction to support for double slot, full length graphics cards in the single PCIe X16 slot.
Audio
•ALC662
•Rear IO: 3 jack
•Front IO: 1*Microphone-in, 1*head phone jack
Serial ATA controller
•Slot Type: SATA connector
•SATA ports quantity: 6(2* SATA 6Gb/s, 4* SATA3Gb/s. different color to identify SATA 6Gb/s and SATA
3Gb/s).
•Design requiremnt:
•HDD : Support RAID 0/1/5/10
•Blue Ray ODD
•RAID mode supported for internal SATA port
LAN
•Controller: Realtek RTL8111E.
Extension slot
•1 * PCIE x16 (PCIE V2.0)
•3 * PCIE x1 (PCIE V2.0)
USB ports
•Supports at least 12 USB ports on both front and rear side
•6 ports locate on MB rear side.
•4 ports locate on Chassis TOP side.