Acer Aspire 8951G User manual

Aspire 8951G
SERVICE GUIDE

ii
Revision History
Refer to the table below for the updates made to this service guide.
Service guide files and updates are available on the ACER/CSD Website. For more
information, go to http://csd.acer.com.tw.The information in this guide is subject to change
without notice.
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.
Disclaimer
The information in this guide is subject to change without notice.
There are 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. The software described in this manual is sold or licensed "as is". Should
the programs prove defective following their purchase, the buyer (not the manufacturer,
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.
Date Chapter Updates

iii
Conventions
The following conventions are used in this manual:
WARNING:
!
Indicates a potential for personal injury.
CAUTION:
!
Indicates a potential loss of data or damage to equipment.
IMPORTANT:
+
Indicates information that is important to know for the proper completion of a
procedure, choice of an option, or completing a task.
NOTE:
NOTE:
Follow local regulations for battery and circuit board disposal. Batteries and Circuit
Boards >10 cm² have been highlighted in yellow.
The following typographical conventions are used in this document:
Book titles, directory names, file names, path names, and program/process names are
shown in italics.
Example:
the DRS5 User's Guide
/usr/local/bin/fd
the /TPH15spool_M program
Computer output (text that represents information displayed on a computer screen,
such as menus, prompts, responses to input, and error messages) are shown in
constant width.
Example:
[01] The server has been stopped
User input (text that represents information entered by a computer user, such as
command names, option letters, and words) are shown in constant width bold.
Variables contained within user input are shown in angle brackets (< >).
Example:
At the prompt, type run <file name> -m
Keyboard keys are shown in bold italics.
Example:
After entering data, press Enter.

iv
General Information 0
This service guide provides all technical information relating to the basic configuration for Acer
global product offering. To better fit local market requirements and enhance product
competitiveness, the regional office may have decided to extend the functionality of a machine
(such as add-on cards, modems, or extra memory capabilities). These localized features are
not covered in this generic service guide. In such cases, contact the regional offices or the
responsible personnel/channel to provide further technical details.
When ordering FRU parts:
Check the most up-to-date information available on the regional Web or channel. If, for
whatever reason, a part number change is made, it may not be noted in this printed service
guide.
Acer-authorized Service Providers:
The Acer office may have a different part number code than those given in the FRU list in this
service guide. The list provided by the regional Acer office must be used to order FRU parts for
repair and service of customer machines.

v
CHAPTER 1
Hardware Specifications
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Operating System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
CPU and Chipset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Optical Media Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Webcam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Wireless and Networking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Privacy Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Dimension and Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Power Adapter and Battery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Input and Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Input and Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Optional Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Notebook Tour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Top View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Acer MediaRemote. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Front View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17
Left View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18
Right View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19
Base View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Touchpad Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21
Using the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
Windows Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23
Hotkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
System Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-26
Specification Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27
Computer specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27
System Board Major Chips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28
Processor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28
Processor Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-29
CPU Fan True Value Table (Tj=100). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-29
CPU Fan True Value Table (Tj=85 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-29
VGA Fan True Value Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-30
System Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-30
Memory Combinations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-30

vi
Video Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-32
BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-32
LAN Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-33
Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-33
Hard Disk Drive (AVL components). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-34
Super-Multi Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-35
BD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-37
LED 18.4”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-38
Display Supported Resolution (LCD). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-39
Graphics Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-39
Display Supported Resolution (GPU) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-40
Bluetooth Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-40
Bluetooth Module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-41
Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-41
Mini Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-41
Audio Codec and Amplifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-42
Audio Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-43
Wireless Module 802.11b/g/n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-43
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-43
VRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
USB Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
HDMI Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
AC Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
System Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-45
Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-45
System LED Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-46
System DMA Specification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-47
System Interrupt Specification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-47
System IO Address Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-48
System I/O Address Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-51

vii
CHAPTER 2
System Utilities
BIOS Setup Utility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Navigating the BIOS Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4
Main . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Boot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Exit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
BIOS Flash Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
DOS Flash Utility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
WinFlash Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
HDD/BIOS Password Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Clearing HDD Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Clearing BIOS Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-21
Miscellaneous Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-23
Using Boot Sequence Selector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-23
Using DMI Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-24
Using the LAN MAC EEPROM Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-28
CHAPTER 3
Maintenance Procedures
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Recommended Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Screw Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Maintenance Flowchart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Dummy Card Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Dummy Card Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Logic Door Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Logic Door Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9
Battery Cable Removal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Battery Cable Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Lower Cover DIMM Module Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Lower Cover DIMM Module Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12
Main HDD (Hard Disk Drive) Module Removal. . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
HDD Module Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
HDD Brackets Removal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
HDD Brackets Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
WLAN Module Removal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15
WLAN Module Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15

viii
Touchpad Removal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16
Touchpad Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17
ODD (Optical Disk Drive) Module Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18
ODD Module Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20
Keyboard Assembly Removal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
Keyboard Assembly Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24
Keyboard Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26
Keyboard Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-27
Function Board Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-28
Function Board Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29
Upper Cover DIMM Module Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-30
Upper Cover DIMM Module Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-31
Power Board Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32
Power Board Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-32
Upper Cover Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-33
Upper Cover Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-37
Fingerprint Scanner Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-39
Fingerprint Scanner Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-40
Bluetooth Module Removal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-41
Bluetooth Module Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-42
USB Board Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-43
USB Board Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-44
DT Module Removal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45
DT Module Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-45
Mainboard Removal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-46
Mainboard Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-48
PCH Heatsink Removal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49
PCH Heatsink Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-49
RTC Battery Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50
RTC Battery Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-50
Thermal Assembly Removal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-51
Thermal Assembly Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-52
CPU Removal. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
CPU Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-53
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) Module Removal . . . . . . . . . . . 3-55
LCD Module Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-55
Speaker Module Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-56
Speaker Module Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-57
Battery Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-58
Battery Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-58
DC-IN Cable Removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-59
DC-IN Cable Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-59

ix
CHAPTER 4
Troubleshooting
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Power On Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
No Display Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
LCD Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
Keyboard Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
Touchpad Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
Internal Speaker Failure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10
Microphone Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12
USB Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Other Functions Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14
ODD Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15
Intermittent Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-21
Undetermined Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-21
Post Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-22
CHAPTER 5
Jumper and Connector Locations
Mainboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Clearing Password and BIOS Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Clearing Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
BIOS Recovery by Crisis Disk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
CHAPTER 6
FRU (Field Replaceable Unit) List
Exploded Diagrams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Main Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
FRU List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Screw List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-15
CHAPTER 7
Model Definition and Configuration
Aspire 8951G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-3

x
CHAPTER 8
Test Compatible Components
Microsoft® Windows® 7 Environment Test. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
Aspire 8951G. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
CHAPTER 9
Online Support Information
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3

CHAPTER 1
Hardware Specifications

1-2
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Operating System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
CPU and Chipset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Display. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Audio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Optical Media Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Webcam . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Wireless and Networking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Privacy Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Dimension and Weight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Power Adapter and Battery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Input and Control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Input and Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Optional Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Notebook Tour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Top View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Acer MediaRemote. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Front View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17
Left View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18
Right View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19
Base View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
Touchpad Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-21
Using the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22
Windows Keys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-23
Hotkeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-24
System Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-26
Specification Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27
Computer specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-27
System Board Major Chips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28
Processor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-28
Processor Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-29
CPU Fan True Value Table (Tj=100). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-29
CPU Fan True Value Table (Tj=85 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-29
VGA Fan True Value Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-30
System Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-30
Memory Combinations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-30
Video Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-32
BIOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-32
LAN Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-33
Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-33

1-3
Hard Disk Drive (AVL components). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-34
Super-Multi Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-35
BD Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-37
LED 18.4”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-38
Display Supported Resolution (LCD). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-39
Graphics Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-39
Display Supported Resolution (GPU) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-40
Bluetooth Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-40
Bluetooth Module. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-41
Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-41
Mini Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-41
Audio Codec and Amplifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-42
Audio Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-43
Wireless Module 802.11b/g/n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-43
Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-43
VRAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
USB Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
HDMI Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
AC Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-44
System Power Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-45
Card Reader . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-45
System LED Indicator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-46
System DMA Specification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-47
System Interrupt Specification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-47
System IO Address Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-48
System I/O Address Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-51

1-4

Hardware Specifications and Configurations 1-5
Hardware Specifications and Configurations
Features 0
The following is a summary of the computer’s many features:
Operating System 0
Genuine Windows®7 Ultimate 64-bit
Genuine Windows®7 Home Premium 64-bit
CPU and Chipset 0
Intel®Core™ i7-2820QM processor (8 MB L3 cache, 2.30 GHz with Turbo Boost up to
3.40 GHz, DDR3 1600 MHz, 45 W), i7-2630QM/i7-2720QM processor (6 MB L3 cache,
2/2.20 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.90/3.30 GHz, DDR3 1600 MHz, 45 W), supporting
Intel®64 architecture, Intel®Smart Cache
Intel®Core™ i5-2410M/i5-2520M/i5-2540M processor (3 MB L3 cache, 2.30/2.50/2.60
GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.90/3.20/3.30 GHz, DDR3 1333 MHz, 35 W), supporting
Intel®64 architecture, Intel® Smart Cache
Intel®Core™ i3-2310M processor (3 MB L3 cache, 2.10 GHz, DDR3 1333 MHz, 35W),
supporting Intel®64 architecture, Intel®Smart Cache
Mobile Intel®HM65 Express Chipset
Memory 0
Dual-channel DDR3 SDRAM support:
Up to 4 GB of DDR3 system memory, upgradable to 16 GB using four soDIMM
modules
Display 0
18.4" Full HD 1920 x 1080 resolution, high-brightness (220-nit), Acer CineCrystal™
LED-backlit TFT LCD
Mercury-free, environment-friendly
8 ms response time
60% color gamut
Frameless design
16:9 aspect ratio

1-6 Hardware Specifications and Configurations
Graphics 0
NVIDIA®GeForce®GT 555M with 2048 MB of dedicated DDR3 VRAM, supporting
NVIDIA®CUDA™, PhysX™, PureVideo®HD technology, OpenEXR High
Dynamic-Range (HDR) technology, Shader Model 5.0, Microsoft® DirectX®11
NVIDIA®GeForce®GT 540M with 1024 MB of dedicated DDR3 VRAM, supporting
NVIDIA®CUDA™, PhysX™, PureVideo®HD technology, OpenEXR High
Dynamic-Range (HDR) technology, Shader Model 5.0, Microsoft® DirectX®11
Dual independent display support
16.7 million colors
External resolution / refresh rates:
VGA port up to 2048 x 1536: 85 Hz
HDMI®port up to 1920 x 1080: 60 Hz
MPEG-2/DVD decoding
WMV9 (VC-1) and H.264 (AVC) decoding
MPEG-4 Part 2 DivX®decoding
HDMI®(High-Definition Multimedia Interface) with HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital
Content Protection) support
Audio 0
Optimized Dolby®Home Theater®v4 audio enhancement, featuring Audio Optimizer,
Audio Regulator, Volume Leveler, Volume Maximizer, Intelligent EQ, Dialogue
Enhancer, Surround Virtualizer for Headphones, Surround Virtualizer (for built-in
speakers), and Dolby®Digital Output technologies
Acer CineSurround with five built-in speakers and the Acer Tuba CineBass subwoofer
supporting low-frequency effects
True5.1-channel surround sound output
High-definition audio support
S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) support for digital speakers
MS-Sound compatible
Acer PureZone technology with two built-in stereo microphones, featuring beam
forming, echo cancellation, and noise suppression technologies
Storage 0
Hard disk drive
One or two 500/640/750 GB or larger
Multi-in-1 card reader, supporting:
Secure Digital™ (SD), SD Extended Capacity (SDXC™) Card, MultiMediaCard™
(MMC), MultiMediaCard Plus (MMCplus™), Memory Stick™ (MS), Memory Stick
PRO™ (MS PRO), xD-Picture Card™ (xD)

Hardware Specifications and Configurations 1-7
Optical Media Drive 0
4X Blu-ray Disc™ writer / DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive:
Read: 24X CD-ROM, 24X CD-R, 24X CD-RW, 8X DVD-ROM, 8X DVD-R, 8X
DVD+R, 6X DVD-ROM DL, 6X DVD-R DL, 6X DVD+R DL, 8X DVD-RW, 8X
DVD+RW, 5X DVD-RAM, 4X BD-ROM, 4X BD-R, 4X BD-RE, 4X BD-ROM DL, 4X
BD-R DL
Write: 24X CD-R, 10X CD-RW, 8X DVD-R, 8X DVD+R, 6X DVD-RW, 6X DVD+RW,
5X DVD-RAM, 4X DVD+R DL, 4X DVD-R DL, 4X BD-R, 2X BD-RE, 4X BD-R DL
4X Blu-ray Disc™ / DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive:
Read: 24X CD-ROM, 24X CD-R, 16X CD-RW, 8X DVD-ROM, 8X DVD-R, 8X
DVD+R, 4X DVD-ROM DL, 4X DVD-R DL, 4X DVD+R DL, 4X DVD-RW, 4X
DVD+RW, 5X DVD-RAM, 4X BD-ROM, 4X BD-R, 4X BD-RE, 4X BD-ROM DL, 4X
BD-R DL, 4X BD-RE DL
Write: 16X CD-R, 10X CD-RW, 8X DVD-R, 8X DVD+R, 4X DVD-RW, 4X DVD+RW,
5X DVD-RAM, 4X DVD+R DL, 4X DVD-R DL
8X DVD-Super Multi double-layer drive:
Read: 24X CD-ROM, 24X CD-R, 24X CD-RW, 8X DVD-ROM, 8X DVD-R, 8X
DVD+R, 6X DVD-ROM DL, 4X DVD-R DL, 4X DVD+R DL, 6X DVD-RW, 6X
DVD+RW, 5X DVD-RAM
Write: 24X CD-R, 16X CD-RW, 8X DVD-R, 8X DVD+R, 4X DVD-R DL, 4X DVD+R
DL, 6X DVD-RW, 8X DVD+RW, 5X DVD-RAM
Webcam 0
Acer Video Conference, featuring:
Acer Crystal Eye HD webcam with:
1280 x 1024 resolution
720p HD audio/video recording
Certified Skype™ HD video streaming
Acer Video Conference Manager software with Video Quality Enhancement (VQE)
technology, supporting online video calls
Acer PureZone technology
Wireless and Networking 0
WLAN:
Acer InviLink™ Nplify™ 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™
Acer InviLink™ 802.11b/g Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™
Supporting Acer SignalUp™ wireless technology
WPAN:
Bluetooth®3.0+HS
LAN:
Gigabit Ethernet, Wake-on-LAN ready

1-8 Hardware Specifications and Configurations
Privacy Control 0
Acer Bio-Protection fingerprint solution, featuring Pre-Boot Authentication (PBA),
computer protection, Acer FingerLaunch
BIOS user, supervisor, HDD passwords
Kensington lock slot
Dimension and Weight 0
Dimensions
440 (W) x 295 (D) x 30.85/38.35 (H) mm (17.34 x 11.62 x 1.21/1.51 inches)
Weight
3.9 kg (8.60 lbs.) with embedded 8-cell battery
Power Adapter and Battery 0
ACPI 3.0 CPU power management standard: supports Standby and Hibernation
power-saving modes
Power Adapter
3-pin 120 W AC adapter:
155 (W) x 67 (D) x 36.5 (H) mm (6.1 x 2.63 x 1.43 inches)
570 g (1.25 lbs.) with 180 cm DC cable
Embedded Battery
Acer PowerSmart long-life battery, supporting up to 1,000 charge cycles
83 Wh 6000 mAh 8-cell Li-ion standard battery pack
Battery life: 5.5 hours
ENERGY STAR®
Input and Control 0
103-/104-/107-key backlit back-mounted keyboard with independent standard numeric
keypad, international language support
Touchpad
Acer MediaRemote detachable touchpad with Media Console mode
Media keys
Touch-sensitive Media Console, featuring:
Video, music shortcuts
Media controls: play/pause, stop, previous, next, volume up, volume down
Control keys
Instant-on Acer Arcade™ Deluxe support
Acer programmable key
Dedicated keyboard backlight control key
Communication key
Acer Bio-Protection fingerprint reader

Hardware Specifications and Configurations 1-9
Input and Output 0
Multi-in-1 card reader (SD™, SDXC™, MMC, MMCplus™, MS, MS PRO, xD)
USB 3.0 port featuring power-off USB charging
Three USB 2.0 ports
eSATA / USB 2.0 port
IEEE 1394 port
HDMI® port with HDCP support
External display (VGA) port
Headphone/speaker jack with S/PDIF support
Microphone-in jack
Line-in jack
Ethernet (RJ-45) port
DC-IN jack for AC adapter
Environment 0
Temperature
Operating: 5°C to 35°C
Non-operating: -20°C to 65°C
Humidity (non-condensing)
Operating: 20% to 80%
Non-operating: 20% to 80%
Software 0
Productivity
Acer Backup Manager
Acer ePower Management
Acer eRecovery Management
Adobe®Flash®Player 10.1
Adobe®Reader®9.1
AUPEO! (US only)
Bing™ Bar
eSobi™
Kobo™ (Canada only)
Microsoft®Office 2010 preloaded (purchase a product key to activate)
Microsoft®Office Starter 2010
New York Times Reader (US only)
NOOK for PC (US only)
Norton™ Online Backup

1-10 Hardware Specifications and Configurations
Security
Acer Bio-Protection
McAfee®Internet Security Suite Trial
MyWinLocker®(except China, Hong Kong)
Multimedia
Acer clear.fi
Acer InstantOn Arcade
NTI Media Maker™
Gaming
Oberon GameZone (except US, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea)
WildTangent®(US, Canada only)
Communication and ISP
Acer Crystal Eye
Acer Video Conference Manager
Microsoft®Silverlight™
Skype™
Windows Live™ Essentials 2011
Web links and utilities
Acer Accessory Store (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden,
UK only)
Acer Identity Card
Acer Registration
Acer Updater
eBay®shortcut 2009 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, UK, US only)
Netflix shortcut (US only)
Optional Items 0
1/2/4 GB DDR3 soDIMM module
500/640/750 GB hard disk drive
3-pin 120 W AC adapter
Warranty 0
One-year International Travelers Warranty (ITW)