Acer Aspire 9800 User manual

Aspire 9800 Series
Service Guide
PRINTED IN TAIWAN
Service guide files and updates are available
on the ACER/CSD web; for more information,
please refer to http://csd.acer.com.tw

II
Revision History
Please refer to the table below for the updates made on Aspire 9800 service guide.
Date Chapter Updates

III
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 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.
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 and Pentium II/III are trademarks of Intel Corporation.
Other brand and product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

IV
Conventions
The following conventions are used in this manual:
SCREEN MESSAGES Denotes actual messages that appear
on screen.
NOTE Gives bits and pieces of additional
information related to the current
topic.
WARNING Alerts you to any 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.

V
Preface
Before using this information and the product it supports, please read the following general information.
1. 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.
2. 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.

VI

Chapter 1 1
Features
Below is a brief summary of the computer’s many feature:
Operating system
TGenuine Windowsl®VistaTM Capable
TGenuine Windowsl®XP Home Edition (Service Pack 2)
TGenuine Windowsl®XP Media Center Edition 2005 (Rollup 2)
NOTE: Windowsl®VistaTM Capable PCs come with Windows®XP installed, and can be upgraded to
Windows®VistaTM. For more information on Windows®VistaTM and how to upgrade, go to:
Microsoft.com/windowsvista.
Platform and memroy
TIntel®Centrino®Duo mobile technology, featuring:
tIntel®CoreTM Duo processor T2300/T2400/T2500/T2600 (2 MB L2 cache, 1.66/1.83/2/2.16 GHz, 667 MHz
FSB) or higher
tIntel®945PM Express chipset
TIntegrated Intel®PRO/Wireless 3945ABG network connection (dual-band tri-mode 802.11a/b/g)
Wi-Fi CERTIFIEDTM solution, supporting Acer SignalUpTM wireless technology
TCore logic: Intel®945PM+ICH7M (north bridge+ south bridge)
TUp to 2GB of DDR2 677 MHz memory, upgradeable to 4GB using two soDIMM moules (dual-
channel support)
Display and graphics
T20.1” WSXGA+ high-brightness Acer CrystalBriteTM TFT LCD, 1680 x 1050 pixel resolution, 6
lamps
T19” WXGA+ high-brightness Acer CrystalBriteTM TFT LCD, 1440 x 900 pixel resolution, 4 lamps
T16 ms typical of/off and 8 ms average gray-to-gray response time
TSimultaneous multi-window viewing via Acer VistaTM supported
TNVIDIA®GeForce®Go 7600 with up to 512MB TurboCacheTM (256 MB of dedicated GDDR2
VRAM and up to 256 MB of shared system memory) or,
TNVIDIA®GeForce®Go 7300 with up to 256MB TurboCacheTM (128 MB of dedicated GDDR2
VRAM and up to 128 MB of shared system memory)
TSupporting NVIDIA®PureVideoTM technology (WMV HD, High-Definition MPEG-2 Hardware
Acceleration, integrated HDTV encoder) dual-link DVI, Microsoft®DirectX®9.0, Shader Model 3.0,
OpenEXR Hight Dynamic Range (HDR) technology, NVIDIA®PowerMizerTM 6.0 and PCI
Express®
TDual independent display
T16.7 million colors (20.1” LCD model)
T16.2 million colors (19” LCD model)
TMPEG-2/DVD hardware-assisted capability
TS-video/TV-out (NTSC/PAL) support
System Specifications
Chapter 1

2Chapter 1
TDVI-D (ture digital video interface) with HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) support
TAcer ArcadeTM featuring Acer CinemaVisionTM and Acer ClearVision technologies
TV-tuner
TAcer TV-tunver options:
tAnalog TV-tuner supporting hardware MPEG-2 stream encding
tDigital and analog hybrid TV-tuner supporting hardware MPEG-2 stream encoding
tDigital and analog hybrid TV-tuner supporting software MPEG-2 stream encoding
TAnalog TV-tuner supporting international analog TV standards (NTSC/PAL/SECAM)
TDigital TV-tuner supporting DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting Terrestrial) standard (6 MHz to
8MHz)
TTV-tuner I/O:
tRF jack for digital/analog TV antenna cable input
tAV-in port for composite/S-video/line-in audio/video input
TTV-tuner cables:
tPAL cable for digital/analog TV input, PAL/SECAM to NTSC port converter
tMini DIN cable: RCA jack and S-video port for audio/video input
TAcer DVB-T antenna (UHF/VHF reception) supporting Acer SignaUpTM wireless technology
Audio
TAudio system with two built-in Acer 3DSonic (1.5W) stereo speakers and one Acer BasSonic
Subwoofer
TDolby®Digital Live and DTS Neo: PC support
TIntel®High Definition audio support
TS/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface) support for digital speakers (1.5W)
TSound Blaster ProTM and MS Sound compatible
TTwo built-in stereo microphone
Storage subsystem
TOne or two 80/100/120 GB Serial ATA hard disk drive, supporting software RAID 0/1
TOptical drive options: DVD-Super Mulit double-layer drive (slot-load)
T5-in-1 card reader, supporting Secure Digital (SD), MultiMediaCard (MMC), Memory Stick®(MS),
Memory Stick PROTM (MS PRO), xD-Picture CardTM (xD)
Input devices
T88/89-key Acer FineTouchTM keyboard with 5-degree curve
TTouchpad with 4-way scroll button
TFour easy-launch buttons
TTwo front-access switches: WLAN LED and Bluetooth®LED-switches (for selected models)
Communication
TAcer Video Conference, featuring Voice and Video over Internet Protocol (VVoIP) support via Acer
OrbiCamTM and optional Acer Bluetooth®VoIP phone
TAcer OrbiCamTM 1.3 megapixel CMOS camera, featuring:
t30 degree ergonomic rotation
tAcer VisageOnTM technology

Chapter 1 3
tAcer PrimaLiteTM technology
TModem: 56K ITU V.92 modem with PTT approval; wake-on ring ready
TLAN: gigabit Ethernet; wake-on-LAN ready
TWPAN: Bluetooth®2.0+EDR (Enhanced Data Rate)
TWLAN: Intel®PRO/Wireless 3945ABG network connection (dual-band tri-mode 802.11a/b/g) Wi-
Fi®CERTIFIEDTM solution, supporting Acer SignalUpTM wireless technology
I/O Ports
TExpressCardTM/54 slot
TPC Card slot (one Type II)
T5-in-1 card reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO/xD)
TFour USB 2.0 ports
TDVI-D port with HDCP support
TIEEE 1394 port
TConsumer infrared (CIR) port
TFast infrared (FIR) port
TExternal display (VGA) port
TS-video/TV-out (NTSC/PAL) port
TAV-in port
TTV-tuner antenna-in port
THeadphones/speaker/line-out port with S/PDIF support
TMicrophone-in jack
TLine-in jack
TParallel port
TSerial port
TEthernet (RJ-45) port
TModem (RJ-11) port
TDC-in jack for AC adaptor
NOTE: HDCP is acronym for High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection. An encryption system for enforcing
digital rights management (DRM) over DVI and HDMI interfaces
Environment
TTemperature:
toperating: 5 C to 35 C
tNon-operating: -20 C to 65 C
THumidity (non-condensing):
toperating: 20%~80%
tNon-operating: 20%~80%
°°
°°

4Chapter 1
System Block Diagram
M P.59
M P.59
A P.2
A P.2
A P.2
A P.2
T P.1
I P.3 I P.3
HDD
PATA
M P.53
M P.53
LPC47N217
OPTION
M P.38
M P.39
M P.38
M P.37
M P.38
M P.50
M P.60
M P.13
M P.25
M P.26
M P.52
M P.18
M P.49
M P.47
M P.53
M P.39M P54 & I P.1 M P.55 M P.46 M P.51
M P.56
A P.1
M P.60
M P.46
M P40-44
M P.62
I P.2
M P.57
M P.58
M P.59
SATA
USB2.0 PORT
MDC
MAX_9713
LPC 3.3V 33MHZ
AV IN
M P.28-31
PORT
652 BGA
LINE OUT
North Bridge
1466 uFCBGA
SUPER I/O & KBC
ANT
Jack
Two
M P.30
HDD
CardBus
OPTION
M P.53
HD Codec
HP Jack
M P.53
M P.51
PRINTER
SIZE
PCI Bus
TITLE
Audio Board
Controller
M P32-36
HDD
Controller
ANT
8 Cell
x4
SIL3512E
USB 2.0
RAID
I/O BOARD
KB / LED
MAX_MAX9714
88E8055
MINI PCI
MIC IN
Batt Charger
HDCP
ROM
M P.48
M P.45
MDC 1.5
M P.57
I P.3
CPU
YONAH/MEROM
(No USB)
PORT
M P19-24
M P.14-17
BIOS
\SPDIF\
INTEL PRO
Jack
DSC
COM
CONN
PCIE
LOM
PCI_Express Bus
2 PICK BUTTON/
4 WAY
DVI
Azalia
VRAM
CODE
DDR2 533/667
CD-ROM
DDR2_SODIMM0
DDR2_SODIMM1
MS,MS-P,SD.SD-IO,XD,MMC
BLUETOOTH
MIC
ADM1032
HDMI
Sub
NVG73M/G72MV
CLK GEN
Express Card
* 8(4) PCS
MAX
ICS9LPR316
Woofer
SATA
WIRELESS 3945ABG
KBC1122
REAL_ALC883DD-GR
31W/34W
Ultra ATA-100
6 IN 1 SLOT
VGA
South Bridge
ANT
PSB
SATA
9722
S-Video
LPC 3.3V 33MHZ
CIR / FIR
TOUCH PAD
LINE IN
Internal Array
LCM
MARVELL
Controller
DOC. NUMBER
DDR2 533/667
RJ45
RJ11 CNTR
MAIN BATT
CRT
THERMAL SENSOR
1394 CONN X 1
& FAN
Speakers
TV TUNER
Calistoga
1.5*3A TAPE
ICH7-M
Azalia
SMSC
TI PCI7412
Aspire 9800
CS
A3 Model_No 000
RE
V
AMP
Mini Card
VER 2.0
PCMCIA
TYPE II
Mini Card
HDD
DMI
PWR Board
SUPPORT 0,1

Chapter 1 5
Board Layout
Top View
1 JACK1 AV-in Jack 20 CN29 PATA HDD Connector
2 CN1 TV Antenna Connector 21 CN30 SATA HDD Connector
3 CN2 S-Video Connector 22 U23 North Bridge
4 CN509 Card Bus Socket 23 U33 RAID Controller
5 CN3 S-Video Connector 24 U37 Timing Controller
6 CN4 HDMI Connector 25 CN13 CPU Socket
7 U6 Video Memory 26 CN28 SATA HDD Connector
8 CN5 I/O Board to Main Board
Connector
27 CN24 BIOS Flash Memory
9 U7 Video Memory 28 U515 Audio Codec
10 CN8 DVI-D Port 29 CN20 Mini PCI Socket
11 U14 Graphic Controller 30 CN23 Mini Card Connector
12 U9 DDR2 SDRAM IC 31 CN26 Media Board Connector
13 U15 DDR2 SDRAM IC 32 CN22 Wireless LAN Card Connector
14 JACK2 Microphone Jack 33 CN21 USB Connector
15 U11 Ethernet Controller 34 CN19 USB Connector
16 CN15 DIMM Socket 35 CN16 USB Connector
17 CN14 DIMM Socket 36 CN11 IEEE port
18 CN18 Optical Disk Drive Connector 37 U25 PCI cardbus/Media Board/1394 IC
19 U39 South Bridge

6Chapter 1
Bottom View
1 U504 LAN Transformer GSN 5009 9 CN4000 Touchpad Connector (Touchpad
to main board)
2 CN502 Launch Board Connector 10 CN4001 6-pin Touchpad Board Connector
3 U503 Video Memory 11 CN504 Audio Board Connector
4 U502 Video Memory 12 CN506 DDR2 SDRAM IC
5 CN4002 LCD Connector 13 CN5001 Hotkey Board Connector
6 CN3000 Hotkey Board Connector 14 CN5000 Main Board to Media Board
Connector
7 CN503 Express Card Slot 15 CN505 Touchpad Board Connector
8 CN507 DDR2 SDRAM IC

Chapter 1 7
Your Acer Notebook tour
After knowing your computer features, let us show you around your new Aspire computer.
Front View
#Icon Item Description
1 Built-in camera 1.3 megapixel web camera for video
communication.
2 Display screen Also called Liquid-Crystal Display (LCD),
displays computer output.
3 Media/volume buttons For use with Acer Arcade and other mdeia
playing programs.
4/8 Microphone Internal microphone for sound recording.
5 Touchpad Touch-sensitive pointing device which
functions like a computer mouse.
6 Click buttons (left,
center and right)
The left and right buttons function like the
left and right mouse buttons; the center
button serves as a 4-way scroll button.
7 Palmrest Comfortable support area for your hands
when you use the computer.
9 Keyboard For entering data into your computer.

8Chapter 1
Closed Front View
10/11 Easy-launch buttons Buttons for launching frequently used
programs.
12 Power button Turns the computer on and off.
#Icon Item Description
1 Speaker Left and right speakers deliver stereo audio
output.
2 Infrared port/CIR
receiver
Interfaces with infrared devices (e.g,
infrared printer and IR-aware computer)/
Receives signals from a remote control.
3 Line-in jack Accepts audio line-in devices (e.g., audio
CD player, stereo walkman).
4 Microphone-in jack Accepts input from external microphones.
5 Headphones/speaker/
line-out jack with S/
PDIF support
Connects to audio line-out devices (e.g.,
speakers, headphones).
6 Power indicator Indicates the computer’s power status.
7 Battery indicator Indicates the computer’s battery status.
8Bluetooth®
communication button/
indicator
Enables/disables the Bluetooth®function.
Indicates the status of Bluetooth
communication.
9 Wireless
communication button/
indicator
Enables/disables the wireless function.
Indicates the status of wireless LAN
communication.
"Easy-launch buttons" on page 18
# Icon Item Description
# Item Description
"Easy-launch buttons" on page 18
# Icon Item Description
# Item Description

Chapter 1 9
Left View
Right View
#Icon Item Description
1 USB 2.0 ports Connects to USB 2.0 devices (e.g., USB
mouse, USB camera).
2 Modem (RJ-11) port Connects to a phone line.
3 Optical drive Internal optical drive; accepts CDs or DVDs
(slot-load or tray-load depending on
model).
4 Optical disk access
indicator
Lights up when the optical drive is active.
5 Optical drive eject
button
Ejects the optical disk from the drive.
6 Emergency eject hole Ejects the optical drive tray when the
computer is turned off.
7 Latch Locks and releases the lid.
#Icon Item Description
1 Latch Locks and releases the lid.
2 5-in-1 card reader Accepts Secure Digital (SD),
MultiMediaCard (MMC), Memory Stick
(MS), Memory Stick PRO (MS PRO), xD-
Picture Card (xD).
# Icon Item Description
Note:

10 Chapter 1
Rear view
3 3 USB 2.0 ports Connect to USB 2.0 devices (e.g., USB
mouse, USB camera).
4 4-pin IEEE 1394 port Connects to IEEE 1394 devices.
5 PC Card slot eject
button
Ejects the PC Card from the slot.
6 PC Card slot Accepts one Type II PC Card.
7 Express Card/54 slot Accepts and ExpressCard/34 module
Note: ExpressCards are third generation of
PC cards, hot-swapable and smaller than
previous PC Cards. Designed for both
desktop and mobile use, ExpressCards
use either USB 2.0 or a single lane PCI
Express technology that provides 500
Mbytes/sec total throughput. Formerly
code named "NEWCARD," ExpressCards
are 5 mm thick like Type II PC Cards, but
do not use the same 86x54 mm footprint.
ExpressCards come in 75x54 mm and
75x34 mm sizes. Express Card/54 slot
means this notebook accepts 75x54mm
ExpressCards.
#Icon Item Description
1 DC-in jack Connects to an AC adapter.
2 TV-in port Accepts input signals from analog/digital
TV-tuner devices (for selected models).
3 AV-in port Accepts input signals from audio/video
(AV) devices (manufacturing option).
4 Kensington lock slot Connects to a Kensington-compatible
computer security lock.

Chapter 1 11
Base view
5 Ventilation slots Enable the computer to stay cool, even
after prolonged use.
6 S-video/TV-out
(NTSC/PAL) port
Connects to a television or display
device with S-video input.
7 External display
(VGA) port
Connects to a display device (e.g.,
external monitor, LCD projector).
8 DVI-D port Supports digital video connections.
9 Ethernet (RJ-45) Connects to an Ethernet 10/100/1000-
based network (for selected models).
10 Parallel port Connects to a printer.
11 Serial port Connects to a serial device.
#Item Description
1 Ventilation slots and
cooling fan
Enable the computer to stay cool, even
after prolonged use.
Note: Do not cover or obstruct the opening
of the fan.
#Icon Item Description
# Icon Item Description

12 Chapter 1
Indicators
The computer has several easy-to-read status indicators.
The front panel indicators are visible even when the computer cover is closed up.
2 Memory compartment Houses the computer’s main memory.
3 Battery lock Locks the battery in position.
4 Battery release latch Releases the battery for removal.
5 Battery bay Houses the computer’s battery pack.
6 Hard disk bay Houses the computer’s hard disk (secured
with screws)
7 Sub woofer Emits low frequency sound output.
Icon Function Description
Standby Indicates the computer’s standby status.
HDD Indicates when the hard disc or optical
drive is active.
Cap lock Lights when Cap Lock is activated
Num lock Lights when Num Lock is activated.
Power Lights up when the computer is on.
Icon Function Description
Icon Function Description

Chapter 1 13
NOTE: 1. Charging: The light shows amber when the battery is charging. 2. Fully charged: The light shows
green when in AC mode.
Easy-Launch Buttons
Located above the keyboard are four buttons. These buttons are called easy-launch buttons. They are: mail
Web browser, Empowering Key “ “and one user-programmable button.
Press “ “ to run the Acer Empowering Technology. The mail and Web browser buttons are pre-set to email
and Internet programs, but can be reset by users. To set the Web browser, mail and programmable buttons,
run the Acer Launch Manager.
Battery Lights up when the battery is being
charged.
Bluetooth Indicates the status of Bluetooth
communication.
Wireless LAN Indicates the status of wireless LAN
communication.
Launch key Default application
Acer Empowering Technology (user-programmable)
P User-programmable
Web browser Internet browser (user-programmable)
Mail Email application (user-programmable)
Icon Function Description

14 Chapter 1
Touchpad Basics
The following teaches you how to use the touchpad:
TMove your finger across the touchpad (2) to move the cursor.
TPress the left (1) and right (4) buttons located beneath the touchpad to perform selection and
execution functions. These two buttons are similar to the left and right buttons on a mouse.
Tapping on the touchpad is the same as clicking the left button.
TUse the 4-way scroll (3) button to scroll up or down and move left or right a page. This button
mimics your cursor pressing on the right scroll bar of Windows applications.
NOTE: When using the touchpad, keep it - and your infers - dry and clean. The touchpad is sensitive to finger
movements; hence, the lighter the touch, the better the response. Tapping too hard will not increase the
touchpad’s responsiveness.
Function Left Button (1) Right Button
(4)
Main touchpad
(2) Center button (3)
Execute Click twice
quickly
Tap twice (at
the same speed
as double-
clicking the
mouse button)
Select Click once Tap once
Drag Click and hold,
then use finger
on the touchpad
to drag the
cursor.
Tap twice (at
the same speed
as double-
clicking a
mouse button);
rest your finger
on the touchpad
on the second
tap and drag
the cursor.
Access context
menu
Click once
Scroll Click and hold to move
up/down/left/right.