Acer TravelMate -550 User manual

TravelMate α
αα
α-550
Service Guide
PART NO.: HLX.0550.001
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 TravelMate α-550 service guide.
Date Chapter Updates

III
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 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

VII
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 System Specifications 1
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
System Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Board Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Top View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Bottom View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Outlook View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Front View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Left Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Right Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Rear Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Bottom Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Lock Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Embedded Numeric Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Windows Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Hot Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Keyboard Ergonomics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Touchpad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Touchpad Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Launch Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Hardware Specifications and Configurations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Chapter 2 System Utilities 37
BIOS Setup Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Navigating the BIOS Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Main . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
System Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Others . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Boot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Exit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
BIOS Flash Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
System Utility Diskette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
System Diagnostic Diskette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Running Diagnostics Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Chapter 3 Machine Disassembly and Replacement 51
General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Disassembly Procedure Flowchart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Removing the HDD Module/Thermal Module/CPU and DVD-ROM . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Removing the LCD Module/the Keyboard and the System Window . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Removing the LCD Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Removing the keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Removing the system window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Disassembling the Main Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Separate the main unit into the logic upper and the logic lower assembly . . . 58
Disassembling the logic upper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Disassembling the logic lower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Disassembling the LCD Module-15 Inch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Disassembling the External Modules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Disassembling the HDD Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Disassembling the Floppy Disk Drive Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

VIII
Table of Contents
Disassembling the DVD-ROM Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Chapter 4 Troubleshooting 65
System Check Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
External Diskette Drive Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
External CD-ROM Drive Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Keyboard or Auxiliary Input Device Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Memory Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Power System Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Touchpad Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Power-On Self-Test (POST) Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Index of Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Index of Symptom-to-FRU Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Intermittent Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Undetermined Problems 77
Index of AFlash BIOS Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Index of PQA Diagnostic Error Code, Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Chapter 5 Jumper and Connector Locations 81
Top View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
SW1 Settings (Lid switch) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
SW2 Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Bottom View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Chapter 6 FRU (Field Replaceable Unit) List 99
Appendix A Model Definition and Configuration 116
Main Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Appendix B Test Compatible Components 119
Microsoft Windows XP Environment Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Appendix C Online Support Information 121
Index 123

Chapter 1 1
Features
This computer was designed with the user in mind. Here are just a few of its many features:
Performance
❑Intel®PentiumTM III or Intel®CeleronTM processor with one-die level 2 cache
❑128 MB memory onboard and one memory upgrade slot
❑Large LCD display with adjustable video memory
❑High-capacity, Enhanced-IDE hard disk
❑Lithium-Ion main battery pack
❑Power management system
❑DualView capability
❑Simultaneous LCD and CRT display
Display
❑14.1” Thin-Film Transistor (TFT) liquid-crystal display (LCD) displaying 16.7 million colors at
1024X768 eXtended Graphics Array (XGA) resolution -or- 15.0” TFT LCD displaying 16.7 million
colors at 1400X1050 Super eXtended Graphics Array Plus (SXGA+) resolution
❑AGP 4X support
❑Video memory allocaton from main memory (BIOS)
❑Simultaneous LCD and CRT display
Multimedia
❑16-bit high-fidelity stereo audio with 3-D sound
❑Built-in dual stereo speakers
❑Internal optical drive (CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or DVD/CD-RW combo)
❑Audio DJ (CD playback) feature
❑S-video (NTSC/PAL) output
Connectivity
❑High-speed 56Kbps V.90 fax/data software modem
❑Ethernet/Fast Ethernet (10/100 Mbps)
❑CarBus PC Card slots
❑Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports
❑IEEE 1394 port
System Specifications
Chapter 1

2Chapter 1
Human-centric design and ergonomics
❑All-in-one design (CD or DVD, floppy drive, and hard disk)
❑Sleek, smooth and stylish design
❑Full-sized keyboard
❑Wide and curved palm rest
❑Ergonomically-centered touchpad pointing device
❑Launch keys (supports Audio DJ feature)
Expansion
❑Upgradeable memory and hard disk
Keyboard and Pointing Device
❑85-/86-key Windows keyboard
❑Ergonomically-centered touchpad pointing device
I/O Ports
❑One type III or two typeII/I PC Card slots (PCMCIA, CardBus)
❑One RJ-11 modem jack (V.90, 56K)
❑One RJ-45 network jack (Ethernet 10/100)
❑One DC-in jack
❑One parallel port (ECP/EPP)
❑One external monitor port
❑One keyboard/mouse port (PS/2)
❑One speaker/headphone-out jack (3.5mm minijack)
❑One microphone-in jack (3.5mm minijack)
❑One video-out jack (S-video)
❑Two Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports
❑One IEEE 1394 port

Chapter 1 3
System Block Diagram
PCI BUS
ISA BUS
Clock Generator
SO-DIMM 0
(Bank 2,3)
USB Port 0,1
VT686B
CardBus
OZ6933
HCLK_CPU
CLK_SDRAM0
PCLK_PCM
PCLK_1394
PCLK_SB
48MHZ
14MOSC
14MCRT/14.3M_TV
14MOSC
SA(0..15)
SD(0..15)
DCLKO
Twister PN-133T
(VT8606)
Y1
14.318MHZ
DCLKWR
AD(0..31)
HD#(0..63)HA#(3..31)
Mini PCI
Socket
TFT Panel
Interface
TV_OUT
Connector
INTEL FC-PGA370
System Block Diagram
Power Circuit
DC/DC
Slot 0&1
DC/DC Interface
RTC Battery
Pull Up/Down
Resistor
IDE Damping
Resistor
IDE Connector
(FDD/HDD/CR-ROM)
BIOS
KBD
Touch Pad
KeyBoard
87570
I/O Buffer
AC97
Interface
On Board
64/128MB
(Bank 0)
MD(0..63)
MA(0..13)
Memory Damping
Resistor
CLK_SDRAM2,3
PIO
Power On/Off
Reset Circuit
ICS 9248-195
IEEE 1394
Slot 0
PCIGNT#/PCIREQ#
PIRQA#
HCLK_NB
CRT
Connector
PIRQA#/PIRQB#
GNT#3/REQ#3
AD15
PIRQC#
GNT#2/REQ#2
AD24
PIRQB#/PIRQD#
GNT#0/REQ#0
GNT#1/REQ#1
AD27/AD28
DIRECT
CD-PLAY
FUNCTION
IDE CHANNEL
1
FIR
PCLK_MINI
PCLK_NB
APICCLK

4Chapter 1
Board Layout
Top View
1 Power On/Off LID switch 5 Software debug only, normally shipping on
this connector
2 LCD connector 6 FDD connector
3 LID switch 7 Internal keyboard connector
4 System board connector 8 Switch board connector

Chapter 1 5
Bottom View
1 Mini PCI connector 9 So-DIMM connector for SDRAM only
2 1394 Connector 10 CPU fan connector
3 CPU socket for FC-PGA370 11 PCMCIA socket connector
4 CD-ROM connector 12 Battery connector
5 Print port connector 13 AC adapter input connector
6 CRT connector 14 PS/2 keyboard and PS/2 mouse connector
7 TV out connector for S-video only 15 USB connector
8 HDD connector 16 USB connector

6Chapter 1
Outlook View
A general introduction of ports allow you to connect peripheral devices, as you would with a desktop PC.
Front View

Chapter 1 7
#Icon Item Description
1 1 Display screen Also called LCD (liquid-crystal display),
displays computer output.
2 Power button Turns on the computer power.
3 Status LCD LCD that display icons to show the status
of the computer and its functions and
components.
4 Keyboard Inputs data into your computer.
5 Touchpad Touch-sensitive pointing device which
functions like a computer mouse.
6 Click buttons (left and
right)
The left and right buttons function like the
left and right mouse buttons.
7 Launch keys Buttons for launching frequently-used
programs. Please seee User’s Guide
“Launch keys” on page 22 for more details.
8 Status indicators Shows the power and email status.
9 Speaker Outputs sound.
10 Palmrest Comfortable support area for your hands
when you use the computer.
11 Floppy drive Accepts a 3.65-inch diskette.
12 Floppy drive eject
button
Press to eject the diskette from the floppy
drive.

8Chapter 1
Left Panel
#Icon Item Description
1 Optical drive Depending on your model:
--CD-ROM drive reads CDs
--DVD-ROM drive reads CDs and DVDs
--DVD/CD-RW combo drive reads CDs and
DVDs, and writes to CD-Rs and CD-RWs.
2 Optical drive eject
button
Ejects the disc from the optical drive.
3 Optical drive
emergency eject hole
Eject the disc from the optical drive when
the computer is turned off. See User’s
Guide “How do I eject the optical drive tray
with the computer turned off?” on page 78
fo more details.

Chapter 1 9
Right Panel
#Icon Item Description
1 Speaker/headphone-
out jack
Connects to audio line-out devices (e.g.,
speakers, headphones).
2 Microphone-in jack Connects and external microphone.
3 PC Card eject buttons Eject the selected PC Card from its slot.
4 PC Card slots Accepts one Type III or two TypeII/I PC
Card(s).
5 DC-in jack Connects to the AC adapter.
6 PS/2 port Connects toa PS/2-compatible device
(e.g., PS/2 keyboard/mouse/keypad).
7 USB port (two) Connects to the USB devices (e.g., USB
mouse).

10 Chapter 1
Rear Panel
#Icon Item Description
1 Security keylock Connects to a Kensington-compatible
computer security lock.
2 IEEE 1394 port Connects to a IEEE 1394 compatible
device (e.g., digital camcorder).
3 Network jack Connects to an Ethernet 10/100-based
network.
4 Modem jack Connects a phone line (only for models
with an internal fax/data modem).
5 Parallel port Connects to a parallel device (e.g., parallel
printer).
6 External display port Connects t a display monitor.
7 Video-out port Connects to a display device with S-video
input.

Chapter 1 11
Bottom Panel
#Icon Item Description
1 Hard disk bay Houses the computer’s hard disk.
2 Battery release button Press and hold to release the battery latch.
3 Battery release latch Unlatches the battery to remove the battery
pack.
4 Battery bay Houses the computer’s battery pack.
5 Memory compartment Houses the computer’s main memory.

12 Chapter 1
Indicators
The computer has an easy-to-read status LCD (1) located above the keyboard. Two status indicators, power
(2), and email (3) are located near the front of the computer.
The status LCD displays icons that show the status of the ocmpouter and its components..
Icon Function Description
Caps lock Caps Lock is activated.
Num lock Numeric Lock (for embedded keypad) is
activated.
Pad lock Pad Lock (for embedded keypad) is
activated.
Scroll lock Scroll Lock is activated.
Optical drive/Hard disk
activity
CD or DVD drive or hard disk is being
accessed.
Floppy drive activity Floppy drive is being accessed.
PC Card activity PC Card is being accessed.