Acer aspire laptop not working properly

bjbyorkshire

This laptop, is model 5532. I've had it for around 6 yrs. it's given me good service but for a long time now has been giving me trouble with opening and viewing any files.

It is at the moment just circling round and round after I have logged on and asked it to open a document saved on an external hard drive. The box says that the computer is not responding. This happens all the time. Usually if I wait long enough it eventually does respond but today, nada! Nothing. I can't even switch off with Ctr /alt/ delete.

I will probably buy a new laptop rather than spend money on this one but can anyone tell me if it is possible to view pictures and documents saved on a hard drive on an I pad mini?

My i pad does everything else I want to do except view these photos.

any thoughts please?

flashg67

I can't be 100% but think Apple use a different file system - happy to be corrected though.

If this is the only issue - could it be the external hard drive itself, the usb cable or the usb port? Can you try the drive in another port or another PC? Does it work with, say, a usb flash drive etc?
I have a similar laptop and it still works well, seems a shame to bin it for what may be a small problem?
You could try uninstalling then reinstalling the usb ports in device manager too

J_B

Do you have CCleaner - maybe a good 'clean' would help??

bjbyorkshire

Thanks for the 2 responses. Since my earlier posting, after leaving the laptop plugged in and running for about 3 hours, it has now opened internet explorer, the external hard drive and my hotmail. This has happened before. It seems as though the laptop needs to have been running and be warmed up for a couple of hours before it is working normally. So this means there is no problem with the hard drive or the ports, they are ok. Everything seems very slow to open so yes maybe a cleaner through it would be a good idea.

The battery is not lasting very long so I always use it on mains....

This makes me think that I really do want to replace it

Currys on line have 3 Acer Aspires at 3 different price points, anyone tell me which would be suitable for someone who Just surfs the net, looks at websites, e mails, uses an external hard drive for saving photos and documents so no need of a big storage space. I don't download films or such like.

The 3 I have looked at are

Acer aspire ES1-531.

Acer aspire E S 2-331

Acer aspire switch 10.1 "

Any recommendations here.

I think I would like another Acer aspire as I've been so satisfied with this one.

Many thanks

NiftyDigits

The problem with your laptop is likely to do with the relatively poor processor coupled with ACER bundled software.
The least expensive remedy is to simply run a clean install of the operating system without the ACER software bundle.
The recommended option is to run a clean install of the operating system to a new SSD, instead of the current HDD.
What I would do is to run a clean install to the current hard drive. If that improves the performance to usable, I would purchase an SSD for around £35 and swap it with the internal HDD and install cleanly to the SSD. Example
A very simple task that you could complete easily.
Then you'll be opening documents and pictures in seconds, as opposed to minutes and hours.

So you may be able to solve your issues without spending anything at all.
The laptop that I am using is similar in age and spec to yours. But with the remedy suggested above, the performance has been transformed. No more frustrating waits for items to load.
If you are happier with the performance after a clean install, a new battery costs from around £10.
You might be disappointed by the performance of a new, but cheap laptop.

bjbyorkshire

NiftyDigits, that does indeed sound like a good plan but it also sounds to me like you are speaking to me in a foreign language!

I'm an oldie and definitely not into taking in technospeak. I would need talking through how to do this very clearly or else finding someone who could do it for me.

Thanks for the suggestion anyway.

NiftyDigits

bjbyorkshire wrote: »

NiftyDigits, that does indeed sound like a good plan but it also sounds to me like you are speaking to me in a foreign language!

I'm an oldie and definitely not into taking in technospeak. I would need talking through how to do this very clearly or else finding someone who could do it for me.

Thanks for the suggestion anyway.

Of course I would talk you though it step by step if you decide to do it. No technospeak necessary. Just the ability to follow straightforward instructions.

Do you have any important data on the laptop that you wish to keep? If so, save it to the external hard drive.
Can you state the full model number of the laptop?
The model number is located on the bottom of the computer on a white label above the serial number.

bjbyorkshire

I've looked and yes the serial number is there.

If I decide to do this I would have to first purchase an SSD.

Everything I would be devastated to lose is backed up, I think! I have some programmes like Paint, Adobe reader, a copy of ms office word 2007, not sure that I still have the disc to re install that, I player, Dropbox etc.... Would I lose all of those and have to re install all of them again?

NiftyDigits

bjbyorkshire wrote: »

I've looked and yes the serial number is there.

If I decide to do this I would have to first purchase an SSD.

Everything I would be devastated to lose is backed up, I think! I have some programmes like Paint, Adobe reader, a copy of ms office word 2007, not sure that I still have the disc to re install that, I player, Dropbox etc.... Would I lose all of those and have to re install all of them again?

I'm waiting for the full model number
I recommend that you take it step by step. So don't buy anything in the first instance.
First we check the existing specification.
Then we run a clean install and check all is working correctly.
If it is, we will then source an SSD. Then to fitting(takes ten minutes) and a clean install to SSD.
Then we'll re-install all of your programs.

bjbyorkshire

I've sent details in a private message.