Dell Laptops Starting at $449
Up Close With the Aspire Gemstone Blue (Acer Aspire 8920 Series)
March 12th, 2008 by Joanna Stern 
We just got some quick hands-on time with the Acer Aspire 8920 and wanted to share our first impressions. This system has a brilliant glossy display and the viewing angles on this 18.4-inch LCD are great.
The CineDash media console is the star of the show, though. It looks like LED crop circles at first but it worked pretty well in our tests. You can use it not only to play and pause media playback but also to launch the Acer Arcade Deluxe menu, which resembles Media Center.
You can use the circular control around the Enter button to scroll through the options, and we liked that this circle’s ridges were slightly raised for good tactile feedback.
A big wide 5.1 sound speaker bar is above the keyboard, and we dig the glowing blue power button. We also like that the area beneath the keyboard, including the touchpad, is textured. There are no ports in the back, which we prefer, and the Blu-ray drive is on the right along with 2 USB ports. The HDMI port is on the left, and there’s a fingerprint reader between the mouse buttons.
Last but not least are the circular, polished metallic hinges. The left one houses the power jack. Just check out these photos and a short video of our hands on time. Excuse our choppy video there was lots of pushing and shoving to see the hot new machine.
76 Responses to “Up Close With the Aspire Gemstone Blue (Acer Aspire 8920 Series)”
Leave a Reply
Featured Sponsors |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
March 29th, 2008 at 7:00 am
PLS>advise where to but acer aspire gem stone blue compuer in houston texas -HAVE been lookingfor for 2 weeks—-?????——–not at best buy-circut city-
March 31st, 2008 at 7:14 am
I want to purchase one but can’t find it anywhere.
March 31st, 2008 at 7:16 am
can’t find one anywhere,want one
April 1st, 2008 at 9:59 am
From what I have gathered it will not be ou till april or early may. I am intrested my self would like to have a little hands on
April 5th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
Acer Aspire 5050 5430 Laptop Computer
April 22nd, 2008 at 2:57 am
where do i buy one in ontario?
April 28th, 2008 at 9:34 am
I have the Acer 9810 20.1 inch multi-media machine and love it. I wish it was Blu-ray instead of HD-DVD like the 8920.
May 4th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
they should be ava in usa around May 20, 2008 we hope
May 5th, 2008 at 1:15 am
I bought the ASPIRE 7720 a month ago and bought the 8920 last week. I am using them as Java developer machines. For some reason 8920 is 3 times slower than 7720. I am compiling several java projects while developing and the compilation time is 3 times higher on 8920. I am still puzzled about this. But I am suspecting that ACER used slower disks on 8920.
The resolution is perfect but I still miss MacBook Pros backlit keyboard, also the time on battery is practically nothing.
May 6th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
We bought ours this weekend, on the shopping channel of all places…we are a little nervous to buy without seeing but so far everything we’ve read is positive…i guess we’ll find out in 3-4 weeks
May 8th, 2008 at 6:27 am
They were offering some of the 6920’s on shopnbc.com, but i guess they sold out
May 11th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Shop NBC has the 6920 which is the 16 inch screen version las weekend for 1399. No longer available. Price has gone up to 1699. Circuit City has the 16 inch screen versions sans bluray drive on sale for 699, regular price is $849.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:52 am
i will be receiving my 8920gb tommorow from acer direct (first in the state for my area) with the t9300 + 4gb ram version should be all good hopefully lives up to the expectation
May 13th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
I dont have too much knowledge of laptop and computer but I seen TV program as on shop NBC. ACER ASPIRE 8920 It is real latest and new great tecnology. I ordered last week and may be I getting on MAY-19-08. I used Dell and I used Toshiba but I hope it is new idia to use the computer.
May 15th, 2008 at 8:40 am
okay i recieved my 8920gb yesterday and it does look nice and sounds nice but dont get to worked up with it found many bugs with my version with the annoying run32.dll error which crashes everytime u try to do something along with the operating system being 32bit when the description says a 64bit and also a little error which i have notified the project manager for australia (henry) about the program updates which does display correctly this is just the start!
May 18th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
I understood it was a 64 bit. Is it not?
May 27th, 2008 at 9:30 am
rule of thumb:
3 GB of RAM = 32 bit
Greater than 3GB of RAM = 64 bit
64 bit can have issues…nature of the beast as the industry shifts to 64 bit from 32…it’s a good thing but 32 and 64 could have possible issues. Be sure external hardware eg printers / screens have 64 bit drivers available. 32 bit applications will run on 64 bit but low level drivers might have issues.
May 27th, 2008 at 9:38 am
…should read 3 GB of RAM or less = 32 bit
in general this is what you see for laptops. 32 bit has a limitation of how much RAM it can see. 64 bit expands the limitation.
I would love to know if Acer would let you choose 32 or 64 bit, even if the 32 bit could not see the full 4GB of RAM.
One more point: for Vista, no matter what edition (home premium/ultimate/etc) there will be a 32 bit AND 64 bit version of each. Note that the 32 and 64 each require a separate license. Therefore if you decide to change later you will need to purchase a different license.
June 29th, 2008 at 3:49 pm
FALSE ADVERTISING!!!! I bought this unit based on the Acer website’s technical specifications about this unit (paid $1,500). When received it, I discovered the built-in Bluetooth their website claimed it had WASN’T THERE. Even though there’s a button on the keyboard to toggle it off and on and software reminders to activate it. I called Acer and they said the computer does NOT come with Bluetooth. I told them their own website said that it did. Eventually I got a letter (through the BBB) saying that they were “sorry for my inconvenience but were not responsible for the information on their website” ???!!!!???
If we can’t trust Acer’s own website to give us information about their own product, who can we trust? I’m still trying to return the unit. Guys, based on their reasoning, you could buy an 18″ notebook, receive a 14″ one and they’d just say sorry and that it’s not their problem. This is not just one person at Acer who has this attitude, I went up the entire corporate ladder. At this writing the website STILL indicates Bluetooth (http://us.acer.com/public/page4.do?link=oln56.redirect&dau22.oid=36229&UserCtxParam=0&GroupCtxParam=0&dctx1=25&CountryISOCtxParam=US&LanguageISOCtxParam=en&ctx3=-1&ctx4=United+States&crc=2934857869#inu57_51496, under “Configurations: AS8920-6048″). I suggest to any potential buyers to avoid Acer and find a company that actually takes its customer responsibilities seriously.
July 10th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
i have a aspire 9810 64 bit,im having to run on 32 bit at the moment because i cannot find the drivers anywhere for the hardware,acer does not have them on their site either,can anyone please help me
running vista x64
thanks guys
July 19th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
The Acer Aspire 8920 *DOES* have bluetooth. I am using right now with my Logitech bluetooth keyboard & mouse. It works perfectly well. My only pet peeve is that I cannot find a way to have it boot with bluetooth enabled by default, so I always boot then press the “bluetooth on” button.
The system also comes with 4GB of RAM and is running Vista Ultimate in 64-bit mode.
My only problem is that every 10 minutes or so the system locks up for 5 – 10 minutes, the disk activity light goes solid, and all programs hang. I’ve narrowed it down to a hardware issue & am having problems getting Acer support to respond. :/
-LC
August 5th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
BIG PROBLEM!
Acer is erroneously shipping the 8920-6961 instead of the 8920-6837 and potentially 8920-6048. Numerous consumers, including me, bought what we thought was the 8920-6837. You can’t tell on the outer box as the model number is not listed. After you break the factory seal on the box there is an inner box. On that is a label that says 8920-6961. The 8920-6961 by design has an HD+ monitor that only goes up to 1680×945. However, the specificatoins for the laptop clearly state maximum resolution of 1920×1080 and the laptop is labeled with stickers that say 1080P and 1920×1080. Acer states that the laptop is correctly configured with the lesser powerful monitor and will not exchange it. That is not the issue. The issue is why are they shipping the wrong models to retailers that are selling the 8920-6837 which has a 1080P capable screen. Buyer beware.
August 6th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
@Cyber Sprocket Labs:
I have the exact problem as you mentioned. My laptop also hangs VERY often (maybe after every 20 minuter or so) and i have to manually reset it as everything stops responding. It is very annoying. Could you help me out and tell me what hardware is causing the problem and if you get a reply from the acer site please do tell us what the solution was. This is a very annoying problem and i am even considering returning it or having it checked by some repair shop. ( Note: i have updated all my drivers and run windows update. All my drivers are up to date and the problem still exists)
August 6th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
My 8920 is to unstable it hangs like above and freezzers every 20 mins at least. It is up to date with all driver updates but still no good. Im returning my machine as i am V unhappy with it.
August 11th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Hello everyone,
a quick update on my issue:
I contacted Mr LC from Cyber Sprocket Labs who posted a comment above, he told me that after extensive research he found that the disk driver controller was defective and that is causing the problem. I think i might have the same problem too. I have contacted the Acer service center and will soon have them check out my laptop and will also inform them of the faulty disk driver controller issue. I hope that I get it fixed soon. I will keep you guys up to date with issue and hope it gets resolved.
August 15th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
This is the first site I’ve found where people actually have the exact same issue I’m having with my Aspire 7720. It just locks up for no apperant reason and the LAN lite goes solid and the programs hang. I removed the 160 gig hard drive and put in a 120 gig and reloaded the restore disk. So far it’s been on for 2 days with only one hang. Looking forward to seeing what Acer tells you WanderingLoner…
Mike Long
August 15th, 2008 at 11:22 pm
ok… i spoke too soon… same thing, it freezes for no reason and the only thing I get in the Event Log is the following:
Log Name: System
Source: EventLog
Date: 8/15/2008 5:20:54 PM
Event ID: 6008
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: FlatMike
Description:
The previous system shutdown at 11:20:36 AM on 8/15/2008 was unexpected.
Event Xml:
6008
2
0
0×80000000000000
18200
System
FlatMike
11:20:36 AM
8/15/2008
72232
D807080005000F000B00140024007901D807080005000F000F001400240079013C0000003C000000000000000000000000000000000000000100000015AA0000
August 19th, 2008 at 8:08 am
Hello again everyone,
Quick update: I have not yet sent in my laptop to the acer service center. I read elsewhere that someone was having similar problems and they actually completely formatted their hard drive and installed a fresh copy of vista from a vista disc ( and NOT from the backup disc that we are supposed to create) and the problems were gone. That person said that the problems were because of all the extra and unecessary sowtware that acer installs. I managed to get my hands on a vista installation disc and i finished downloading all the necessary drivers from the acer support site. Within a day or two i will format my hard drive and install a fresh copy of vista and only the necessary drivers. If that works out, Great, otherwise i will send in my laptop for checking. I will keep posting here with the updates.
August 21st, 2008 at 3:34 am
I have exactly the same problem with the freezing. Although for mine this usually happens while in windows explorer. I’ve tested a few games at high resolutions to find out whether the freezing is caused by overloading of the CPU or filling up the RAM. But I didn’t have this problem when playing games at all! And I was gaming for over 2 h the other day. That’s kinda weird, I think. If it was the hdd controller, shouldn’t it always appear? I think WanderingLoner is right. I also blame it on crapware from Acer. For example if you have that empowering thingy still installed and wonder why you cannot start Dreamweaver, try uninstalling that eData Security crap and it’ll work.
@WanderingLonder: please keep us updated about your progress. Perhaps I’ll try formatting the hdd in mine as well this weekend.
August 21st, 2008 at 5:56 pm
I formatted my hard drive and did a clean installation of vista but i still have those annoying freezes. It could be partially because of all the empowering software that i reinstalled along with the drivers. I will keep experimenting, uninstall those programs and if this method does not work i will go ahead and send in my laptop to acer suport(and maybe give them the link to this page so that they can see for themselves how many people are having the same problems).
@Jimself
it would be really helpful if you did format your hdd and installed vista from an official disc. I may still be experiencing the freezing problem because i installed back some of the extra software. i will uninstall that and see what happens but it would be nice if you could test out this solution too. This way we could be sure if doing a clean install works or not. Ofcourse, this is only a request and you don’t really have to do it, incase you do format remember to backup all your important data. I hope to hear from you soon.
August 23rd, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Ok, so I tried several things and the results are not positive at all. At first I did a 2nd rceovery of the system using the official image and then uninstalled all the Acer progs, etc. along with it. Didn’t help..
Then I contacted both the german and the us support. Don’t get me started with these high potentials!!! I don’t thin that I’ll be calling or writing them again, after they’ve suggested me to clear the temp files of IE and defrag my HDD – that’s a good one! The german support even blamed it on vista! WTF!!! Then why the hell do they use it???
So after resigning with these “experts” I’ve decided to do a clean install. Same for me as for you WanderingLoner: still freezes regularly. BTW I didn’t install the Acer stuff…
Now what? I really don’t want to send the notebook back, since one of the above mentioned persons said that in case they don’t find this error, they’ll return the computer and the customer will have to pay for all the “inconveniences”.
I will install Ubuntu (Linux) and/or XP later and see what will happen. Not really helpful since this is clearly a Notebook designed for Vista but at least I’ll probably see if there is a hardware defect.
Ok, looking forward to hearing from one of you guys with a good solution to the problem.
September 23rd, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Hi guys. I guess I have the same problem… with my 8920G. Irregular freezes and hangs, I would call it. All indicates disk controller fault (hardware issue). Has anyone came to a conclusion what is going wrong with it? Thanks.
September 28th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
Product: Aspire 8920 – 934G64Bn
Operating System: Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Ultimate , Service Pack 1
Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU T9300 @ 2.50GHz
System Memory: 4096 MB
Hard Drive: WDC WD3200BEVT-22ZCT0, 298.09 GB (x2)
Since brand new, without any application installs other than FireFox and Office 2007 on top of Acer’s factory defaults, this computer hangs (”Not Responding” and the disk LED goes solid) about 3-5 times per hour of use. In fact, the thing just hung now in mid-sentence as I was pasting some of this text from MicroSoft Word 2007.
I get hangs while navigating just about everything, (Windows Explorer, Acer Empowering, Microsoft Office 2007, etc) even without any internet connection and no instance of FireFox. If I wait from 5-15 minutes, the session will sort itself out and window control returns, however, I spend most of the time frozen, watching the little blue donut going round ‘n round.
In desparation, I purchased a registry cleaner. Doesn’t help.
So happens my brother has been with Consumer’s Union for +30 years and holds the title:
Senior Program Leader
Computing Technology Test
Consumer Reports®
I will try to get him interested in doing an Aspire 8920 evaluation
October 3rd, 2008 at 7:20 am
Hi, I did have the same freezing problems with my Acer 8920.
Since I downloaded and installed the new “Intel Matrix Storage Manager” my problems are gone.
You can download the file here:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?strState=LIVE&ProductID=2261&DwnldID=16750&agr=Y&lang=eng&PrdMap=2261
Greetings from Belgium,
October 9th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Hi, I don’t really have an Acer 8920. But I nearly bought one, when I stumbled upon this site. Basically, all the comments I have seen here have “opened my eyes” and I am extremely grateful for finding this site. Now from the specifications from the laptop itself, it seems to be a formdable machine. But judging from all of the comments I’ve seen I will definitely hold off on buying it since this is the 1st site I has encountered with concerns this serious about the 8920.
Good Luck in all endeavors made to figure out a solution.
October 19th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Hello everyone,
I am at work, in a few hours I’ll get home and check out that software. Meanwhile here are a few other links to sites/message boards where people have found the same problem and are discussing ways to solve it. You guys should check out too.
First of all I apologize for such a late response. If you read my earlier posts you will know that I have an acer service center nearby and I was planning to send in my laptop for repairs. Well I did, TWICE!! and still have the same problem. The first time I sent it in those guys updated my BIOS and reinstalled Vista. Thats it. When I got it back I had the exact problem since day one. I tested it for a week and sent it back. I explained my problem and repeatedly requested them to test the hardware. This time they kept the laptop even longer. I made a few calls to check the status of repair. The first time a lady picked up and said that the technician had marked my battery and the motherboard for inspection. On my next call they said that my hardware is fine and its my operating system thats causing the problem. This time they reinstalled vista from their ‘master hard disk’ and then tested my laptop for 4 days nonstop. I finally get back, turn it on to surf the net… and few minutes later…..BOOM…. i am pulling my hair out, out of frustration. The stupid thing crashed and has been doing that ever since. Now I don’t know what to do. Above, Bernaerts M provided a link to a software to fix this problem, if that works I’ll be a very happy guy tonight
1. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=291857
2. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=243715 ( a review and 13 pages of discussion about all the different problems.
3. http://www.theacerguy.com/2008/04/25/first-customer-review-of-the-aspire-8920-gemstone-blue/ (similar blog review as this one. many users have posted comments about the problems and some have even been resolved)
Note: http://www.theacerguy.com/ is a fan made site and this guy really helps out in all acer related problems.
I hope this was helpful. I will report back in a few hours regarding the software.
@A.J
This is a beast of a machine but only if you get a working unit. Its not worth taking the risk to get it as you might get the faulty one. It seems acer has shipped these faulty laptops worldwide. I am located in UAE (in the middle east), Bernaerts M is from belgium, Cyber Sprocket Labs is from the USA and we all have the exact same problem. i really would recomend that you think twice if you ever want to buy this laptop.
October 20th, 2008 at 11:55 am
Hello there, me again,
I tried installing the Intel Matrix Storage Manager from the link that Bernaerts M provided. Unfortunately the laptop still crashes. If anyone else has any ideas please post here. I really want to get this fixed as I am stuck with it. I paid $1700 for it and I can’t even return it. The computer shop from which I purchased it has a stupid policy of ‘Goods once sold will not be taken back or exchanged’. Please help me out here. Also, if any wants to contact for anything, here is my e-mail ID : madni_irshad@hotmail.com
October 28th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Hey everyone,
I don’t mean to go off topic, but I wonder if anyone has heard about the new 18.4″ laptop from Acer: the 8930. I really don’t know if it will be anything like the 8920 in terms of usability issues. But from the way it seems, Acer got so many complaints about the 8920, that they put out the 8930. Who knows….it basically looks the same and has the same options as the 8920. I just hope that change in number isn’t just for marketing purposes…
October 29th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I got this on special at tigerdirect.ca about a month and a half ago for $1999. Thought it was the best deal ever. Went on a trip to the UAE with it, worked fine, but when I got back right off the plane, the whole thing crashed and BAD..it wont even load windows. The screen is all weird and red. the thing is busted big time and really nothing happened to it other then just being in an airplane 36000ft high. Should I just ship it back to the manufacture? This sucks!
October 30th, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Calling Bernaerts M:
The Problems and Reporting facility in Vista actually recommended the Intel Matrix Storage Manager (iaStor.sys) upgrade, which I downloaded, but did not feel comfortable installing because the associated readme instructions did not seem applicable to the 8920G’s disk controller configuration. (It’s actually using a MS iSCSI driver that hasn’t been updated since 2006). Possible you could provide the answers you gave to the iaStor.sys install wizard with respect to SATA controller options?
Much appreciated.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:04 am
Hi
i have just bought the acer 6920 and the cinedash media pad at teh side for volume etc has frozen any idea’s
November 19th, 2008 at 11:32 am
eoin s,
check if you have pressed the ‘Hold’ button. if it is pressed then press it once more to disable it. If that doesn’t work try restarting your laptop. If the problem still persists completely shut down your laptop and remove the battery. reinsert the battery after about 15 seconds and start your pc. hopefully it shall be working now. removing the battery for 10 or more seconds reboots the media console. hope that helped.
November 21st, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Wanderingloner
Thank you taking the battery out fixed it, thank you again
December 14th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Hi wandering loner.
I had same problems as you.
Freezing and errors. Did a full system restore to no avail. So I sent it off to acer and they said it was overheating, and that they had reseated the fan, updated the bios and reinstalled vista. Same problems occuring on return. So I sent it back again and they replaced the hard drive and the FBRS (might have the acronym wrong, can find out if important. I have no idea what it is though) and it has worked beautifully ever since. Faster, more stable when gaming, basically all good. And I have to say the support service (uk) was excellent too. Collected next day (from a place of my choosing) and returned within a week (again, to wherever I liked, I work all around the country so this was imperative for me). Second time I think I was without it for only 3 days. Very speedy.
ANyway, hope this helps. Others if yours is already fixed.
Regards
B
December 14th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Tried Battery removal (15secs) just now to fix frozen touchpad.
Worked a treat.
Thanks
B
December 19th, 2008 at 6:34 am
Hello bittermint,
Thank you very much for your help. My problem isn’t fixed yet although the freezes and crashes have reduced in frequency (not sure how that happened). Hopefully your post will help me out a lot. Also, thank you very much for taking the time to send me an e-mail along with posting the solution here.
I need a little more help from you if you don’t mind. Can you please find out the correct acronym, is it really FBRS or something else. My laptop came with only one hard disk and I was planning on purchasing another one anyways. If this FBRS is some sort of hardware then I will replace it too. In the meantime I will google it. Once again thank you for your help.
January 2nd, 2009 at 1:43 pm
^
I’ve read all your posts… I’m a PC ”tweaker” and early adopter of all things laptop… And I can only state the obvious: THE PROBLEM IS VISTA!!! C’mon you people, isn’t that obvious? I wonder, just wonder, how this Acer series woulds run with WinXP service pack 3… You’d much more stability in your machine, that’s 4 sure!.. Now I wonder about Acer’s XP driver support for the Gemstone series…
Anyways good luck ya all
!..
January 2nd, 2009 at 1:51 pm
^
Ok, about XP drivers for the Aspire ”Gemstone” series, here are some developments I found over here:
http://now4new.blogspot.com/2008/12/acer-aspire-8930-windows-xp-drivers.html
Cheers
February 7th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Same XXXX here.
I tried to find a newer driver version for the WDC WD3200BEVT-22ZCT0, and for the controller: not successful. I think that the problem is the vista driver, once that in linux it works properly. There is not any driver newer than the 2006 factory version.
…sorry the english, i hope that someone can find a solution for the problem.
February 21st, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Hi There people
I have the gemstone blue 8920 but bought it in england it comes fully equipped and moved to america and after a while the screen goes on power saving mode and created issues. I realized after a while it was a hardware problem i contacted acer america they asked me to ship the laptop as it was under warranty and i paid 15$ in USP it took 8 days to reach acer acer has taken 2 weeks to repair it and ship it back. The laptop works beautiful and has an edge as an entertainment. Although its pretty heavy and it does not reflect the 4gb ram as it has a 32 bit chipset. Performance wise has everything needed it keep it runnin good for entertainment.
March 3rd, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Hi!
I got an aspire 8920 , from acer ofc.
But today my cinedash media console stopped working.
There are some other problems like overheating but that can be overcomme.
Is there somebody thats knows how i can repear my touch panel?
March 3rd, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Ah it’s already on the website.
I just pulled the battery out for 20 sec, then it works again.
thanks
March 4th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
Hey, I have the gemstone 6935 and I have the frozen volume touch pad. I tried removing the battery for a couple minutes and it’s still frozen and been this way for over a week. Luckily, I have no freezing problems. Any ideas on how to fix (other than taking the batery out) the frozen touch pad?
Thanks
P.S. It’s not on hold
March 10th, 2009 at 3:40 am
Hello Friends,
I have bought acer aspire 8920g notebook in December 2008. I am now running vista ultimate x64 edition and so far i am pretty happy with this machine. I am an architect, do a lot of 3d modeling and rendering also. I also prefer gaming. So far the laptop is providing a great support for all this tasks that i prefer to do. I have read all the comments and i must say that i am probably a little fortunate (yet) that my system is running smoothly without any problems. I had some software issues but i just uninstalled the acer edata program and i am doing quite ok.
But one thing is bothering me. It says on machine that 8920 has a bluetooth device. It is written in the manual and even on top of the notebook itself. But it seems the bluetooth is not working. Also in Device manager i see an unknown device that means i have failed to install driver for that stuff. I visited ACER site and downloaded all the drivers and it seems the Bluetooth driver does not install on a x64 machine. Does anyone else have the same or relevant issues? Please, if anyone can provide any suggestion will be a great help for me. Thanks in advance.
March 15th, 2009 at 10:23 am
from what i have read, some models of this laptop come without the bluetooth even though the manual says that the bluetooth is present. if you DO have a bluetooth then there are two things that you can do. first go in the device manager and right click on that unknown device. then click ‘ update driver software…’
make sure you are connected to the net and choose to search for the drivers automatically. hopefully it will search the net for the right driver and install it automatically.
if that doesn’t work then download the following file:
ftp://ftp.work.acer-euro.com/notebook/aspire_8920G/vista/Drivers/Bluetooth_Foxconn_BT2.0_v6.0.1.5000_Vistax32×64.zip
its the bluetooth driver that is supposed to work for both x86 and x64. hopefully this will solve your problem. report back and tell me how it goes.
March 15th, 2009 at 12:03 pm
On a side note I would like to wish happy birthday to this article. lolz…. its been over a year since this was posted and yet no one has found the solution to the hanging problem. Also, I make sure that I never buy anything from acer anymore.
March 16th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Hi Guys,
it’s been a while since I last posted. I also had a problem with the acer freezing every now and then. I tried almost everything and finally gave up. I called the peeps over at the support and they told me to send it to them. After more than two weeks I got it back w/o being fixed. They said, that they couldn’t find anything. So I got really pissed and called them again asking them whether they think I imagine all of this and also pointing out this Site. So they got it back and after another 2 weeks I saw the maintenance report again. Their conclusion was once again that they couldn’t find anything. But “just to be sure” they’ve changed the hdd. Ever since I miraculously didn’t have the problem anymore. What a weird coincidence, eh!? Something about all this stinks: the 8930 hit the market way too fast after the 8920. If this was common, where is the 8940??? Guys don’t let them fool you. Send it back until you get what you deserve: a working computer.
March 16th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
Hi,
I purchased the Acer 8920-6030 last June, so it is still under warantee but of course I cannot outright return it to the reseller. It worked great for awhile, and I don’t actually have the same freezing issues other people seem to have. However, lately I have been having some serious performance issues and have tried every fix from every forum I can find to correct the problem. Nothing has worked so far.
The root of the problem seems to be the overheating, which causes the CPU and GPU to scale back power, slow down, and lead to performance issues. Applications that I used to be able to run when I bought the computer, no longer function at a usable level (i.e. games).
I have contacted acer tech support 3 times, been offered garbage troubleshooting “fixes” that have nothing to do with the problem, spoken to at least one very rude person who insisted that none of the serious issues I had raised were issues at all, and also been told that if i sent the computer to TEXAS which is apparently the only repair place in North America (I am in CANADA, close to Toronto, and there is an Acer HQ within an hours drive…) and in Texas, they would “only restore the computer to factory defaults and send it back”.
I have already restored my laptop completely before making all these calls, and told them that in the first sentence. I am at wits end with tech support and don’t know where i can get the proper information. Even the papers that came with the computer are riddled with non-existent websites and out of service phone numbers. I can’t even use the Fixmyacer site – it accepts my serial number but none of my information.
Help?!?
Will never recommend or buy acer again based on the “service” so far.
March 28th, 2009 at 4:32 am
Hi, i have just stumbled upon this site and read up on all the issues you guys facing and this have been a year long issue which has not been resolved yet by Acer.
what a turn down… luckily for me, i was searching for this since last tuesday and almost bought the 6935 model which was out of stock then.
now i will set my mind on a HP HDX 16 instead.
Good luck to you guys on the resolution, how Acer will wakeup before they loose more customer.
March 31st, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Well,well. It seems we, (Canada) got a product on the shelves before the US. I got my gemstone 18.4″ 8920 series laptop last fall. That said; Why are there so many configurations? Plus they dont tell you anything at the retail outlet. I have the T7500 cpu @ 2.2ghz, 4gb ram 2×320 hdds, bluray, etc. So far I love it. Not a single crash. The vista prem. seems to be very well integrated with this pc. I have a quad core workhorse 32bit pc, an hp/voodoo blackbird, which is ‘in the shop’ And an hp touchsmart. I use this one the most. The keyboard feels great. The only complaint I have is the print reader which can get finnaky at times.
April 4th, 2009 at 2:33 am
Hi i have just purchased the Acer Aspire 8930g and all i have to say is awesome, i did buy the Acer Aspire 6920 six months ago and had no problems what so ever with that. both are great laptops… Well the 6920 was cant really comment on the 8930 yet as only had it 2 days but no problems as of yet well done acer.
April 14th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Hello everyone,
This time I have something good to report for a change. I HAVE FINALLY FOUND THE SOLUTION TO THE CRASHING/FREEZING PROBLEM. Earlier, a user by the name of ‘bittermint’ posted saying that his hard drive had been replaced and the problems were gone. Another poster ‘Jimself’ also mentioned the same thing. All this while I was thinking of buying another hard drive anyways as I was running out of space on the original one. Well I took the risk and bought a 500GB samsung hard drive for about $131. I installed vista and all the necessary drivers and tested it for a few weeks. I haven’t had a single crash of freeze yet. It was either the original hard drive itself, the hard drive controller or the driver that was at fault but none of that matters as I finally have a properly working laptop. Ofcourse acer screwed up and I hate them for that but none of that is important as the frustration and the constant feeling of regret for spending a large sum of money on my first ever (and a faulty) laptop is gone.
In short, if you want your laptop to stop crashing/freezing buy a new hard disk and replace it with the one that you are using or if you are patient enough you can send your laptop to acer, convince them about the faulty drive and have it replaced for free. If anyone has any problem with this laptop or needs my help with anything feel free to contact me @ madni_irshad@hotmail.com
April 30th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Wow. I’m sure glad I haven’t had to deal with the Acer help desk yet. Like almost every help desk I have ever called (except NetGear), they are useless. I have had an 8920G since last June. I bought it for the hi-res screen. When I first got it, I installed drafting and drawing edit software on it, none of which would work. I tried a factory restore, but nothing would work, so I decided to upgrade to Vista Ultimate. I wanted a clean install and so used V-lite to create a clean install disk without all the bloatware. I also went and bought two Seagate 320 Gb drives to replace the Western Digital drive that came with the system. I have never liked WD and probably never will. After the clean install and installing downloaded drivers, I haven’t had any problems with my system at all. I thought the fix was bumping up to Vista Ultimate, but it looks like I inadvertently avoided the drive/driver/controller problem by installing the Seagate drives. Other than those first problems, I have been very happy with this laptop. It does run hot, but I use a laptop cooler underneath to keep things running at peak efficiency.
May 1st, 2009 at 6:31 pm
hello to all. okay my 8920 has no bluettoth module installed..??? i believe… can someone tell me which bluetooth module i can install ?
I do have the lite go on upon initial turnup and see some bluetooth files pop up during defrag…any help or assistance will be greatly apprteciated , thanks
May 9th, 2009 at 5:50 am
Hai, bought the Aspire 6935G844G32BN and after several day’s my touchpad is gone… Tried everything, but the synapsis software don’t recognize the touchpad…. What can i do? I did the reset and put the fabric standard back with the acer backup on alt-f10…. Can anyone help?
May 24th, 2009 at 12:09 am
acer aspire gemstone 8930 still have problem with windows vista, low drop 1024mb of 4gb ram and can not get windows xp drivers and utilities even vista drivers and tools, which some one link us to the right website to get all the drivers and tools plus utilities to download load it. thnx
May 29th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
hey notty that happened with mine i took battery out and the power cable then held down power button for a few seconds, then replaced battery and switched on, mine worked after that…………
June 8th, 2009 at 10:29 am
The problem is with Vista. I have installed Xp and so far I haven’t got Problems with hangs.
June 8th, 2009 at 10:34 am
By the way, my notebook is a Acer Aspire 5920, WD’s Hard Disk. I’ve already installed Vista 64 and Vista 32. Both have shown problems with hangs. So I decided to install Xp, once Windows 7 is very similar to Vista.
June 11th, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Here am I again Pals. I’ve installed XP and so far i’ve got no troubles with the damn freezing and hanging thing. I think that Windows 7 will not be able to solve this thing, once it is very similar to Vista. Best Wishes.
July 4th, 2009 at 8:00 am
I have Acer Aspire 7720G which came with Blueray, bought in Nov 2008 at PC World Have played demo disks sucessfully, but it will not take Blueray films, bought in UK. Tells me it does not play region B disks (UK region) I was confused, but went into it and changed the region on this laptop to UK…. B region. Still the same, will not play
Has anyone had this problem ? Is there an answer ?
July 12th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
i need to find rivers and video cards for my aspire but i dont know where to find any can some one help me out
July 16th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Hi I have had the acer aspire 8920g since the first day it was released onto the market and these are the following problems I have encountered till now. from day one before I even got to install any software whatsoever I had the rundll32 error constantly pop up…on day 2 or so I had my video card experience fatal errors and reset my entire display! though that particular error was not so frequent, In the next couple of days after basking in my newfound love for sound through the 5.1 surround system on the laptop my joy came to an abrupt end when the sound somehow reset itself into what can only call a degradation of sound and lower volume with no way of at least bringing it back.
then after a few months and several restore to factory settings attempts by myself Vista started locking me out of my own system saying that my copy was illegal!!! Well at that point it is safe to say I decided to get rid of Vista completely and install XP profesional instead. After doing so I have encountered neither of the above errors with the exception of the sound which appears to be even worse now….but I guess that has to do mostly with the fact that I have had to use a lower version driver as xp does not support the vista drivers. But now I have an even worse problem the laptop heats up so much when I attempt to play a game such as dead space or mass effect that it shuts down after about 10 – 15 mins of playing!!!! after that I must wait about 30 mins just to turn the laptop back on as the power button actually burns my finger if I attempt to turn it on sooner.
If anyone has any Ideas on how to fix this problem please let me know. I am hoping it is a dust buildup in the fan but my gut feeling is rather pointing to the incompetent manufacturer…
July 30th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Hey Vasili,
I’ve had several problems with my 8920g aswell as you can read from earlier posts. I can’t help you with your sound problem but when I experienced the overheating problem I just opened the case and cleaned the fan and all the cooling related parts very thoroghly. It still gets quite hot, but at least it doesn’t shut down anymore.
Btw, my newest problem is with the power supply. It seems to have a bad circuit. On bad days it just doesn’t load my battery, constantly draining power from it. Then the system just shuts down, without informing me about a low energy level. It seems to give the computer a signal that the power supply is connected but fails to tell it that it doesn’t really supply the computer with electricity. Pretty stupid, eh? The result were several crashes with the last one being fatal for my OS (black screen of death). Had to recover my files with Linux and do a factory restoration.
My problems with that piece of sh*** so far:
- freezing problem, computer doesn’t respond (resolved by exchanging HDD)
- overheating occasionally (resolved by cleaning fan, etc.)
- weird huming sounds from monitor/speakers
- hanging “-” key (I’m 100% sure I didn’t spill anything over it)
- power supply deffective
- sometimes at startup it just goes to the very first screen from which you can enter BIOS, and stops (several restarts required to resolve this)
And propably there are others to come. I can say from the bottom of my heart that I trully and honestly hate that worthless piece of junk and that I still hate myself for not listening to my friends warnings about ACER computers. I’m disapointed and wonder what we could do to get some justice – $2300 thrown out of the window! It’s obviously not us.
Well, next time I’ll get a real computer…
August 27th, 2009 at 11:53 pm
I can´t believe it !!!!
Finally and after more than a year of CRASHING/FREEZING and severals OS (Vista 32 – 64 / Ultimate, Enterprise, VM running XP, Win 7 RC 32 – 64, now Win 7 64 RTM Ultimate) I’ve been able to solve the problem, thank WanderingLoner (and the rest of course).
Today I bought a 500GB samsung hard drive and also put the 320GB one as the second disk, so at least I´ve 830 GB…
I installed Win 7 RTM 64 Ultimate 2 hours ago, downloaded just the video drivers form nvidia web site and everything it´s running just fine….
Incredible….
September 23rd, 2009 at 12:33 am
I have had this pit of blue glory for nearly a year now but my cinedash media console has just stopped responding to touch! any help with this little hiccup would be greatly appreciated!