My Acer is Stuck on the Loading Screen: What to Do

Diagnose and troubleshoot your Acer when it's frozen on the Acer logo

Co-authored by Darlene Antonelli, MA Reviewed by Luigi Oppido

Last Updated: August 5, 2024 Fact Checked

Is your Acer laptop or desktop computer stuck on the loading screen? A variety of factors can cause this issue, so you'll want to troubleshoot to find the cause to fix it. Follow this troubleshooting guide to get your Acer past the loading screen.

Quick Steps

Disconnect external devices and reboot.
Fully charge your laptop's battery while the computer is turned off.
Run a Startup Repair using the Windows Recovery Environment.
Check the clock in the BIOS or UEFI, and reset it if needed.
Make sure no internal hardware has become disconnected.
Factory reset your Acer computer.

1

Disconnect connected external devices.

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Externals can be glitching and preventing normal startup for your Acer. Unplug all connected external devices, including keyboards, SD cards, USB devices, and flash drives, then reboot your computer. If your computer is frozen, press and hold the Power button until it turns off, then press it again to turn it back on.
- As a final step, drain the remaining power before you turn your Acer back on so it starts fresh. To drain the remaining power, remove the battery (laptops) or unplug the computer from power (desktops), and press the Power button for 15 seconds. Put the battery back in your laptop or plug the computer back into power to see if you can start it normally.
- If your computer is still stuck at the loading screen, move on to the next troubleshooting step.

2

Charge the battery (if using a laptop).

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Insufficient power can cause an Acer laptop to stay at the loading screen. Turn the laptop off, charge it overnight, then try to use it again the next day.
- If the battery doesn't charge overnight while the laptop isn't disturbed, you might need a new battery for your laptop.

3

Run a Startup Repair.

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Windows will troubleshoot and diagnose the bootup process. You'll need to turn your Acer computer off and on repeatedly to prompt Windows Recovery Environment (winRE). Here's how:
- Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds to turn off your computer.
- Press the Power button to turn your computer back on.
- As soon as the Acer logo appears, press and hold the Power button for 10 seconds to turn your desktop computer or laptop off.
- Press the Power button to turn it back on.
- Again, as soon as the Acer logo appears, press and hold the Power button for 10 seconds to turn the computer back off.
- Press the Power button to turn on your computer. It will boot into a blue screen with options.
- Select Advanced options. If the mouse doesn't work, use the arrow keys to navigate to the menu option.
- Select Troubleshoot.
- Select Advanced options.
- Select Startup Repair.
- Select Restart and allow Startup Repair to diagnose and repair the issue.^{[1]
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4

Test it with an external monitor.

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An external monitor might display missing information from your main screen. This is also a good step to try if you're using a desktop computer and suspect that your original monitor isn't functioning properly. Get an external monitor and plug it into your Acer.
- Press F4 until you see an image on the screen.
- If the display works fine, you know there is something wrong with your original monitor and GPU connection. You can download and install the latest graphics driver using Windows Update or by getting the files from the GPU manufacturer.

5

Change the BIOS time settings.

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Wrong time settings can cause your Acer to get stuck while booting. It may seem weird and unrelated, but the date and time in the BIOS affects how your PC works.
- First, press the Power button on your computer to turn it off.
- As soon as you see the Acer logo, press F2. If you're on a desktop, press Delete instead.
- Look for the time/date entry. If you don't see it on the "Information" screen, press Tab or the right arrow key to navigate to the "Main" screen.
- Change the system time/date if needed. If it's already correct, don't change anything. Look on the right side of your screen for instructions to change the time or date.
- Press F10 and Enter to save and exit.
- If this works once and then never again, you may need to re-enter BIOS and change the time/date setting again. In this case, your CMOS battery is dying. Your CMOS battery is responsible for keeping some system functions running even if you have the PC turned off, like the internal clock. To fix this, replace the CMOS battery yourself or take it to a technician for further help.

6

Reset the BIOS or UEFI settings.

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A problem in the BIOS or UEFI can make your Acer get stuck at the loading screen. To get into the BIOS:
- Turn off your computer, then turn it back on.
- As soon as you see the Acer logo, press F2. If you're on a desktop computer, press Delete instead.
- Press F9 and Enter to reset everything to default.
- Press F10 and Enter to save and exit.^{[2]
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7

Check your internal hardware connections.

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If internal hardware became disconnected, your computer can get stuck on the loading screen. Constant opening and closing the lid of a laptop or jostling the PC tower can move internal components so the connection isn't complete. To fix this, in general, you want to be working on an anti-static mat or with an anti-static wristband to reduce the chance of static shock and damaging any computer or laptop components.
- If you're using a desktop computer, take the case off the tower and look around to make sure all the connections are secure and that your cables aren't bent or damaged.

8

Reset your Acer computer.

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Corrupt files might be the source of why your Acer is stuck on the loading screen. Resetting it will delete everything on your Acer, so make sure you have a backup. However, it's best not to restore from a backup immediately since doing that might reintroduce corrupt files to your system. You want to reset your system like new at first and see if the issue still exists.
- To reset an Acer that doesn't get past the loading screen, press and hold the Power button for 5 seconds (the desktop/laptop should be completely powered off), then press it again to turn your laptop/desktop computer back on.
- Press Alt + F10 as soon as you see the Acer logo and it will boot to a blue screen with options.
- Click Troubleshoot.
- Click Reset this PC.
- Click Remove everything.^{[3]
  X
  Research source} Choosing to keep your files runs the risk that this step will do nothing since any corrupted files you had will be reintroduced to your system and prevent it from loading properly.
- If your Acer still sticks at the loading screen, you know that there's more than likely a hardware issue. However, if your desktop or laptop loads completely, you know that you had corrupted data files earlier; you can slowly restore files from your backup one-by-one so you can try to avoid re-downloading the files that break your Acer.

9

Contact Acer.

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You might not be able to fix the loading issue. Hardware can be faulty, and, if you're still under warranty, you might be eligible for a free repair. You'll need to know the serial number of your Acer for any technical support, so find it on the white sticker next to the text "S/N". You can also use the SNID if you can read that better than your Serial Number. It's located below "S/N" and next to "SNID" on the white sticker.
- To contact Acer, go to this site to text, call, or chat online.