h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I have an old Acer Iconia A100 10" tablet that won't boot. I've looked for help online, but none of the links to relevant files work. The tablet is just too old.

The tablet started acting up a long time ago. If I'd had the courage to do something at the time, I might have been able to get it working again. As it is, I now have a tablet that's basically a brick.

Does anybody have any ideas about what I can do with it? It was a good tablet in it's day and I'm reluctant to just chuck it.

Keep looking for a bit online for advice on how to unbrick it.

You might post a question to the /r/android subreddit or to the iconia subreddit @ http://www.reddit.com/r/iconia/

You might also search around these android device forums:

http://www.tabletroms.com/forums/forum.php
http://androidforums.com/
http://www.acertabletforum.com/forum/acer-a100-general-discussion/5434-how-fix-a100-brick.html

You might also look for "how to unbrick iconia a100" videos as well.


That said, I've got several old but not bricked tablets and I've not found a good use for any of them. I've thought about using them for limited tasks such as wall mount one and have it constantly display weather info. But I just haven't gotten around to it and likely never will.

I found information on a forum called xda-developers. It seems that bricked A100s are a common problem for which the only solution is a new motherboard. The last post to the thread was nearly six years ago. There's no chance of getting a new motherboard now, so the tablet is just a paperweight.

Now what I need are ideas for upcycling an old tablet.

OK... here's some good ol' freeform brainstormin'.



Use glass surface to lay out lines of cocaine.
Use reflective surface to signal rescue planes.
Smash apart and use bits for hi-tech mosaic.
Paperweight.
Use it to shim that wobbly table.
Disassemble, use display and speakers for Raspberry Pi or Arduino project.
Use as serving tray.
Glue on legs and use as dining table in dollhouse.


This nearly practical one snuck in there while I wasn't looking.

You could use it to prop up a sash window for summer ventilation.

The Acer should be ok for this, but don’t try it with an iPad, as that doesn’t support Windows.

Use screen for lines of cocaine - I don't do drugs.

Use screen to signal rescue planes - I was hoping for something more immediately useful.

Use bits for hi-tech mosaic - I may be able to use the innards for a steampunk/cyberpunk project.

Paperweight - it's a bit big for that.

Shim a wobbly table (or other furniture) - don't have any.

Serving tray - not big enough,too slippery.

Doll house dining table - too big and don't have a doll house

Raspberry pi or Arduino project - I don't know anything about those, although a friend and his daughter have done Raspberry Pi projects and I've seen Arduino mentioned online in linear clock projects. I'd have to investigate.


Thanks for the suggestions, silly and sensible.

Yeah, I know nothing personally of working with Arduino or Raspberry Pi, but there are tons of "how to" projects online that will walk you through them.

One of my favorite YouTube artists is affectionately known as "The Queen of Shty Robots." She became so by teaching herself to use Raspberry Pi and Arduino to make the silliest robots and devices on the interwebs.

http://youtu.be/mXLzfAHl4-k

Apparently there are companies that will repair Acer tablets.
here's one:
http://www.cellphonerepair.com/computer-repair/acer-computer-repair/

If that company is not in your area, maybe there's another one that is. Whenever my computer has issues, I bring it to a local company that fixes it. I assume that such companies are pretty much everywhere in the computer-using part of the world. it's possible to cell phone rep[air operations might also be worth looking into.

I did consider taking it to a repairer, but if I can't find a replacement motherboard at a reasonable price I doubt that they would. The tablet is old technology now, so a repair may not be an economic option.

If you still have vital data inside it, you might still want to at least transfer it to a more up to date machine.

When I saw your first post, I was going to say something witty like, "It's old if it was made last Tuesday ." I don't buy computers or their equivalents very often. They get outdated much too quickly.

I wasn't joking when I said the tablet's a brick. It won't even boot. Any data on it was lost to a factory reset a long time ago.

For anyone else who may stumble through this convo later with a not-quite-bricked tablet, here's a helpful article about what to do with an old tablet.

I learned that I can get a free data-only SIM card for my tablet and use it with my GoogleFI service.

http://www.computerworld.com/article/2487680/smartphones-18-great-uses-for-an-old-android-device.html