Originally Posted by
YVR Cockroach
Pulled that HDD (or SSD) out of the Acer, then - see if you can reboot to "No OS installed" or go to Bios (Setup) directly by hitting F2 or whatever assigned/default Function key, I feel your frustration
Do you have a working Linux OS on a USB stick - see if you can boot into that after pulling the HDD & into the Setup/Safe Mode to reset everything. It's difficult to do on the road without tools and/or access to extra parts - maybe, open up the cover/case/back & pull out the CMOS "coin" battery, wait 5 minutes & pop in a new one. Acer's MB isn't 100% DOA and just need to find a way to "interrupt" its current boot/startup sequence.