Due to my recent registry failure (presumably fixed now), I just checked my event viewer, and I've noticed an error that although somewhat rare (occurs once a month in general, but it occurred THREE days out of five near the end of february), and has been occurring consistently since at least december on my Vostro 1000 (thats the furthest back the log goes). The error is this:

\Device\ACPIEC: The Embedded Controller (EC) hardware didn't respond within the timeout PERIOD. This may indicate an error in the EC hardware or firmware, or possible a POORLY designed BIOS which accesses the EC in an unsafe manner. The EC driver will retry the failed transaction if possible.

So, my question is: is this a serious error, and is the error likely caused by what it says (IE the EC or BIOS)? I'm going to try updating the BIOS, but if the problem is the EC, will it be necessary to replace it? My laptop is still under warranty so that may be possible.

Under warranty?
Random errors?
More frequent?

Sounds like premature Hardware End of Life.

Not likley anything you did or could un do.
Call the support people and give them details.
Be persistent.Quote

or possible a poorly designed BIOS which accesses the EC in an unsafe manner