Acer Aspire V3 772G unknown Motherboard port and mPCI-E whitelisting?

Hi,

I have a few questions about my Acer Aspire V3 772G motherboard.

Under the bottom plastic cover, between the two HDD SATA bays there is a port that I dont really know what it is.

Is it a Mini PCI-E (mPCI-E) or an mSATA port?

Also, the one sure mPCI-E port is being used for the WIFI adapter. Does anyone know if this model of laptop uses BIOS mPCI-E whitelisting? Or can I use any mPCI-E device in that port?

I tried using Aida64 Extreme to view my motherboard specs but I don’t know what to make of the info I got...

There is a "PCI-E 2.0 x16 port #2 - In use @x16" which makes me believe there is a port #1... On the other hand the unknown port is between the two SATA HDD bays, so it makes sense it would be a mSATA port (from an electrical circuit design point of view, because of its proximity to the other SATA when designing the board, so it will be closer to the SATA controller chipset)

Also, does anyone know if I connect an mPCI-E device to an mSATA port will I break/fry something or will it just not work?

The final idea is to connect an mPCI-E to PCI-E Adapter (large) to plug in a desktop GPU to my laptop with this device: (http://www.banggood.com/EXP-GDC-Laptop-External-PCI-E-Graphics-Card-p-934367.html) or (http://www.hwtools.net/Adapter/PE4C%20V2.1.html)

To do so, in theory, the WIFI card must be unplugged .. but if I have 2 mPCI-E ports this would not be needed...

I also need to know if this model (Acer Aspire V3 772G) has a BIOS "whitelist" for the mPCI-E which only allows the use of specific WIFI cards or if the port is free for use with any mPCI-E device.

Thanks

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Accepted answers

-Justin

pachorradas,

The connection in question (circled in red) is for a mSATA SSD drive, we have some specific SKUs that ship with a SSD installed.

All comments

-Justin

pachorradas,

The connection in question (circled in red) is for a mSATA SSD drive, we have some specific SKUs that ship with a SSD installed.

pachorradas

Thank you very much for your answer.

I only have one more question, is the Mini PCI-E slot that is in use for the WIFI card BIOS whitelisted?

And while on the subject... how about the mSATA you mentioned. Can any mSATA SSD be used or is that whitelisted?

And if they are, is there any way to disable this or access the advanced (hidden) setting in the BIOS without having to load a modded BIOS? (And not only for PCIE options, also for power management or Video memory allocation,VT-x virtualization etc...)

Thank you.

-Justin

pachorradas,

We do not have any whitelists for the SSD, wireless, or BT because we only tested what we put in those connections/slots. There are other pieces of hardware that may/will work in those connections/slots.

The BIOS is limited to what is available, what is unlocked is what is unlocked. If you are using the most current version and there are features that are not accessible there is no way to unlock other than seeking alterative methods.

As always, changing the default hardware and software is not something that Acer supports. Any troubleshooting or repairs would require original hardware and software installed.

pachorradas

Thank you very much. :-)

vasco_tech88

Hi

I have an Acer V3-772G (747a161TMakk, Model VA73)

The laptop came from factory with 1TB HDD only.

I know I have a free mSATA and a 2nd 2.5" bay.

Do you know if it is possible to add an mSATA drive on this laptop? (I am asking because I dont want to invest money and then the laptop will not recognise it because for some reason like: feature not supported on this model)

-Justin

vasco_tech88,

If that connection is there it should accept a SSD without issues. If you need to, open it up and check to see if it is there. Smiley Happy

vasco_tech88

Yes, I know the physical connections are there.

I am asking because I saw online on foruns, and even on this forum. several people dealing with problems while adding HDD/SSD to the laptop. Something like: "BIOS does not see the added unit" or "i can only see one unit at a time"