Acer Switch 10 - Default Boot Device Missing or Boot Failed

writemom66

My Acer Switch 10 is running an upgrade to Windows 10 and has been for a few months now. When I turned it on last week it did not boot up. Instead the following message appeared on the screen:

 

"Default Boot Device Missing or Boot Failed. Insert Recovery Media and Hit any key Then Select 'Boot Manager' to choose a new Boot Device or to Boot Recovery Media"

 

If I hit the Enter key, I'm taken to another window that says Boot Option Menu and lists 1. Windows Boot Manager.

 

The laptop will not shut off/restart. I am able to use CTRL+ALT+DEL and then the F2 key to enter the Setup Utility, but the only settings in there that I can edit are in the Boot menu, which lets me change the priority order. Doing so has no effect.

 

When I exit the Setup Utility, it goes right back to the same Boot Device Missing message.

 

I've tried pressing F12 when I use CTRL+ALT+DEL, but it has no effect. I have not take the laptop apart, however, I did let the battery go dead. When I plugged it back in, I got the same message.

Mary-Acer

Here is a link to instructions on how to use your USB recovery stick to restore the system to factory configurations. If you haven't created the back up you can purchase it from the online Acer store at store.acer.com. If restoring the system does not resolve the issue, generally this means the hard drive is bad and needs to be replaced which will require repair. You can contact support from the info posted at this link: http://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/service-contact

writemom66

The link you provided does not point to an explanation of how to create a USB. The link is to the Contact Acer page. I actually did already try to use a USB to boot from, but the computer never gave me the option of selecting that as the boot device. I may have done it wrong, so if you have that link I'll look at it. Thanks.

Mary-Acer

Sorry, I didn't include the link for you; here it is: http://acer.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/38147/~/windows-10%3A-create-a-usb-recovery-drive-using-acer-care-center

writemom66

I created a boot drive using the instructions in the link from my second Acer Switch 10. The good news is the non-booting Acer Switch 10 saw the USB drive and I could run the reset. However, it didn't work. After attempting the reset, I now get a message that there is no bootable drive. I don't know if the drive is actually bad or the reset failed becuase I created the boot device from an Acer Switch 10 that had been upgraded to Windows 10 (it was trying to reset to 8.1).

Mary-Acer

Normally when you get the no boot device error it means a bad hard drive which will need repair. If the system is in warranty you can contact warranty support from info posted at: http://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/service-contact. If you are out of warranty you can check with a local repair shop or Acer can provide out of warranty repair if you like. If so, send me a private message and we'll see what we can do to assist.