Chromebook Spin 15 CP315: Problems with MicroSD and USB storage devices, data transfers.

I've upgraded from Chromebook 14 CB3 (Edgar) to Spin 15 CP315 (Bruce/Coral). I'm not going to list step by step everything that's happened because it's been going on all day. I'm using media that works on other devices, including a Sandisk Ultra Fit from my last Chromebook (which is now gone) with offline backed up data. The new machine won't read the USB drive. MicroSD cards seem glitchy. Reads fail after a while, writes appear to fail. Formatting fails! Even data transfers via MTP and a cable to my Kindle Fire fails.

I've only seen this on one machine in the past, it was a HP laptop and it came down to a firmware issue. The drives have been tested with the only other computer I have running - my Raspberry Pi server and it reads the drives fine.

Has anyone else got the Spin 15 CB315? Have they had any problems with data transfer via MicroSD and USB? I really don't want to send the machine back, it took two weeks to get this one in the shop and there is so little information online about the machine or potential problems.

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christy1

Hi,

Insert the USB flash drive into one of the USB-C ports.
Navigate to the Launcher > All Apps > Files.
Select your USB flash drive.
Navigate to and select the files you want to move/copy.
Drag the selected files into the desired folder. ...
To prevent any data loss, make sure to eject the USB flash drive before removing it.

billsey

That sounds more like a USB problem even with the SD card issues. The SD card reader is actually on an internal USB bus and that data is getting corrupted it'd have those types of symptoms. How old is the unit? If new enough I'd have the vendor swap it out for you, if not get in touch with Acer support and they should fix you up.

ChromieBob

christy1 said:

Hi,
Insert the USB flash drive into one of the USB-C ports.
Navigate to the Launcher > All Apps > Files.
Select your USB flash drive.
Navigate to and select the files you want to move/copy.
Drag the selected files into the desired folder. ...
To prevent any data loss, make sure to eject the USB flash drive before removing it.

I'm using standard USB. I don't have any USB-C devices.

ChromieBob

billsey said:

That sounds more like a USB problem even with the SD card issues. The SD card reader is actually on an internal USB bus and that data is getting corrupted it'd have those types of symptoms. How old is the unit? If new enough I'd have the vendor swap it out for you, if not get in touch with Acer support and they should fix you up.

That's my assumption too, they're usually on the same bus. I've also noticed screen corruption, I don't believe it is hardware - I think it's software, I noticed when it was busy in the background and I was downloading something from the Play Store (Crossover for Chromebooks) when I clicked on the notification to check the download progress, the screen corrupted and went crazy. As soon as I clicked elsewhere, the screen went back to normal. So I clicked the notification again and it went crazy again. I lowered the screen resolution and that seemed to fix the problem - !?!? I'm noticing some apps cause the machine to simply power off.

Like I say I have only seen this kind of thing once before (as a computer engineer) and it was fixed with a firmware update, but it took three replacement machines and a lot of complaints from me and a number of other users in the support forums over 18 months to get a patch issued. My thoughts are that unlike the CB3-431 (Edgar) which seemed very popular and has been out a couple of years, this is still a new machine (like I say, it took the store two weeks to get it) and so not too much feedback exists as to any problems. I found on reddit (since I posted the above) at least two people who had a CP315 and have returned them because of 'glitches' in the display etc.

Also since last night I gave up trying to copy off data from one MicroSD card - a Sandisk 128GB that I've been using on a tablet until yesterday. I just formatted it and put some data on it, but when I switched the Chromebook on today it could not read the card (!!), I had to eject it and put it back in again - then it worked.

The machine doesn't feel as reliable and stable as my last Chromebook.

So I am still wondering if this is common, what other's experiences are - is there some problem with the 'Bruce' hardware or the more widely with the 'Coral' baseboard.

If I send this back, I will only be offered another one like it - or I will have to get the CB3-431 again, those are the only two choices open to me as I'm on a 'rent to buy' scheme.

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