Problem with Samsung SSD 970 Pro and Acer Predator 17X GX-791

Hello guys,

I have the Acer Predator 17X GX-791 for more than 2 years and I am very happy with it. When I bought it I upgraded it to the maximum of 64GB RAM. It is equpped with two Toshiba SSDs in RAID0 which produce around 900MB/sec read rates. I decided it is time to go for an NVME drive and bought the Samsung SSD 970 Pro 512GB. My BIOS is InsydeH20 rev.5.0. Using the EaseUS Todo Backup utility I created a full partition backup of the RAID array to the 7200 1TB HDD which is also part of the laptop. Then shut down the laptop, removed the two Toshiba SSDs and placed the new Samsung 970 Pro on the port which is located in the lowest position /I have read this is the port that indeed supports NVME/. When I powered up the machine my BIOS could see the new drive, however my BIOS is locked and the SATA mode is set to RAID, no option to change it. I booted from a rescue disk and restored the full backup to the new Samsung drive from the HDD. The restore run smoothly. Finally, I have set the 970 Pro as a boot priority and crossed fingers. Well, Windows 10 did not boot at all. No errors, no BSOD, it simply reboots the laptop at the Predator logo and nothing happens. I have read the entire Internet and tried to fix this issue but with no success. I guess it could be because of the locked SATA setting in BIOS or perhaps Windows does not want to update its registries to boot from an AHCI SSD when it was first installed on a RAID0 array. Tried the Windows startup repair, tried to install Samsung NVME driver prior creating a partition backup. Unfortunately, no success. I think I need to change some registry values but am not sure which ones. Could someone give me a hand? I am totally stuck and cannot boot from the NVME drive. Many thanks in advance to all!

Accepted answers

Danza

Thank you, guys! I guess trying with Acronis or Samsung data migration tool might work. However, I decided it will be much faster to simply install a fresh copy of Windows directly on the NVME drive. I have lost too much time reading and trying, it was easier to do a fresh install of Windows. Everything run smoothly and the OS was able to boot from Samsung 970 Pro. Just to sumarize, cloning the OS to a another drive with different storage controller could be a tricky task depending on your setup, cloning tools and method. It is Windows itself that needs to update its registries, no matter how you clone the partitions, especially EFI boot. Perhaps if I had to clone from another SATA SSD in AHCI, it would be OK, but cloning from a RAID0 array was an issue. I did not change the SATA mode in BIOS, as InsydeH20 rev.5.0 is locked. It is working just fine with RAID as predefined setting. This BIOS version allows you to boot from an NVME drive, no matter the SATA setting. Windows is faulty. Thank you once again for your kind suggestions!

All comments

Deejay_tech

use Samsung data migration tool to clone to your Samsung 970.
remove the hdd and you can connect the 970 to your existing hdd connector via m.2 to sata adapter. (very cheap to buy)

that is what I did in my helios 300. and since my bios had the achi option I had used that.

Commodore_1995#

Did you disconnect the hd, too? What is the bios version? Tried to do an installation using an iso from microsoft and converting ssd to gpt? Did you disable the secure boot by creating a password in setsupervisorpassword?

asad814

Maybe this would help
https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/556244/ssd-disappearing-after-restart-please-help/p1

Danza

Thank you, guys, for the replies. My BIOS is InsydeH20 rev.5.0. It is locked and the SATA mode is preset to RAID. No option to change it, no option to unlock the BIOS. I have not tried the Samsung Data Migration tool to clone the OS. I could give it a try, however it does the same as EaseUS Backup tool. I think the problem is with Windows itself since the Samsung drive has been detected by BIOS and the OS tries to initiate but reboots at the Predator logo. I guess it has something to do with Windows boot configuration for AHCI/RAID which still thinks it is the RAID0 array and not the NVME.

Commodore_1995#

Editado....

Deejay_tech

Danza said:

Thank you, guys, for the replies. My BIOS is InsydeH20 rev.5.0. It is locked and the SATA mode is preset to RAID. No option to change it, no option to unlock the BIOS. I have not tried the Samsung Data Migration tool to clone the OS. I could give it a try, however it does the same as EaseUS Backup tool. I think the problem is with Windows itself since the Samsung drive has been detected by BIOS and the OS tries to initiate but reboots at the Predator logo. I guess it has something to do with Windows boot configuration for AHCI/RAID which still thinks it is the RAID0 array and not the NVME.

yes the problem is as you described.
the boot process is looking for some data / file/ link which is not there on the samsung ssd. bcd entries could be the issue.

i had used windows built in clonning ( windows 7 system backup restore) and few other utilities including easeus to clone, every time the clone was successful but the 970 ssd refused to boot. only using samsung data migration tool proved successful. hence my suggestion.

to clone to samsung ssd you will have to plug the ssd to your hdd connector as the migration tool requires the physical presence of the ssd in the system.

nb: after clonning and successful boot up i had used samsung magician app. it found a new firmware for the samsung ssd and updated it.

ven98

Danza said:

I guess it has something to do with Windows boot configuration for AHCI/RAID which still thinks it is the RAID0 array and not the NVME.

I think this could be the reason.

Maybe setting the SATA mode to AHCI in BIOS might help. You can try to unlock this option by setting a superviser password, which in some cases unlocks options that are usually locked. Make sure secure boot option is disabled(if it is locked creating a supervisor password will unlock it.

You can try putting the 2 toshiba ssds that were previously in raid back in the laptop with cloned windows in one of them(can also try on both). Maybe the OS will recognise both SSDs and run them in RAID(the chance to work is very tiny, but still worth a try), which will enable you to create a USB recovery drive, which can be used to install windows anew in the 970pro and then move the files you need for the HDD.

If both of these options don't work, your only option is to create a windows installation media on another working device from microsoft's website and then use it to install windows on the desired drive as @egydiocoelho mentioned in his previous post.

Deejay_tech

clean install to samsung ssd will work, but he wants to clone his existing system. many users prefer to clone due to the nature of their software installations. they do not want the headache of reinstalling all their apps and data and reconfigure the windows os.

ven98

Well, if there is no way to make it work with cloning the drive, then what other options does he/she have?

asad814

You can clone the os successfully by using acronis software....it worked for me aswell

Deejay_tech

ven98 said:

Well, if there is no way to make it work with cloning the drive, then what other options does he/she have?

i am not so tech savvy as many here, but i have posted my experience with it. it worked for me but it may or may not work with Danza (the OP), as his system is different than mine ( mine is helios 300).
anyways no harm in trying.
other tip i posted is about the updated firmware for samsung ssd. although i doubt it may be of help but again no harm in doing it.

Danza

Thank you, guys! I guess trying with Acronis or Samsung data migration tool might work. However, I decided it will be much faster to simply install a fresh copy of Windows directly on the NVME drive. I have lost too much time reading and trying, it was easier to do a fresh install of Windows. Everything run smoothly and the OS was able to boot from Samsung 970 Pro. Just to sumarize, cloning the OS to a another drive with different storage controller could be a tricky task depending on your setup, cloning tools and method. It is Windows itself that needs to update its registries, no matter how you clone the partitions, especially EFI boot. Perhaps if I had to clone from another SATA SSD in AHCI, it would be OK, but cloning from a RAID0 array was an issue. I did not change the SATA mode in BIOS, as InsydeH20 rev.5.0 is locked. It is working just fine with RAID as predefined setting. This BIOS version allows you to boot from an NVME drive, no matter the SATA setting. Windows is faulty. Thank you once again for your kind suggestions!