Acer Predator Helios 300 (PH315-51-78NP) No Bootable Device

So i got this problem that happened a couple weeks back. After nearly a year of use, it started to get the blue screen which caused my laptop to reset. Then it happens more and more frequently until last week it crashed and failed to reboot. All it showed was No Bootable Device. I created a USB recovery when i first got the laptop, i boot using USB and did all the usual automatic repairs and restore points. They all failed.

I left my laptop alone for a couple days before i have time to take it to Acer service center. Before going i turned on the laptop and everything booted up fine! I was very very confused as to why that happened.

I read all about the possible fixes and immediately went about doing it. I downloaded the Intel SSD toolbox and ran the diagnostics tools, the SSD is perfectly fine showing 100% health. I did the Windows internal scannow and it did find a few corrupt file but thankfully it was repaired without issues. I updated Intel 760p SSD firmware, Windows and the Nvidia drivers to latest one. Also made a new recovery point.

Fast forward a couple days and it crashed again. This time i had no trouble booting up with Windows but it would crash after two minutes logging in. I have no idea whats going on because i did update everything and didnt install anything new since then. Went into safe mode and the problem persists which many solutions out there says it is most likely Windows problem or i got infected by virus.

I gave in and decided to reinstall Windows with the recovery USB. Everything went great and i got the computer to boot back into Windows. First thing i did was update Windows and the Nvidia drivers. The next thing is i installed a new Antivirus program. Everything is smooth as butter, and thats five days ago.

Just now i came back home to my laptop with black screen, but lit keyboard. It was perfectly fine when i left my home a couple hours ago. Screen isnt responsive and after a min it rebooted itself and the dreaded No Bootable Device appeared again!

I am at a lost to what is wrong with the laptop. I had a brand new install of Windows and the only program i installed during that time was an antivirus program. My faith in Acer has certainly been lost. If it is indeed the SSD failure, i will not be buying Acer ever again. How can something like an SSD fail after less than a year of useage? I dont even install or save anything to the Intel SSD drive as i have a 1TB Samsung SSD in the HDD bay, its just a boot drive for Windows! My previous MSI laptop has been running fine for the past seven years and its still running.

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Daniel_Mokhitli

First and foremost is, when AC adapter (mainly say, PSU - Watts) decreases kills any storage media that is there on either laptop or computer - When that is happening (PSU stops working), you will notice by that BSOD (Blue Screen of Death).

That's all. nothing much and nothing less. Just chance Power Supply Unit.

BLeeBlee

I dont really understand what you're saying. Are you telling me it could be a problem with my charging brick?

XdxD

Since you reinstalled using the recovery drive (meaning that you indeed have a backup), can you try to clean install using the ISO from Microsoft? I used to have BSODs on Acer's stock Windows 10 but after clean install of 1903, I never had one since August. Moreover, my Predator is from 2017.

BLeeBlee

XdxD said:

Since you reinstalled using the recovery drive (meaning that you indeed have a backup), can you try to clean install using the ISO from Microsoft? I used to have BSODs on Acer's stock Windows 10 but after clean install of 1903, I never had one since August. Moreover, my Predator is from 2017.

BIOS doesnt even detect the hard drive anymore. That could be a problem.

Also, which Windows 10 1903 edition is stable? 2018 or 2019?

XdxD

1903 means the one released in March, 2019. Also, why isn't your hard drive detected by BIOS? Is it damaged? Detected within Windows?

BLeeBlee

XdxD said:

1903 means the one released in March, 2019. Also, why isn't your hard drive detected by BIOS? Is it damaged? Detected within Windows?

I do not know why, maybe because the hard drive failed. BIOS shows no boot drive and only my USB when I had that plugged in.

xapim

BLeeBlee thats very weird either its a bios bug or your drive its becoming damaged somehow (its unusual but manufacturing faults happen everywhere) try a complete battery power drain and after reset your bios to defaults and see if your drive gets detected again if not try your drive in another device if you can either via usb adapter or m.2 slot in case you could do this i would backup everything you need from the drive and format it after put i back into the laptop and try to reinstall windows again either via acer recovery usb drive or windows usb drive whatever you would prefer you can also check for any bios update (if you arent on the last one already) that would mention a fix for the ssd or something similar in the case you find out its the drive itself send it for warranty replace/repair asap as you stated its less than one year i assume its still under warranty

BLeeBlee

xapim said:

BLeeBlee thats very weird either its a bios bug or your drive its becoming damaged somehow (its unusual but manufacturing faults happen everywhere) try a complete battery power drain and after reset your bios to defaults and see if your drive gets detected again if not try your drive in another device if you can either via usb adapter or m.2 slot in case you could do this i would backup everything you need from the drive and format it after put i back into the laptop and try to reinstall windows again either via acer recovery usb drive or windows usb drive whatever you would prefer you can also check for any bios update (if you arent on the last one already) that would mention a fix for the ssd or something similar in the case you find out its the drive itself send it for warranty replace/repair asap as you stated its less than one year i assume its still under warranty

I have already tried resetting the BIOS back to default, no luck. Also tried the battery reset trick, also no luck. I just ordered another NVME SSD to see if indeed it is the original SSD is at fault. I really hope it is that simple and the motherboard is still alright. The SSD isnt that much more than the enclosure, it was on sale. Will update once i get the delivery of it and test it out.

Appreciate all the help i am getting, as i am not really tech savvy.

XdxD

Since you are able to enter BIOS, your motherboard is alright.

xapim

BLeeBlee said:

xapim said:

BLeeBlee thats very weird either its a bios bug or your drive its becoming damaged somehow (its unusual but manufacturing faults happen everywhere) try a complete battery power drain and after reset your bios to defaults and see if your drive gets detected again if not try your drive in another device if you can either via usb adapter or m.2 slot in case you could do this i would backup everything you need from the drive and format it after put i back into the laptop and try to reinstall windows again either via acer recovery usb drive or windows usb drive whatever you would prefer you can also check for any bios update (if you arent on the last one already) that would mention a fix for the ssd or something similar in the case you find out its the drive itself send it for warranty replace/repair asap as you stated its less than one year i assume its still under warranty

I have already tried resetting the BIOS back to default, no luck. Also tried the battery reset trick, also no luck. I just ordered another NVME SSD to see if indeed it is the original SSD is at fault. I really hope it is that simple and the motherboard is still alright. The SSD isnt that much more than the enclosure, it was on sale. Will update once i get the delivery of it and test it out.

Appreciate all the help i am getting, as i am not really tech savvy.

Let us know how did it go

BLeeBlee

Update,
The new SSD has arrived and I went ahead and turn on the laptop to reset the BIOS one more time just to make sure.

After it has not been touched for more than a week, the **** booted right up into Windows without a hiccup! I run the same Intel toolbox checks and again it tells me the SSD is in 100% health. Restarted it a few times, booted right back into Windows. Shut it off and let it sit for a couple hours, booted right back into Windows. Left it running overnight, no crashes.

Its like this laptop enjoys toying with me and making a fool of me. Im ready throw this thing out my window.

XdxD

BLeeBlee said:

Update,
The new SSD has arrived and I went ahead and turn on the laptop to reset the BIOS one more time just to make sure.

After it has not been touched for more than a week, the ***** booted right up into Windows without a hiccup! I run the same Intel toolbox checks and again it tells me the SSD is in 100% health. Restarted it a few times, booted right back into Windows. Shut it off and let it sit for a couple hours, booted right back into Windows. Left it running overnight, no crashes.

Its like this laptop enjoys toying with me and making a fool of me. Im ready throw this thing out my window.

Nice to hear that it works again for you.

BLeeBlee

XdxD said:

BLeeBlee said:

Update,
The new SSD has arrived and I went ahead and turn on the laptop to reset the BIOS one more time just to make sure.

After it has not been touched for more than a week, the ***** booted right up into Windows without a hiccup! I run the same Intel toolbox checks and again it tells me the SSD is in 100% health. Restarted it a few times, booted right back into Windows. Shut it off and let it sit for a couple hours, booted right back into Windows. Left it running overnight, no crashes.

Its like this laptop enjoys toying with me and making a fool of me. Im ready throw this thing out my window.

Nice to hear that it works again for you.

I wouldnt say this is nice. Its like a ticking time bomb right now and i feel like its going to die at unexpected moments. I installed new Windows 10 on the new SSD but i cant possibly carry it around with tools to install it when it does die on me.

Also my warranty is almost up on one year and ending soon. I want to get it warrantied with replacement of new SSD but i dont know how to recreate the problem when i take it for service.