Aspire F 15 F5-571T-569T Cannot remove one-piece bottom cover to physically access HDD

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Answers

  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    Frankly this  now is beginning to look more and more   like a firmware update gone bad. Very close to but not quite a brick.  Win10 updates allegedly have been blamed for this sort of thing. But I'm still skeptical. I don't usually recommend this but we can still try to re-flash the BIOS since I don't think you have anything more to lose at this point. It requires downloading the latest firmware from here https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/6442?b=1  Then unzipping the file and running the executable on another computer to extract the binary. The binary is then copied to the root directory of an MBR partitioned FAT32 formatted USB stick and which in turn  used to flash the chip via the FN+ESC cold boot method. It almost always fails but worth a try if you're game. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • FrankJ
    FrankJ Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter
    It's worth a try since the only other alternative seems to be a crowbar. I will download the firmware now but may not get around to uploading it for a few weeks. Are you sure you don't want me to just mail this puzzle to you for entertainment purposes? You must know someone who would love to have a really neat laptop if you fix it. Maybe you have connections at ACER that could tell you how to get access to the inside of this model. 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    Answer ✓
    20 screws must be removed from the bottom cover. The first is one DVD bracket screw---the bigger green circle shown below. Then pull the DVD bracket and tray out. Then remove the other 19 screws. Then carefully pry up the base cover starting from the left corner of the system using your crowbar and work your way around till it pops off.  You'll probably break a few plastic snaps molded into the covers and maybe even crack the covers. But nothing that color-coordinated duct tape or JBWeld can't handle. Jack E/NJ



    Jack E/NJ

  • FrankJ
    FrankJ Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter
    Found a recovery CD for the Acer made 4 years ago using Microsoft method. Attempted recovery using Microsoft process: F2 >Boot> changed boot order priority to 1. ATAPI CDROM>Exit...saw "Press any key to boot from CDROM" pressed a key, CDROM came alive, eventually resulted in a "HDD Locked, unlock the HDD and retry" message.
    Found the way to access X/windows/system32 on CD and ran DiskPart>list disk.
    Result: 
    Disk 0   online   931 GB size   931 GB free
    ?
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    OK. At the DISKPART > prompt enter the following commands and note the result of (2).

    (1) select Disk 0
    (2) list volume

    Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • FrankJ
    FrankJ Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter
    Volume 0  D   Repair Disc UDF DVD-ROM   318MB Healthy

    select disk1 > The disk you specified is not valid 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    No. Get back to this point if you can >>>Found the way to access X/windows/system32 on CD and ran DiskPart>list disk. Result: Disk 0   online   931 GB size >>>  931 GB free>>>



    DISKPART > list disk. (Result was earlier according to you: Disk 0   online   931 GB size >>>  931 GB free)

    DISKPART > Select Disk 0 (Result should be Disk0 selected)

    DISKPART > List Volume (Result ?????)

    Jack E/NJ









    Jack E/NJ

  • FrankJ
    FrankJ Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter
    Apologies again, I was trying to do too many things at once and writing in shorthand. Full transcript follows per your request of 10:21 AM today:
    DISKPART>select disk 0 >>  Disk 0 is now the selected disk
    DISKPART>list volume  >>  Volume ###  LTR    Label          Fs      Type        Size      Status    Info
                                       Volume 0       0    Repair disc   UDF   DVD-ROM  318 MB  Healthy
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    Sorry. No again. Apparently you don't get the same "list disk" result that you posted yesterday https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/760427/#Comment_760427

    >>>Found the way to access X/windows/system32 on CD and ran DiskPart>list disk.
    Result: 
    Disk 0   online   931 GB size   931 GB free>>>>

    In other words, the 931GB HDD is not showing up anymore as Disk 0. The only thing showing up now is the 318MB DVD as Disk 0. Apparently you can no longer reproduce what you did yesterday. The HDD appears to be either disconnected or dead at the moment.


    Jack E/NJ.





    Jack E/NJ

  • FrankJ
    FrankJ Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter
    Here is the correct sequence you asked for at 10:21:
    DISKPART>list disk>> Disk 0   online   931 GB size   931 GB free
    DISKPART>select disk 0>> "disk 0 is now the selected disk"
    DISKPART>list volume >>   Volume 0      0    Repair disc   UDF   DVD-ROM  318 MB  Healthy
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    Looks like DISKPART can see the HDD but can't select it properly. While still inside the DISKPART prompt, can you eject the DVD disc. Then re-run the same 3 DISKPART commands without the DVD disc to see if the results change? Jack E/NJ 

    Jack E/NJ

  • FrankJ
    FrankJ Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter
    Same results as 11:17 except after DISKPART>list volume >>  "Volume 0    D            DVD-ROM   0B   No Media"     (other spaces blank)
    also note my typo on the "list volume" earlier result where I put a 0 instead of a D for the LTR 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    Have you pried open the back yet to try to get at the HDD's connection to the mainboard? Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • FrankJ
    FrankJ Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter
    No, not yet. I got the new laptop set up but still have a lot of other things that need to get done so it will be a few weeks before I get out the crowbar. If the problem turns out to be something worthy of report I will let you know.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    OK. The HDD is acting like only some of the connectors are working. Re-seating it a few times might be all that's needed. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • FrankJ
    FrankJ Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter
    Actually I have been thinking for a few months about replacing the 931 GB HDD with a 256 GB SSD anyway. I've done that with all the other computers in the house and still have plenty of free space in all. But I will do as you recommend and let you know if it works. Thanks for all the help that I can use in the future.
  • FrankJ
    FrankJ Member Posts: 19 Troubleshooter
    Finally had a little time to open up the laptop. It was actually no trouble with the instructions you sent. None of the plastic snaps broke, which is fortunate in that I now cannot find the seventeen screws in a bag that I put away when I took them out a month or two ago. 
    When I took out the HDD and connected it by USB cable to another computer, within a few seconds MiniTool Wizard indicated Bad Drive. I replaced it with a blank SSD and Windows installed with no problems.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,868 Trailblazer
    Congrats. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ