Predator PH517-51 shuts down unexpectedly within a minute of starting up.

NicholasV said:

Good day, all!

As per subject line.
I recently bought my Predator PH517-51 second-hand through a third-party buyer/seller. According to the sticker on the underside, this computer was manufactured in October 2018.

When I first started it up after unboxing it, the computer ran perfectly for about four hours.
After that, as a basic precaution, I formatted both drives (quick format only) then re-installed Windows from the C:/ drive recovery partition.

Since the re-install, the computer doesn't stay alive for more than a minute or so after a normal startup.
After that minute has passed:
1. The mouse, touchpad and keyboard stop responding to inputs.
2. Within a few seconds of ceasing to respond to inputs, the computer shuts down.
3. The computer can be restarted immediately after it shuts down.

Most recently, if I try to start up normally, the first thing the computer shows is a series of 'Write not complete!' notifications, one underneath the other.

If I start up in Safe Mode, the computer stays alive indefinitely.

Battery resets (disconnecting the external power supply, paperclip through underside pinhole, pressing down for four seconds, leaving computer without power for five minutes) have no effect.

Re-installing Windows (from the recovery partition AND from the USB recovery disk) also has no effect.

The computer has Windows 10 Pro (Build 19044.1586) and BIOS version 1.16.

Can anyone help? This is really, REALLY frustrating.

What I would do is to first, shut down the laptop remove the back case lid then unplug the Battery and then Press and Hold the Power Button for a full 1 Minute. Also unplug the CMOS battery and then and afterwards put back the Batteries and reconnect everything and connect the Power Adapter and test the laptop if it works and does not shut down? If the issue persists try running a battery test in "Safe Mode" and see the state of the actual battery as it could be an issue with the battery. As any software or hardware changes on your laptop can cause this issue also.

Also check all these factors that can cause a premature turn offs of power:

1. Have you tried checking with a different adapter or battery?

2. Does your laptop shut down while you are in BIOS?

3. It could be overheating, due to a failed fan or inadequate paste issues.

4. It could be "over-temperature" of the motherboard that is proactively shutting it down, to prevent a critical problem.

5. It could be a fault with the hardware: motherboard, the RAM (take the RAM out and clean its pins and reconnect) it could be the CPU, or the power supply.

IMO and after you get this laptop working, you should reinstall Win-10 Pro and do a proper “Clean Install” formatting the boot drive completely with “Create Windows 10 installation media” USB, then set the bios to boot from USB HDD as the first “Boot priority order” and start from scratch. As these “shuts down unexpectedly” should not be happening but, this happened to my brand new 2021 Nitro 5 AN515-56 running Win-11 Home and I traced it down to a defective USB hub that was part of my “Zalman tablet cooler” and was connected to the this laptops USB 3.0 side port, that was shortening the USB port out and causing these premature shut downs, have you got any hubs connected or any other things connected?

Try all that as and if all the above dont solve your problems then this laptop has an internal intermittent circuitry and/or motherboard fault that even though it worked at the beginning, it must appear afterwards, send it back to where you bought this laptop from.

AnhEZ28

@NicholasV you can try to open Care Center and check the Model name. Then go to the Predator Sense installation folder, plugs, and look for the PH517-51 folder. Rename that folder same model name that you found in Care Center. Like remove the word Predator or add the last 4 digits.

All comments

Jeyam

Hi @ NicholasV

power drain: Just check the back of the unit, you can find a pin hole , unplug the charger and turn off the unit. now put a paper clip in the small pin hole and press and hold it for 30 sec.

BIOS default: After power drain is done, power on the unit, but as soon as you power on the unit keep pressing the F2 key so that it take you to BIOS page. Press F9 and press Enter than press F10 and press Enter. the unit will restart

Hi Jeyam!

I followed those instructions exactly. No effect - the computer is still doing the same thing.

I had a look inside the machine last night. The fans are moving freely, and nothing appears overly dirty - so it's probably not dirt causing the fans to stick.

I've had a recommendation to re-install the BIOS. But since the computer only runs for a minute after start-up - and BIOS can't be installed in Safe Mode - I can't do it.

Does anyone else have any other suggestions?

@egydiocoelho tell him about the .fd file method.

Am I right in thinking that since the machine 1) seemed perfectly stable in the configuration I bought it in, and 2) boots up fine and stays stable in Safe Mode, my re-installation of Windows has eliminated some software - maybe a patch - that was keeping the machine in a stable configuration?
If so, does anyone have any idea what software that might have been?
Or am I going off into left field?

Right now, this machine isn't giving me a lot of confidence. Despite being a three-and-a-half-year-old machine bought second-hand, it's still the most expensive computer I've ever owned.

NicholasV said:

Good day, all!

As per subject line.
I recently bought my Predator PH517-51 second-hand through a third-party buyer/seller. According to the sticker on the underside, this computer was manufactured in October 2018.

When I first started it up after unboxing it, the computer ran perfectly for about four hours.
After that, as a basic precaution, I formatted both drives (quick format only) then re-installed Windows from the C:/ drive recovery partition.

Since the re-install, the computer doesn't stay alive for more than a minute or so after a normal startup.
After that minute has passed:
1. The mouse, touchpad and keyboard stop responding to inputs.
2. Within a few seconds of ceasing to respond to inputs, the computer shuts down.
3. The computer can be restarted immediately after it shuts down.

Most recently, if I try to start up normally, the first thing the computer shows is a series of 'Write not complete!' notifications, one underneath the other.

If I start up in Safe Mode, the computer stays alive indefinitely.

Battery resets (disconnecting the external power supply, paperclip through underside pinhole, pressing down for four seconds, leaving computer without power for five minutes) have no effect.

Re-installing Windows (from the recovery partition AND from the USB recovery disk) also has no effect.

The computer has Windows 10 Pro (Build 19044.1586) and BIOS version 1.16.

Can anyone help? This is really, REALLY frustrating.

What I would do is to first, shut down the laptop remove the back case lid then unplug the Battery and then Press and Hold the Power Button for a full 1 Minute. Also unplug the CMOS battery and then and afterwards put back the Batteries and reconnect everything and connect the Power Adapter and test the laptop if it works and does not shut down? If the issue persists try running a battery test in "Safe Mode" and see the state of the actual battery as it could be an issue with the battery. As any software or hardware changes on your laptop can cause this issue also.

Also check all these factors that can cause a premature turn offs of power:

1. Have you tried checking with a different adapter or battery?

2. Does your laptop shut down while you are in BIOS?

3. It could be overheating, due to a failed fan or inadequate paste issues.

4. It could be "over-temperature" of the motherboard that is proactively shutting it down, to prevent a critical problem.

5. It could be a fault with the hardware: motherboard, the RAM (take the RAM out and clean its pins and reconnect) it could be the CPU, or the power supply.

IMO and after you get this laptop working, you should reinstall Win-10 Pro and do a proper “Clean Install” formatting the boot drive completely with “Create Windows 10 installation media” USB, then set the bios to boot from USB HDD as the first “Boot priority order” and start from scratch. As these “shuts down unexpectedly” should not be happening but, this happened to my brand new 2021 Nitro 5 AN515-56 running Win-11 Home and I traced it down to a defective USB hub that was part of my “Zalman tablet cooler” and was connected to the this laptops USB 3.0 side port, that was shortening the USB port out and causing these premature shut downs, have you got any hubs connected or any other things connected?

Try all that as and if all the above dont solve your problems then this laptop has an internal intermittent circuitry and/or motherboard fault that even though it worked at the beginning, it must appear afterwards, send it back to where you bought this laptop from.

Hi SteveGen!

Following a hunch, I didn't try every one of your suggestions, but instead went straight for a clean Windows 10 Pro installation from a Windows 10 *.ISO downloaded from the Microsoft website, then re-installed all the drivers.

I'm happy to report that the computer hasn't shut off unexpectedly since the clean install.

I still don't know exactly what was causing the shutdowns, but knowing that I found a way to prevent them is enough for me.

Thank you to everyone for all their help so far!

There are two problems still remaining - I hope someone can help to solve them:

1) When starting up the machine, I still get a series of 'Write not complete!!' and 'Can not find Realtek HD codec!!' warnings before the Windows login screen (below). In this context, I have no idea what 'Write not complete!!' actually means:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/1g/pxh0bt5e8sln.png

2) The machine isn't allowing me to install Predator Sense. When I try, it shows me an error dialogue saying 'Sorry, this machine is not compatible'.

I specifically downloaded Predator Sense for the PH517-51 from the relevant Acer downloads page, so I don't know what the issue might be.

Did you install all the drivers from Acer site for your model?

I've searched the forums here, using the keywords 'Cannot install predator sense'.

The only piece of info I found that had any relevance to my issue was that if the machine's Product Name (as encoded in the BIOS) differs from the model name sub-folder in the Predator Sense 'Plugs' folder (PredatorSense_Acer_3.00.3136_W10x64\plugs\), Predator Sense will not install.

Now, I saw Predator Sense working on this machine a week ago.

Is the implication that the machine's Product Name has magically changed between then and now?

More to the point: how is it that Acer can ship an application with a dependency that doesn't correspond to information that's actually available?

I've owned two other Acers before this one: an Aspire 5720Z, and an Aspire 7740G. Both gave me superb service and did everything I asked of them.
This thing? I'm now thoroughly fed up with it. Since the day I unboxed it, it's been one step forward, two steps back.

If I'd bought this thing new, I'd already be asking for my money back.

XdxD said:

Did you install all the drivers from Acer site for your model?

Yes - every one of them.

At least two of them don't lauch through applications or executable files, but rather from Windows command scripts.

I also have Acer Care Center and Acer Quick Access installed.

AnhEZ28

@NicholasV you can try to open Care Center and check the Model name. Then go to the Predator Sense installation folder, plugs, and look for the PH517-51 folder. Rename that folder same model name that you found in Care Center. Like remove the word Predator or add the last 4 digits.

AnhEZ28 said:

@NicholasV you can try to open Care Center and check the Model name. Then go to the Predator Sense installation folder, plugs, and look for the PH517-51 folder. Rename that folder same model name that you found in Care Center. Like remove the word Predator or add the last 4 digits.

@AnhEZ28: Anhez, thanks for that! The suggestion worked perfectly.

I might add that the sub-folder in 'Plugs' needs to be changed to the EXACT model name as the computer you're trying to install it on (in my case, NH-PH517-51-990F).

The only issue left is those 'Write not complete!!' and 'Can not find Realtek HD codec!!' warnings that appear prior to the Windows login screen... can anyone suggest what the root cause of those warnings might be?

NicholasV said:

The only issue left is those 'Write not complete!!' and 'Can not find Realtek HD codec!!' warnings that appear prior to the Windows login screen... can anyone suggest what the root cause of those warnings might be?

What I would suggest is this, first uninstall completely the Realtek audio driver from Device Manager, then install the Acer OEM "Audio Driver version 6.0.1.8485" reboot the laptop then see if this 'Write not complete” is gone? Also, what bios are you running? Is your PH517-51 got the last bios update v1.15 tilted BIOS as this update could generally update the bios parameters that this error causes with your laptops audio drivers and other things? Also with the bios flash be very careful and take every pre bios flash precautions so that you do a proper flash, like don’t run the anti-virus, don’t have any printers and/or USB hubs connected with peripherals, don’t run any software and disable any software that is running in the background, also don’t do a bios flash if the laptop has any causes of going into a bsod error state and/or a power disruption. Try all that and let us know if its fixed this error.

@StevenGen: Again, thanks for your help!

The machine was actually shipped to me with BIOS V1.16, and that's what's currently running.

Okay, to list everything in order:

1. I went into Device Manager, and checked out the audio input/output drivers.

Only a generic Microsoft driver for audio output was installed.

No driver for microphone input.

2. I thought that was weird, since I knew I'd installed the Realtek HD driver package (same version number you mentioned) yesterday.

So I uninstalled the generic drivers (from Device Manager), uninstalled the Realtek driver (from Control Panel -> Uninstall Programs), and restarted the machine.

3. When restarting, the 'Write not complete!!' and 'Can not find Realtek HD codec!!' warnings were gone, startup was quick, and the machine made the Predator start-up sound.

4. Going back into Device Manager, I saw that Windows had auto-installed generic drivers for both audio output AND input.

I deleted those, re-installed the Realtek driver package, and re-started the machine.

5. On restart:

- The 'Write not complete!!' and 'Can not find Realtek HD codec!!' warnings were back.

- The machine DIDN'T make the Predator start-up sound.

- Realtek audio drivers are now listed for input and output in Device Manager.

- I played some test sounds, and they played fine.

Windows Update doesn't offer you any Realtek updates? Seems like your model's drivers aren't properly getting installedor they aren't properly packaged by Acer. Can you share the hardware ID for your Realtek sound device from Device Manager?

Going back into Device Manager, I saw that Windows had auto-installed generic drivers for both audio output AND input.
I deleted those, re-installed the Realtek driver package, and re-started the machine.

5. On restart:
- The 'Write not complete!!' and 'Can not find Realtek HD codec!!' warnings were back.
- The machine DIDN'T make the Predator start-up sound.

@XdXD: According to the 'Properties' dialogue, the Hardware ID for the microphone array and speakers is: MMDEVAPI\AudioEndpoints.

NicholasV said:

@StevenGen: Again, thanks for your help!

The machine was actually shipped to me with BIOS V1.16, and that's what's currently running.

Okay, to list everything in order:

1. I went into Device Manager, and checked out the audio input/output drivers.
Only a generic Microsoft driver for audio output was installed.
No driver for microphone input.

2. I thought that was weird, since I knew I'd installed the Realtek HD driver package (same version number you mentioned) yesterday.
So I uninstalled the generic drivers (from Device Manager), uninstalled the Realtek driver (from Control Panel -> Uninstall Programs), and restarted the machine.

3. When restarting, the 'Write not complete!!' and 'Can not find Realtek HD codec!!' warnings were gone, startup was quick, and the machine made the Predator start-up sound.

4. Going back into Device Manager, I saw that Windows had auto-installed generic drivers for both audio output AND input.
I deleted those, re-installed the Realtek driver package, and re-started the machine.

5. On restart:
- The 'Write not complete!!' and 'Can not find Realtek HD codec!!' warnings were back.
- The machine DIDN'T make the Predator start-up sound.
- Realtek audio drivers are now listed for input and output in Device Manager.
- I played some test sounds, and they played fine.

Well the v1.16 is not an Acer bios update (see PH517-51 the Acer Drivers & Manuals page) which could be the problem also, as Acer tests all their bios versions and drivers and they do not release anything that can cause problems which could be the case with your laptop, downgrade the bios but, be very careful as this has to be done by either Acer or an experienced tech that knows how to do this! Also and if the bios downgrade doesn't work, do what you have done from steps 1 to 3 and let the Microsoft drivers work for this laptop. I'm including my Device Manager for both Input and Sound as a reference that works and you should have something similar.

@NicholasV I meant like this:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/7j/z5mgcsvxsfqg.png

StevenGen said:

Well the v1.16 is not an Acer bios update (see PH517-51 the Acer Drivers & Manuals page) which could be the problem also, as Acer tests all their bios versions and drivers and they do not release anything that can cause problems which could be the case with your laptop.

That's strange. Going to that link - which is the exact page I downloaded all the drivers from - it's clearly visible in the 'BIOS' sub-section that the most current version (in fact, the only available version) is V1.16.

StevenGen said:

Also and if the bios downgrade doesn't work, do what you have done from steps 1 to 3 and let the Microsoft drivers work for this laptop. I'm including my Device Manager for both Input and Sound as a reference that works and you should have something similar.

I'm not really sure how I did it or what happened, but the machine is currently running the Realtek drivers, and has not misbehaved for at least 24 hours.

I've no idea what was done right, or how - but as long as the machine behaves, I'm not complaining!

Again: BIG thanks to everyone who's helped with these problems. You helped restore some faith in humanity... not to mention my laptop.