Predator Helios 300 PH315-52 Constant Freezing/Blue Screen Crashes

JasperA

I've had a Predator Helios 300 (model PH315-52) for about two years, and recently it's been crashing and freezing a lot. It seems to crash regardless of which software/game is open at the time, and sometimes happens as often as every few minutes. Occasionally, it'll say "No Bootable Device" and force me to force restart multiple times. I don't use the overclocking feature either, if that's relevant. I've had the operating system reinstalled twice, and it hasn't resolved the issue.

Unfortunately, the blue screen only flashes for a second so I don't have the error codes. I'm looking for any advice that may help, or point me in the direction of a fix. I'm also wondering if it'd be worth taking the laptop to be taken apart and examined for loose or damaged components.

Please let me know if there is additional information that I can provide. Thank you.

JackE

OK. I suspect the problem is related to the Samsung drive operating in iRST with optane SATA mode. Might've worked OK in Win10 but apparently not well in Win11. Probably should be changed to the standard, more reliable AHCI mode but there is some risk in losing data if not done correctly.

You have 3 choices.

(1) Live with the intermittent freezing until future MicrosoftWin11 and AcerWin11 and Intel boot mode updates hopefully fix the problem --- a good possibility but hard to predict when

(2) Back up your personal information and perform an ACER OEM factory Win10 system reset from the hidden Acer recovery partition. This should return the system to a factory fresh Win10 system state as when you first acquired the machine.This is a long process since all the Win10 updates would then have to be re-applied up to and including the latest Win10 updates

(3) Change the Samsung from iRST with optane to AHCI mode operation in Win11. This has to be carefully done via Win11 SafeBoot mode to try to avoid corrupting the drive.

If it was mine, I'd probably go for #3 as it's probably the quickest way to try to resolve the issue. Furthermore, AHCI mode seems to have less sensitivity to major operating system changes. But it's not mine. So you have to make the decision and we can help walk you thru whichever you want to do. 

.

JackE

Press WIN+R. Enter 'msinfo32'. Expand components folder in left  pane. Click problem devices. Anything show up?

JasperA

JackE said:

Press WIN+R. Enter 'msinfo32'. Expand components folder in left  pane. Click problem devices. Anything show up?

No, there's nothing listed under problem devices.

JackE

OK. Expand storage subfolder under components folder. Then click on  Disks. What is disk drive model number listed in right pane?

StevenGen

JasperA said:

I've had a Predator Helios 300 (model PH315-52) for about two years, and recently it's been crashing and freezing a lot. It seems to crash regardless of which software/game is open at the time, and sometimes happens as often as every few minutes. Occasionally, it'll say "No Bootable Device" and force me to force restart multiple times. I don't use the overclocking feature either, if that's relevant. I've had the operating system reinstalled twice, and it hasn't resolved the issue.

Unfortunately, the blue screen only flashes for a second so I don't have the error codes. I'm looking for any advice that may help, or point me in the direction of a fix. I'm also wondering if it'd be worth taking the laptop to be taken apart and examined for loose or damaged components.

Please let me know if there is additional information that I can provide. Thank you.

If you have reinstalled the OS and have got all drivers up to date and are still getting bsod's then its a hardware problem, check your ram and also clean the ram pins and also use another ram module, as ram is a main cause of bsod's and systems not booting. Also check your main battery and reset the bios by taking out the battery. Open the back cover and disconnect the main battery and the cmos bios battery and leave them disconnected for 5 min and then reconnect them and power the laptop on and see if your problems still happen? If these steps don't fix your laptops crashing and freezing problems then its a more deep rooted problem that needs an experienced tech to diagnose your laptop, as there may be internal power stages circuitries that are shortening out and causing your problems.    

JasperA

JackE said:

OK. Expand storage subfolder under components folder. Then click on  Disks. What is disk drive model number listed in right pane?

The model is NVMe SAMSUNG MZVLB512

JasperA

StevenGen said:

JasperA said:

I've had a Predator Helios 300 (model PH315-52) for about two years, and recently it's been crashing and freezing a lot. It seems to crash regardless of which software/game is open at the time, and sometimes happens as often as every few minutes. Occasionally, it'll say "No Bootable Device" and force me to force restart multiple times. I don't use the overclocking feature either, if that's relevant. I've had the operating system reinstalled twice, and it hasn't resolved the issue.

Unfortunately, the blue screen only flashes for a second so I don't have the error codes. I'm looking for any advice that may help, or point me in the direction of a fix. I'm also wondering if it'd be worth taking the laptop to be taken apart and examined for loose or damaged components.

Please let me know if there is additional information that I can provide. Thank you.

If you have reinstalled the OS and have got all drivers up to date and are still getting bsod's then its a hardware problem, check your ram and also clean the ram pins and also use another ram module, as ram is a main cause of bsod's and systems not booting. Also check your main battery and reset the bios by taking out the battery. Open the back cover and disconnect the main battery and the cmos bios battery and leave them disconnected for 5 min and then reconnect them and power the laptop on and see if your problems still happen? If these steps don't fix your laptops crashing and freezing problems then its a more deep rooted problem that needs an experienced tech to diagnose your laptop, as there may be internal power stages circuitries that are shortening out and causing your problems.    

Thank you for letting me know that it's likely a hardware problem. I have no experience with disassembling computers so I may have to have this done by a professional, but I'll definitely work on it.

JackE

>>>Occasionally, it'll say "No Bootable Device" >>>NVMe SAMSUNG MZVLB512>>>

Win10 or Win11?

JasperA

JackE said:

>>>Occasionally, it'll say "No Bootable Device" >>>NVMe SAMSUNG MZVLB512>>>

Win10 or Win11?

Windows 11.

Jeyam

Try a bios default if it says no bootable device. Also try a full reset for the unit. Take backup of your device before reset. 

JackE

>>>Windows 11>>>>

How long after installing Win11 did the issue begin?

JasperA

Jeyam said:

Try a bios default if it says no bootable device. Also try a full reset for the unit. Take backup of your device before reset. 

Unfortunately, I've tried a full reset but it hasn't resolved this. I'll keep that in mind the next time I get a no bootable device error, though.

JasperA

JackE said:

>>>Windows 11>>>>

How long after installing Win11 did the issue begin?

I wish I could say, but I'm honestly not sure. Could upgrading to Windows 11 have caused a problem like this?

JackE

Yes, quite possible. You see, despite Microsoft hype & small print qualifiers, your machine isn't fully ready for Win11 till the driver and firmware updates in this link show up under Win11. https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/7983?b=1

Meanwhile, can you post phone photos of your BIOS Information & Main tabs after pressing Ctrl+S in each tab?

JasperA

JackE said:

Yes, quite possible. You see, despite Microsoft hype & small print qualifiers, your machine isn't fully ready for Win11 till the driver and firmware updates in this link show up under Win11. https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/7983?b=1

Meanwhile, can you post phone photos of your BIOS Information & Main tabs after pressing Ctrl+S in each tab?

Sorry, but can you please clarify what you want me to send and how to access it? Thanks.

JackE

Shut machine down normally. Then turn it back on and immediately start tapping the F2 key. The BIOS menu with tabs should appear. The first tab shows general laptop INFORMATION. The second tab shows some  MAIN laptop settings.

If you can attach phone jpg photos of each tab (click attach image file icon in the Leave a comment box), that would be helpful. If not, I can ask you questions about what you see in each tab.

JasperA

JackE said:

Shut machine down normally. Then turn it back on and immediately start tapping the F2 key. The BIOS menu with tabs should appear. The first tab shows general laptop INFORMATION. The second tab shows some  MAIN laptop settings.

If you can attach phone jpg photos of each tab (click attach image file icon in the Leave a comment box), that would be helpful. If not, I can ask you questions about what you see in each tab.

Here you go.




Edited the content to hide sensitive information.

JackE

Download and install CrystalDiskInfo to check out the Samsung card.

JasperA

JackE said:

Download and install CrystalDiskInfo to check out the Samsung card.

Downloaded. What should I be looking for?

JackE

A good blue colored health report. Here's the color codings. https://crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskinfo/crystaldiskinfo-health-status/

JasperA

JackE said:

A good blue colored health report. Here's the color codings. https://crystalmark.info/en/software/crystaldiskinfo/crystaldiskinfo-health-status/

Alright. It's blue, and the health status is 97%.