AN515-43-R34S SSD Upgrade

DukeT

Hello, I have an Acer Nitro 5 (AN515-43-R34S) that I want to upgrade SSD.

I bought a Samsung SSD980 NVMe M.2 to upgrade it, but when I plugged it in, my laptop did not receive it. I researched and tried to use disk management to enable it, but it does not even show the unallocated disk. I tried to check at bios, but my laptop screen is damaged, and I have to use a different monitor, so I barely see anything in the bios, and I can't see if the laptop detected my new SSD or not ( I believe all of HDD0,1,2 are enabled in bios). On the motherboard, at the port where I can plug in an SSD m2, it stated SATA (shown in the picture), but I believe that's not for SSD SATA3 m2 because the port does not look like it can match SATA3. I tried to swap the stock SSD to the SATA port and the new one to the PCIE port and it showed No Bootable Device.

After all, my question is what is the problem with this? Is it because the port is broken? or is it because my new SSD is broken? What should I do in this situation?.

Thank you everyone.

DukeT

Jineshsethia said:

The Nitro 5 has room for a 2.5-inch storage drive (HDD or SSD) and an M.2 SSD, and is available with three common storage configurations. The most common has a lone 1 TB 2.5-inch SATA HDD, which is what we're working with in this guide. There's also a configuration with a 256 GB M.2 SSD that leaves the 2.5-inch bay empty, and finally, there's a configuration with a 1 TB 2.5-inch HDD and a 128 GB M.2 SSD.
 
Those who wish to upgrade a Nitro 5 that came with only a 1 TB 2.5-inch HDD have a couple of options. After the upgrade, you can reinstall Windows 10 on the new SSD with an ISO and start completely from scratch, or you can first clone the original drive (which contains Windows 10) over to the new 2.5-inch drive using an external enclosure. The enclosure only adds a few dollars onto the price of our top 2.5-inch SSD pick, Samsung's 860 EVO. As far as cloning software goes, we've had success using Macrium Reflect and have even written a guide on the process, though you can technically use any cloning software you're comfortable with. Samsung even makes its own migration software(opens in new tab) to use with its drives.

 
If you have a Nitro 5 with only a 256 GB M.2 SSD, adding a 2.5-inch drive for extra storage will be much easier and will not require any drive cloning since Windows 10 comes installed on the M.2 SSD. Those with a 1 TB 2.5-inch HDD and 128 GB M.2 SSD combo will likewise be able to skip cloning (though you'll still want to backup any data stored on the 2.5-inch HDD that you're swapping out) since Windows 10 comes installed on the M.2 SSD.

 
 
Once you've backed up your data, completed any necessary drive cloning, and have powered off your Nitro 5, you can proceed with the following steps.

Locate the larger access panel on the bottom of your Acer Nitro 5.

 
Unscrew the single fastener with a Philips-head screwdriver.
 
 
Pry up the access panel with a finger or pry tool. Once removed, you should see a metallic foil.
 
 
Unscrew the four black fasteners with a Philips-head screwdriver. They are located on mounting brackets along the outside of the drive bay.
 
Lift the HDD out of the bay.
 
Detach the SATA cable from the 2.5-inch drive. It should come apart relatively easily.
 
Unscrew the four silver fasteners on the side drive mount with a Philips-head screwdriver.
 
Remove the old 2.5-inch HDD from the mount. If you have a Nitro 5 model that came only with an M.2 SSD, skip this step.
 
Place the new 2.5-inch SSD into the mount.
 
Screw in the four silver fasteners along the sides of the mount. If the screw holes don't line up, the SSD isn't sitting in the mount properly.
 
Re-attach the SATA cable to the new 2.5-inch SSD.
 
Set the SSD and mount into the bay.
 
Screw in the four black fasteners that hold the mounting brackets in place along the outside of the bay.

Press the access panel back into place, making sure all plastic teeth are properly inserted. You should hear a few clicks before it's seated properly.
 
Screw in the fastener.
 
You are now free to boot up your Acer Nitro 5 and check to see if the storage upgrade worked. If you run into problems — more likely if you cloned drives than if you simply added a 2.5-inch drive to complement an M.2 SSD — you can always put the old drive back into the Nitro 5 and begin the process again.

Thank you for your response,

As you said, I should've upgrade it by using 2.5-inch drive instead, but may I know the reason why I can't use both m.2 port instead? I still suspect that my port m.2 port has problem.