acer sp314-53n-543f my laptop says 'No bootable device'

Hi all,

Since yesterday my laptop says 'no bootable device'. As a result, I can no longer access my laptop and therefore I can no longer access my important files that I have stored on it. It concerns the model: acer sp314-53n-543f. In the meantime I have watched several Youtube videos and adjusted some things in the bios, but this also does not seem to work. 😥

For example, in the bios I have set the F12 Boot Menu: to Enable. What it says next is that I have to change the boot mode from UEFI to Legacy, but I can't change anything there.

I really hope someone can help me or tell me the possibilities how to access my files 🙏

[Edited the thread to add model name to the title and to add issue detail]

Accepted answers

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4741Zuser

Try opening the laptop and see if the hdd or ssd is connected or not

If not,remount the drive physically and if it still says "No Bootable Device" it may be that the hdd/sdd has died from damage (for hdd damage its either magnet interferance or being dropped while running,on ssd side its either vibration damage or somehow dead because of other things) or if you somehow know how,try putting it in another computer.

Lluvia435

how I fixed mine is if it’s on the screen that says no bootable device I press ctrl +alt +del to restart it. Then when it begins starts up I press the F2 button. then when it brings up the boot menu i use the right arrow to go to the boot tab. Then I change the boot mode from UEFI to Legacy then hit Enter. It’ll come up saying ‘Microsoft recommends executing windows 8 and the version above under UEFI boot mode….’ Hit Enter again. Then it’ll have say ‘The available boot devices will not change until a reboot!!’ Hit enter then F10 and choose ‘Yes’ option and then it’ll try to reboot. Mine after will continuously say undoing changes made but undoes anything. My laptop messed up when trying to upgrade. To windows 10

billsey

Your SP314-53N doesn't support legacy boot mode IIRC, and if it did that would cause it to not boot, since your system should be all configured for UEFI. Most often when you see that error it's either a problem with the drive or the EFI partition has gotten corrupted. From the Information tab in the BIOS does it show the drive? Is there a chance your model is a SP314-53GN-543F? I don't see a SP314-53N-543F model… If it's the former you should have a M.2 SSD in it, which can be replaced fairly cheaply if the drive has failed.

Microfunk

@4741Zuser Thank you for you answer. I have opened up the laptop and disconnected and reconnected some things but I still get no bootable device. Is the red box on the screenshot below my SSD and what do I need to try it on another computer?

Microfunk

@Lluvia435 "Then I change the boot mode from UEFI to Legacy then hit Enter."

I can't adjust UEFI at all in my bios. The word UEFI is all gray and I can't change it

Microfunk

@billsey I see the following in my bios under information:

CPU info: Intel core i-58265u CPU
System bios version: v1.04
GOP version: Intel(R) GOP driver [9.0.1085]
HDD0 Model name: HFM256......
HDD0 Serial number: CJ98N....
HDD1 Model name: None
HDD1 Serial Number: None
SATA Mode: RST with Optane
Total memory 8192MB
Serial Number: NXH.....
Product name: Spin SP314-53GN
UUID: 684F....

billsey

OK, so the drive is being recognized by the BIOS so it's less likely the drive has completely failed. As I said you really don't want to change from UEFI to Legacy. Legacy hasn't been used since the Windows 7 days and would require a fairly major change to the drive configuration. Now, make sure your BIOS has the F12 Boot Menu enabled and get a Windows install flash drive. Boot from the flash drive and choose the Repair option and let it try to automatically repair the startup. If that doesn't work boot into the repair option again and navigate to the command prompt and use diskpart to look at the disk. With the commands 'list disk', 'sel disk #', 'list part' and 'list vol', with '#' replaced by the number for your SSD as shown with the 'list disk' command, copy the results and show them to us. We might just have to step you through the process of rebuilding the EFI partition (it's likely 100MB and often the first partition on the disk) to get it back running.

Microfunk

Thank you for your detailed explanation and tips @billsey ! Can I do windows install flash drive without losing all important files from my laptop or do you advise to take out my ssd first and transfer all files to an external ssd?

Microfunk

Hi guys,

I want to clone my ssd from my acer laptop: acer sp314-53n-543f, because it says no bootable device. Which external SSD would you recommend?

Thanks!

[Edited the thread to add model name to the title and to add issue detail]

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/687730/external-ssd

The Samsung T7 is very fast (10Gbps), but expensive 2TB for $188 at Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Touch-Portable-SSD-MU-PC2T0S/dp/B082YGVGQL?th=1

billsey

Go with the repair options first rather than a complete reinstall. We need to verify the drive is actually working.

billsey

I would just get an external NVMe case and the drive you want to use as the replacement…

Microfunk

Ok thanks. I will try to do that!

Is this what you mean with 'windows install flash drive' or do you have any other helpfull links @billsey?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaKlcBsJn18
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/install-windows-from-a-usb-flash-drive?view=windows-11

billsey

Pretty much those tell you how to do a reinstall. The first steps are the same but when you get to the second screen there is a link for Repair. Use that to get into repair mode, navigate to the command prompt and use the diskpart command to look at the drive. Show us the results of "list disk", "list vol" and after a 'sel disk #" where # is the number of your main drive, "list part".

Microfunk

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1215028#Comment_1215028

I tried the repair option, but a couple seconds later I get a notification that it's not possible to repair. What can I do now / do you want me to go to command prompt and show us the results of "list disk", "list vol" and after a 'sel disk #" where # is the number of your main drive, "list part".

billsey

Yes, that's exactly what I'm asking you to do next. When in the Repair mode you can get to the command prompt, you might also be able to get the prompt with a Shift-F10. At the prompt you will do something like this:

>diskpart

DISKPART> list disk

Disk ### Status Size Free Dyn Gpt

Disk 0 Online 476 GB 0 B *
Disk 1 Online 238 GB 31 MB

DISKPART> list vol

Volume ### Ltr Label Fs Type Size Status Info

Volume 0 C Acer NTFS Partition 475 GB Healthy Boot
Volume 1 ESP FAT32 Partition 100 MB Healthy System
Volume 2 Recovery NTFS Partition 1024 MB Healthy Hidden
Volume 3 D exFAT Removable 238 GB Healthy

DISKPART> sel disk 0

Disk 0 is now the selected disk.

DISKPART> list part

Partition ### Type Size Offset

Partition 1 System 100 MB 1024 KB
Partition 2 Reserved 16 MB 101 MB
Partition 3 Primary 475 GB 117 MB
Partition 4 Recovery 1024 MB 475 GB

Microfunk

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1215669#Comment_1215669

I hope this is what you are asking for @billsey

billsey

"list disk" is two words… Otherwise you are on the right track.

Microfunk

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1215678#Comment_1215678

I hope this is good @billsey

billsey

So it looks like either the disk has failed or the partitions on it have been wiped out. Likely the best way forward is to get the system back up with a replacement disk, then use utilities to try and recover any data on the old disk. You might not be able to, which is why they recommend backups.

Your system supports an NVMe drive in that slot, it is gen3 so don't pay extra for a gen4 design. I would likely upgrade to a 1TB now, just because of the price points. Take the old drive out, put the new drive in. Extract the iRST drivers from the Acer support site for your system to a folder on the Windows install flash drive. Boot into the BIOS and verify the F12 boot menu is enabled. Once that's all done use the boot menu to boot from the flash drive and do the actual install to the new drive, loading the iRST drivers at the 'where do I install to' screen, then selecting the empty drive for the install target. After Windows is installed and booted we can go through the process of trying to find out if any data on the old drive is recoverable, using an external NVMe case (they are pretty cheap and will plug into a USB port).

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