where I can Find, UPDATED BIOS for an acer TC-215 Desktop PC?

puccim79
puccim79 Member Posts: 11

Tinkerer

Does anyone know, where I can Find, UPDATED BIOS for a acer TC-215 Desktop PC?
Let me know.
Thanks a lot.

[Edited the thread to add issue detail]

Answers

  • puccim79
    puccim79 Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    Isn't there a P11.A3L or P11.B3 version?
    I have a problem with a Samsung 870 Evo SSD that is not recognized as a Boot drive but only as an AHCI drive.
    I activated the CSM and deactivated the "secure boot" but nothing, any other idea?
    Please let me know.
    Best regards.

  • AnhEZ28
    AnhEZ28 ACE, Member Posts: 4,277 Pathfinder

    @puccim79

    Is your BIOS on the UEFI or Legacy?

    Please remember to include @AnhEZ28 when you want to reply back to my comment so that I can check your response.
    Thank you and have a nice day!
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer

    There were only two BIOS versions published for the TC-215 models. P11-A1 and P11-A3. The system shipped with Windows 8.1, so the BIOS is UEFI by default. You can boot from an AHCI drive, and you are on an AMD configuration, so Intel's RST isn't a factor. Do you have the drive configured as GPT or is it the old MBR?

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • puccim79
    puccim79 Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    My BIOS is now set as "legacy", I have activated the CSM and deactivated the "secure boot" but even by activating UEFI (by default) the operating system is not loaded because the SSD disk is not recognized in the boot devices but they are in the AHCI section.
    Please let me know.
    Maurizio

  • puccim79
    puccim79 Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer

    Legacy doesn't allow booting from a GPT drive, it requires MBR and the inherent issues with rootkits. Switch to UEFI instead and use the GPT drive. What OS are you trying to run? any relatively modern one will work fine in UEFI mode. You have to go back to the Win7 era to have an OS that doesn't handle UEFI…

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • puccim79
    puccim79 Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    Thanks Billsey, at the beginning it was like this with the original hard disk, then after the clone on the SSD disk and the P11.A3 BIOS update I tried to vary some parameters because the Samsung Evo 870 SSD disk was not recognized at boot. I have another customer with the same identical PC with HP SSD S700 2.5" SATA - 250GB who has the same problem even though every now and then rebooting with CTRL+ALT+DEL starts normally. Is such a case possible?
    Let me know.
    Maurizio

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer

    Depending on the drive you might run into an issue where the drive isn't quite ready when POST queries the SATA ports. In that case though a simple Ctrl-Alt-Del when the boot fails would fix it, since the drive would certainly be up by then. That might be the issue with the other machine. Both SATA ports on your machine are SATA 3.0, so there shouldn't be an incompatibility that you might see with a new drive and an old port design. New drives are supposed to be backwards compatible, but you never know for sure until you test. You might try contacting Samsung to see if they have any insight…

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • puccim79
    puccim79 Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    But is there another model that uses the same motherboard in order to find a more recent BIOS update?
    Ironically if I reconnect the old hard disk the same problem appears, it's not possible, it means that the SATA version is not influential.
    Please let me know.

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,101 Trailblazer

    We have no access to a cross reference for motherboard to models, although I wouldn't be at all surprised to find that the XC-215 and TC-215 use the same MB…

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,065 Trailblazer
    edited February 26

    Look at HelpDrivers as they have 22 files for Acer Aspire TC-215 desktop and bios files also. The only bios files that are available from HelpDrivers is versions P11.A3 P11.A1, the versions P11.A3L or P11.B3 are not available.

    Be aware that I don't take any responsibility if these bios files above and drivers are corrupted and brick your desktop, as that is the risk that you have to take with sites that are not a genuine Acer site. Good luck and hope this helps you out, as I've never had problems with HelpDrivers drivers so that is all I can say and assure you.

    If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

  • puccim79
    puccim79 Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    Thanks StevenGen but the two BIOSes are identical to the ones on the Acer site. At this point I don't know if it's worth downgrading.
    Please let me know.
    Best regards.
    Maurizio

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,065 Trailblazer

    If you have a newer version of the bios above and on the Acer site then leave the bios alonbe and don't downgrade the version. maybe there are community members that can help you further that have this model desktop. Good luck.

    If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

  • puccim79
    puccim79 Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    Hi everyone, I solved it by setting these parameters in the BIOS:

    ONBOARD SATA MODE: SATA (menu Advance > Integrated Peripherals)
    SECURE BOOT: DISABLE (menu Authentication)
    LAUNCH CSM: Always (menu Options)
    D2D RECOVERY: Disabled (menu Options)

    If the PC does not start correctly even after turning it off, simply use Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart it and load the operating system.
    I noticed that the problem can also depend on the SSD disk installed, on two identical PCs exchanging the SSD disks (of different brands) I have the same problem.