Acer AN515-54 won't find bootable device for a fresh Windows install

leonardojpy
leonardojpy Member Posts: 3 New User

I was having the "no bootable device" problem and tried everything I could google before deciding to go for a fresh Windows install, but the thing is I just can't boot my PC using a USB flash drive with windows on it.
The USB device won't show on the bootable options in bios. Here's what I tried so far.

  • Disable safe boot
  • Make a UEFI compatible USB flash drive
  • Make a GPT partition for bootable flash drive
  • Make a MBR partition for bootable flash drive
  • Formatted USB flash to nfts, fat32
  • Tried to boot USB Flash on another PC (and it worked just fine, so the flash isn't the problem).

When I access the BIOS, if I enable secure boot I can select files as trusted for executing, and in this tab I can choose files from the USB flash drive, which means the computer is reading the flash but for some reason can't boot from it.

Has anyone come across this issue? How did you fix?

Answers

  • Alejandro_AC
    Alejandro_AC ACE Posts: 13,868 Trailblazer

    Hi @leonardojpy if you did not create the USB with Microsoft's own tool, do it, I leave you the ISO download pages with the procedure and the tool, since you do not specify if it is Windows 10 or 11, I leave you both:

    All the best.

    • Un saludo / All the best
    • Haga clic en "Me gusta" si mi respuesta fue útil o márquela como solución si se resolvió, ¡gracias!
    • Colaborador pro bono, no trabajo ni hablo en nombre de Acer
    • Please click "Like" if my answer was helpful or mark it as solution if it was solved, thanks!
    • Pro bono contributor, I do not work or speak on behalf of Acer
    • MVP de MSFT (2003-21) & Windows Insider & (alezmvp)
  • leonardojpy
    leonardojpy Member Posts: 3 New User

    Thank you very much for your reply. I'll try it.

    I just cloned the SSD (with Win 10 installed) from my working computer into an external SSD I had at home, plugged the cloned Windows into my laptop and had it wiped clean using the Windows restore feature. Now the laptop is repairing and I'll try to reinstall Windows on the laptop's internal SSD using the windows on my external SSD, I hope this works 🤣🤣🤣

    I'll get back with the results once it's finished.

  • Alejandro_AC
    Alejandro_AC ACE Posts: 13,868 Trailblazer

    You already mentioned how everything is going.
    Greetings.

    • Un saludo / All the best
    • Haga clic en "Me gusta" si mi respuesta fue útil o márquela como solución si se resolvió, ¡gracias!
    • Colaborador pro bono, no trabajo ni hablo en nombre de Acer
    • Please click "Like" if my answer was helpful or mark it as solution if it was solved, thanks!
    • Pro bono contributor, I do not work or speak on behalf of Acer
    • MVP de MSFT (2003-21) & Windows Insider & (alezmvp)
  • leonardojpy
    leonardojpy Member Posts: 3 New User
    edited June 2024

    @Alejandro_AC sadly using the Microsoft tool didn't work either, but the quoted message above fixed it!!! A step-by-step of what I did to get it working in case someone has the same issue (you need another working PC):

    I used a software called Macrium to clone a WORKING version of windows from my desktop into an external SSD, then I plugged this SSD into the laptop and I could boot windows with the exact same information as in my desktop (it was cloned after all, lol). Then I reset this cloned version to factory reset using windows restore feature (wiped EVERYTHING) and cloned this recently reset OS into the main SSD on my laptop.

    Took me about 5 minutes to figure out how to use this Macrium thing and it works just fine (it's a paid tool but they offer a 30 days trial which I used to get it done).

    It was somewhat of an ugly solution but it worked. I spent more than a day trying to get it fixed and this was the only thing I could think of to get it working.

  • Alejandro_AC
    Alejandro_AC ACE Posts: 13,868 Trailblazer

    Thanks for commenting on it.

    All the best.

    • Un saludo / All the best
    • Haga clic en "Me gusta" si mi respuesta fue útil o márquela como solución si se resolvió, ¡gracias!
    • Colaborador pro bono, no trabajo ni hablo en nombre de Acer
    • Please click "Like" if my answer was helpful or mark it as solution if it was solved, thanks!
    • Pro bono contributor, I do not work or speak on behalf of Acer
    • MVP de MSFT (2003-21) & Windows Insider & (alezmvp)