Updated RAM and no boot up at all but made a mistake! Predator Helios 300 PH315 54.

Hello!

I bought some Crucial 3200 2x16gb (32gb) to update my Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315 54.

I installed the RAM. However, I thought I had disconnected the battery - I didn't. Turns out I disconnected the keyboard wire which is right next to the +- of the battery instead.

I then went to boot up the laptop after plugging back in the keyboard wire thinking it was the battery (back to normal). Nothing happens.

After doing some further research at this point, resetting the CMOS CR2032 was the next step to try. On attempting that, I broke the plastic connector. So I have order a new CMOS CR2032.

As you can tell I have gone down a bit of a rabbit hole. Has anybody got advice from this stage on?

I am also worried when I disconnected the keyboard wire underneath the battery I may have scratched/damaged the pin, but this would not have resulted in a no boot I guess.

Really appreciate any reply!

Thanks,

[Edited the thread to add model number to the title]

Accepted answers

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StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/715380/updated-ram-and-no-boot-up-at-all-but-made-a-mistake-predator-helios-300-ph315-54

Inserting the ram while the battery is plugged in does not cause any damage and/or a laptop to not boot or do anything. Upgrading a laptop to different ram and different capacity, you need to allow the bios to reset and adjust to the new ram.

After you get the new bios battery, shot its +&- pins at the mobo plug to reset CMOS and make sure that you connect the battery and the keyboard plugs properly (see caption below). Then boot the laptop as the boot could take 2-3 minutes to boot the laptop as the bios has to reset. Good luck and hope this helps you out.

Here are all the PH315-54 connectors of your laptop for future reference so that you don't make that mistake again😁

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joealex

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1307115#Comment_1307115

StevenGen thank you for replying!

When you say ''Then boot the laptop as the boot could take 2-3 minutes to boot the laptop as the bios has to reset.'' do you mean hold the power button for 2-3 mins?

Fortunately, I have the new bios arriving tomorrow. Will update thread after.

Thank you again for the image diagram, I had seen that earlier on in the day but could not find it for the life of me! (F) Keyboard FPC is the one I am worried I have scratched. But again that should have no impact for boot up. Silly me!

Thanks,

Joe

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1307118#Comment_1307118

No, when the new bios battery arrives and before you connect the new bios battery, disconnect the adapter and the main battery, take the 2x ram modules out, then shot the +&- bios battery plug with a metal screwdriver or metal tweezers monetarily at the mobo plug to reset the CMOS of the mobo, then wait 15 min for the EC and Chipset chips to reset and then reconnect everything, and once you reboot the laptop you need to wait 2-3 minutes for the bios to reset and recognize the new Crucial bigger capacity ram, that is what I meant as the laptop should boot and work 100%. Good luck.

PH315-54 RTC battery mobo plug position, short that plugs +&- pins:

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joealex

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1307120#Comment_1307120

Thanks again StevenGen. I will follow your steps tomorrow and update. I guess this was my initial issue in my laptop not turning on by pressing the power for a few seconds the first time. I just need to make sure when I connect the bios battery tomorrow that the polarity of the bios is the same as before. Luckily I took a picture.

Thanks,

Joe

joealex

Hi @StevenGen , I thought I would drop an update here.

Unfortunately I tried the above and this didn't work. No light even comes on when I attach the charger either.

Thanks,

Joe

AceVentuser_7

@joealex Did you ever resolve your issue? Believe it or not, I am in this mess now with my Acer Predator Helios 300. I recently got myself a 32 GB RAM upgrade the Kingston Fury ones and after having a technician install it 2-3 weeks ago, it has been running great until 2 days ago where I am now experiencing the boot issue you mentioned. I first experienced it when it would not come out of Hibernation and even Shutdown it is doing the same. Gets stuck at the blue lights and stays like that forever until I hold down the power button and do a hard reset.

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1307227#Comment_1307227

Sorry to hear that joealex, as that is NOT good news or a good sign, as you might have blown either the BQ, EC or chipset chips in your laptop or if you are lucky its only the main power rail that has a shorted mosfet or a capacitor or a resistor or even an EC chip that needs programming or BQ chip that all relate to the laptop powering on and can be changed with new chips.

But if you shorted the gpu, cpu then you need a new mainboard or even a chipset chip, as a suitable and a good chipset chip is very hard to buy on the web for a Predator PH315-54 like yours, as allot that are sold, are faulty and they are not guaranteed, as they can be changed and a laptop can be fixed if it has a burnt out chipset or even a cpu or gpu, but you need to find good working and the appropriate parts, as Intel, Nvidia and the chipset manufacturers do not sell new.

I suggest that you take your PH315-54 to an experienced technician that has expertise in fixing mainboards with these sorts of chip problems and power issues and can detect a blown chip with a heat gun and can determine if a BQ chips or an EC chip is blown and program an EC chip, as all these factors could be at play with your laptop to be fixed.

Otherwise and an easier solution, is to buy a new mainboard like and from AliExpress that for an i7-11800H RTX3060 6G board is USD $600.00, and you can change this over yourself if you are computer savvy and organized, as its a pretty easy job to do.

These are the PH315-54 boards that Acer fitted to your laptop. If you change the board, I suggest that you sell your old damaged board, as allot of techs buy these gaming boards for spare part boards, for their cpu's, gpu's as some techs do change laptop gpu's and cpu's if they get good working parts. Good luck and hope this helps you pout.

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StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1350476#Comment_1350476

Hi there AceVentuser_7, what is your exact Helios 300 model number, as you must have fitted the wrong ram type, as ram very seldomly goes wrong. but if the technician bought the wrong ram or the wrong CL type ram, then what is happening to you is normal and the ram stops working, so take your laptop back to him and get your laptop fixed and/or get him to change the ram to a different type of ram.

If your Helios 300 is the same model as joealex above, and its a Predator Helios PH315-54 model, then the ONLY ram for this 11th Gen Intel cpu laptop is the DDR4-3200MT/s CL22 type ram and this laptop should only be fitted with this exact spec ram, DO NOT FIT XMP or OVERCLOCKED RAM as it will not work and cause problems.

These laptops Acer ram spec is specified at 32GB at 2x 16GB in each slot, these laptops should also run 64GB capacity total ram at 2x 32GB per slot of the DDR4-3200MT/s CL22 type normal ram.

So check what type of ram your laptop has been upgraded with by the technician or your laptop might have totally different problems and that is why its not booting as it could be related to its main power rail like a frozen BQ, EC, bios or your laptop just needs a hard reset to reset it, so do the below.

Hard Reset - Remove the screws from the base cover to the upper case of your Helios 300 laptop, starting from the upper side, pry to release the upper side latches, continue releasing the remaining latches. Then remove the lower case.
Disconnect the main battery cable from the mainboard plug and take the battery out, then press the power key for 10 seconds to release all power from the laptop, then disconnect the RTC/BIOS battery and then short the bios batteries + & - pins at the mainboard plug with a metal object monetarily to reset CMOS and then take all the ran out.
Leave the laptop like that for at least 30 min so that the EC and Chipset chips reset completely and then reconnect everything, but only connect 1x ram module and alternate the two ram modules and see if its not the ram that is faulty, as the laptop should turn on and boot properly after this hard reset

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

AceVentuser_7

Hi @StevenGen Thanks for the reply. My Acer Predator Helios 300 laptop model is PH315-53-594S. As I had mentioned few weeks ago I had my new RAM chips installed 32GB (2x16GB) and 3200MHz DDR4 (CL20) sharing link here as well for better details https://www.amazon.in/dp/B097QJ25NY?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

It has been working well and I had no compatible issues or boot issues at all, except for just 2 days ago out of the blue where I turned my laptop on from a Hibernation session, and it got stuck at the initial boot (where blue lights turn on) even the Screen and Logo did not come on and just stayed frozen. I just thought it was a one off thing and didn't pay much attention. Hard Reset my lapotp (holding down power button) and it came back on perfectly no issues or anything and works normally, no hitches or any stutter nothihg.

Now, the following day which was just Sunday 3rd Aug, it took me around 10 attempts to get the laptop to boot, it would just get stuck on the initial start every single time. It Restarts ok and works fine if I Shutdown and or Hinernate and turn on immediately but if I leave my laptop after some time of shutting it down completely or hibernating it, then it will not come on and stay frozen on boot.

So, yeah I am not sure what the issue is suddenly, I suspect it may be the RAM. Any advice based on the updated details is highly appreciated.

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