Adding SSD to Acer Nitro VN7-591G

I see the link to the Lite-on SSD is M.2 and MSATA controller (not PCI-e).

So if I purchase a Crucial M.2 MSATA 2280 like this one, it should be compatible as well?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148955&cm_re=m.2_ssd-_-20-148-955-_-Product

I have already opened up my VN7-791G and can confirm that it has an empty M.2 slot and measures 80mm to the screw hole, so the physical form factor is 2280 M.2 for sure.

However the M.2 slot only has one "key" notch in it, which according to the info at mydigitalssd.com means that this is a slot to fit a PCI-e M.2 SSD, not an MSATA SSD.

This is contradictory to the Lite-on link that was posted above, as I would have expected the VN7-791G board to have an M.2 slot with 2 key notches in it.

http://www.mydigitaldiscount.com/m.2-ngff-ssd-compatibility-list-p10.html

I'm a noob at this hardware upgrade stuff, but trying to be diligent in researching.  Seems like this M.2 standard is a physical interface standard, but there is no clear and obvious way to query the motherboard to determine what kind of controller, PCI-e or MSATA it is using for the M.2 slot.  So if you purchase the wrong SSD, most stores will only give credit on a return, not refund - which would be the reason for the diligence.  Totally confused.  Please help with perhaps a way I can probe the motherboard definitively to determine the type of controller?

Picture below highlighted in red of the M.2 slot showing only one "key" slot.

Thank you!!

For All,

I ended up trying and successfully installing and migrating Windows 8.1 to this one based on IronFly's details about the Lite-on SSD that comes in some models of the V17 preinstalled.

(Acer won't le tme post a URL, but I got this model:  Crucial MX200 CT250MX200SSD4 M.2 Type 2280SS (Single Sided) 250GB SATA 6Gbps (SATA III) Micron 16nm MLC NAND Internal Solid State Drive (SSD))

Newegg is no tax for me, but I'm sure Tiger Direct or Amazon have their sales as well.

The 500GB version was on sale last week for $179, but I didn't need that much space.  I just keep My Documents off of Shortcuts on the 1TB HDD.  Win 8.1 plus all of my Programs and Apps only take up 67 GB for me.  Add about 32 GB to that for Swap and Hibernate (based on 16GB RAM after upgrade) and I live within 256GB minus formatting just fine with that big 1TB HDD also installed.

If you do use a Crucial MX100 or MX200 drive, be aware that Acronis 2015 will not work.  It will hoze up / freeze up your Windows install.  You must use some other cloning program like Paragon Hard Drive Manager.  I did the USB stick bootable image to do my migration.

Any M.2 (not MSATA) SATA (not PCIe) size 2280 will work.  You could probably use an M.2 to MSATA adapter as well for the older standard 50mm MSATA, but why bother unless you're using an MSATA you already have.

The teardown is here:  It's not English, but you can clearly see what he's doing.

(Acer won't let me post URL, but just search Bing Video for "Acer V17 disassemble" and it should be the first video - spoken in Deutch or German)

I used a credit card to separate the palm rest over the optical drive area, (which the guy in the video does not do - I couldn't do it with my fingers) and worked my around.

Make sure you remove the silver bar by the hings also - there's 2 screws under there.

Be careful and go slow - you don't want to break off any of the tiny little black tabs.

Don't mix up the screws either - there are 2 bigger ones that go underneath near the hinges.  The rest of the black screws are all the same size.

There are a a few Silver screws inside that are smaller for the WLAN card, USB board, etc.  You'll need an extra one of those screws to mount the M.2 on the underside of the board.  I canibalized an old 2.5 inch HDD and took a screw from the case with a Torx head - luckily it's the same thread size.  That small silver screw is very hard to find otherwise, but I did find another one off an old PCIe desktop video card I had.  Home Depot or Lowes will not carry screws that small.

The M.2 slot is tough to get to, you have to do a complete palm rest lift and board lift - but just go very slowly so you don't break anything.  You have to lift up the entire main board.  Go slow, have a flashlight, tiny phillips head, credit card, extra screw, and a small pick (I used a dentist scraper hook) to push open the keyboard plug latches (but a tiny flat blade screwdriver will work also).

And be careful to ease out the Audio jack from the right side as it is wedged under a tiny lip of the bottom shell.

Go slow, and have a small bowl to hold all those tiny screws.

It's all about having a good open space to work, tools, container, time, screw, etc.

I have taken apart many computers before, but this one was the most involved I've done.  They did a good job with the thinness and lightness, but there is Zero user access.  So if you're expecting something easy to upgrade and disassemble like a Lenovo T series - change your expectations, it is more involved.  That's what you get for thin, light, and good air flow - tradeoffs.  Also if you're going to do a 16GB RAM upgrade also, I recommend doing that at the same time.  You don't want to open up the computer twice - those tiny little black clips tend to break often.

I understand right that this is solution for VN7-591G model and not for 791G

THANK YOU

The green letters Acer screen should always come up first because it's part of the BIOS POST.  This happens before the BIOS searches for a bootable drive and partition for the OS.

When you see the green Acer letter screen, try the F2 key to get into the BIOS and move around the boot options so that your SSD is more near the top of the list above the HDD. You probably have the HDD in a higher order (lower number) than the SSD.  I personally keep the USB SDHC and Optical drive in higher positions for convenience because I boot off a USB stick into Paragon to do virtual drive backups once a week.

There is also the F12 key that interrupts for a manual booting menu selection.

The WiFi antenna leads are really small, but I was using a dentist scraper hook and it was easy to use it as a mini pry bar to pop them off.  Any toothpick or paperclip will work also.

I've been using this Acer for about a month now.  It's great as a desktop replacement.  Fast, cool, quiet.  Runs a 3K monitor without breaking a sweat.  The only "problem" I have it that now it is $50 cheaper for the upgraded Geforce 960M model and I really love getting the best deal - Arrrrgh!  Buyers remorse

The other problem I had was finding a Backpack large enough to fit it.  I tried the Solo Pro for 17 inchers, but it was too small.  I didn't want a big ugly heavy Swiss Gear one, so the only others I could find were the Timbuk2 Q 2014 version and Dell NPJXM.  I didn't try the Timbuk2 Q because of the price, but it does go on sale for $55 - like last week.  I got the Dell and it just fits the Acer V17.  Only zipper protection on the top edge though (no foam), and it's not suspended at the bottom edge, but IMO it's good enough for a $37 backpack - and it has a rolling bag handle ride-along sling feature that I'm going to find handy (which the Timbuk2 Q does not have) when I travel with it.

Glad you found the Bios boot problem.  I didn't even know there was a secure setting.  Good 2 know.

The tiny antenna leads should have an audible click when pressed down onto the card.  They have to go down perfectly flat onto the male side with a bit more pressure than you would think such a tiny part would need.  Any torque on the wire will twist the connector away from a flat mating.

Maybe try unscrewing the card screw, reseating it into the mother board slot, retightening the screw, and then reattach in the antennas.  Perhaps having a stable platform with the card firmly mounted will get you a solid click from the connectors.

Hi Guys!

I was thinkink of upgrading my VN7-591G with an M.2 SSD and after some searching i found this:

http://laptopmedia.com/laptop-m-2-ngff-ssd-compatibility-list/

It seems like this model has an "M key" connector but it supports only SATA III 6Gb/s interface, so unfortunatelly any PCIe SSD (like SAMSUNG SM951 or Plextor M6e) WILL NOT work.

(EDIT: WILL NOT work as an PCIe SSD but... PCIe are backward comatible with SATA, so the speed will be reduced to SATA III limits. Still, that would be very stupid to pay for PCIe and use it with SATA III performance, unless you are going to change your laptop any soon.)

It's a pitty to find that out now since i was considering Asus G501 when i bought V-Nitro.

Therefore my choice is SAMSUNG 850 EVO. It's almost as fast as possible on SATA III and the price is good.

I'll let you know how it works when I'm done with the upgrading.

Have a good one.

After I install the new SSD I had the same problem of "no bootable device" I checked on internet a lot for a solution, most of tutorial says to change the boot type from UEFI to Legacy but I didnt want to.

I just solved it changing the order of windows boot manager in this way:
open the prompt as administrator and type:

Bcdedit /set {bootmgr} device partition=s:// system partition

and change "S" with the letter of the drive where Windows is currently installed.
(in my case I did a clean installation of Windows on my new M.2 sata and name it C:\)

p.s: I use now the HDD as storage, but I kept the partition with the recovery. so when I turn on the laptop he ask me which win10 I want to load, I think that if I remove the recovery partition the boot manager will just loading the SSD. I didn?t try yet.

thnx! i will try!