Swift 3 - SF315-52? - Replaced HDD for SSD Doesn't boot up with the SSD connected.

charlesNL · August 2018

So I just bought this Swift 3 here in Finland. (the variations per country for the Swift 3 are out of control, I would say its some variation of the 315-52)

i5 8th gen
8GB DDR4
Intel 620 UHD
2TB 5400 HDD
16GB Optane

And I figured replacing the HDD with an SSD (Samsung 500GB 860 EVO SATA III 2.5") would be a matter of swapping out the disk and a reinstall of Windows.
But apparently this is not the case, as the moment I connect the SSD (which is confirmed to be working in another laptop) I can't even get into the bios anymore.

no disk installed - bios can be entered
original 2TB disk - bios works, windows boots up fine etc..
SSD installed - no bios, no beeps, power button works, keyboard back light works.

Tried resetting the bios to default settings, but that didn't fly.. updated the bios to 1.05 version also to no avail.

Seems that the system is locked down / preventing me from adding a SSD?

Am I missing something here?

charlesNL · September 2018

ok, small update for people that might run into this in the future...

The SSD still fails regardless of what I do.

But what does work is replacing the Intel Optane 16GB for a Samsung 970 SSD nvme "stick" or whatever you call them.

That gets detected without issue and that in combination with the hybrid drive gives me the speed increase I was going for.

art_gruby · August 2019

Hello all

I spent yesterday a few hours trying to replace the original M.2 SATA 128GB disk in SF315-52 with a Crucial MX500 500GB.

Symptoms exactly the same: the laptop showed only the green acer logo on the display and backlighted the keyboard, no possibility to enter the BIOS.

Fortunately, I found this thread that suggested the source of the problem in the BIOS.

After updating the BIOS to version 1.08, the disk is accessible and working properly.

I did not check with other models than Crucial M.2 MX500 500GB SATA because only the one I had available.

Thank you for posting the thread, it directed me to BIOS update.

brummyfan2 · August 2018

Hi,
Have you tried removing the Optane memory? If not, give it a try.

charlesNL · August 2018

brummyfan2 said:

Hi,
Have you tried removing the Optane memory? If not, give it a try.

Yes I tried that as well, with the same result unfortunately.

brummyfan2 · August 2018

Did you clone the old drive or recovered the image from the backup? It's always troublesome when you clone/recover the image onto a smaller drive from large drive, you could also try using different programs, like Macrium reflect free, MiniTool Partition wizard or AOMEI.
http://reflect.macrium.com/help/v5/how_to/restore/restore_partitions_with_resize_and_reorder.htm

charlesNL · August 2018

I didn't try cloning it yet, the SSD is empty currently. Since I didn't even got into the bios I didn't see much use to clone the old disk on the new one. The problem seems to be in the bios refusing to see it.

brummyfan2 · August 2018

Try the fix by @IronFly in this thread:https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/517843

charlesNL · August 2018

brummyfan2 said:

Try the fix by @IronFly in this thread:https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/517843

I tried something like that, but not with those exact steps, I believe I set the defaults with the HDD connected, but not without anything connected.
Will give it a go after work.
(however I have to note, that with the SSD connected I don't even get into the bios anymore, and that seems different from the issue described there)

charlesNL · August 2018

Ok, small update... tried various disks by now... all older disks (2016 and below) and all got detected.

tried a HDD from old macbook
tried a Hybrid disk from PS4
tried a very old 64 GB SSD

So that leaves my brand new (and working in other devices), Samsung Evo 860 Nand SSD that doesn't get detected and makes the system hang even.

brummyfan2 · August 2018

charlesNL said:

Ok, small update... tried various disks by now... all older disks (2016 and below) and all got detected.

tried a HDD from old macbook
tried a Hybrid disk from PS4
tried a very old 64 GB SSD

So that leaves my brand new (and working in other devices), Samsung Evo 860 Nand SSD that doesn't get detected and makes the system hang even.

I am baffled like you, it's very strange, try contacting Samsung support site for further help, they may be able to shed some light on this.

Commodore_1995# · August 2018

Try this:

Turn off the notebook and disconnect the notebook from the hd (do not put the ssd yet)! After you have removed the hd, turn on the notebook and enter the bios by pressing f2 and select legacy mode and save on exit! It will appear a "no bootable device" message or something because it is without hd! Turn off the notebook and connect the ssd! See if he is identified in legacy mode! If it is not, then it is very likely that ssd is in trouble!

charlesNL · August 2018

I gave up on it, the Samsung is now happy as a cache disk on my NAS and it does fine there

I bought another Hybrid disk (Seagate FireCuda 1TB) and that got detected all fine, installing Windows on it now

Commodore_1995# · August 2018

Good thing it solved the problem! However, I still think that if you convert ssd to gpt, sf315-52 will recognize it, since, ssd has been recognized in another notebook!

charlesNL · August 2018

@egydiocoelho I will give it a try over the weekend

charlesNL · September 2018

ok, small update for people that might run into this in the future...

The SSD still fails regardless of what I do.

But what does work is replacing the Intel Optane 16GB for a Samsung 970 SSD nvme "stick" or whatever you call them.

That gets detected without issue and that in combination with the hybrid drive gives me the speed increase I was going for.

Inothome · November 2018

SF315-52
4GB

1TB HDD

no Optane

Tried to install a Crucial MX200 500GB SSD from a two year old system.

Not to resurect an old post, but I have the same problem. SF315-52 had a 1TB HDD and I installed a Crucial MX200 500GB SSD and the computer freezes at the ACER splash screen and I was unable to get in to the BIOS with the SSD connected. No SSD or the original HDD no problem to enter the BIOS. Exactly like the original post here. Wiped the SSD, formatted the SSD, still hangs the laptop.
The SSD is recognized in an older ACER laptop but not this one. I tried every setting in the BIOS, flashed the latest BIOS 1.07 and still no luck. I was also a victim of the BIOS PW bug too. Where if your BIOS password had a "k" or "m" in it it didn't accept it when trying to log in. That killed a half day and now this killed another half day... so far... Aside from that, has anyone had any luck with a >256GB SSD in these machines?

Commodore_1995# · November 2018

According to the service guide, this model supports both nvme and sata 3, see:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/df/d8jef3qyj6s5.png

This ssd mx200 is m2 2280 or 2,5"?Then create an easy access password in the set supervisor password and then disable secure boot!Make sure the boot mode is in uefi mode! If it is necessary to convert ssd to gpt:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/gf/u3o28scoyjf7.png

Just enter the following commands: diskpart, list disk, clean and convert gpt! Then just install windows!

Inothome · November 2018

Thanks for the reply. The MX200 was a 2.5. I tried everything in the BIOS over and over.
Since my last post I went and bought an M.2 2280, 500GB SATA. The BIOS never was able to see it either. Tried every combination in the BIOS. I brought laptop to the store where I bought it from and we were able to see the M.2 SATA drive in MiniTool. He moved the Win10 system over to the M.2 SSD and when we restarted it the ***** M.2 wasn't showing in the BIOS. Nor would it boot from it. It could only be seen when booted from MiniTool.
We then put in an M.2 500GB NMVe drive and that showed right up in the BIOS.
So there is definitely something going on with SATA SSDs and this system. I noticed here in VN they only sell the SF315-52 with a 256GB SSD, nothing higher. Judging by the constant BIOS updates and bugs for this machine, I wouldn't be surprised if there is something screwy in the BIOS preventing it from seeing > 256GB SSDs.

Thanks again for the reply and hopefully this will be addressed and prevent others from going crazy trying to get a simple drive swap working.

Side note for the SF315-52, anyone trying to load Linux on an NMVe or dual boot Linux and Win 10. Linux won"t see the NMVe drive when the BIOS drive setting is RST/Optane. For Linux Live to see the NMVe drive, it has to be set to ACHI in the BIOS. But then Windows may fail to boot, since it's not in RST/Optane anymore. The fix for that is to force restart WIn 10 in to safe mode, but before it reboots, go in to the BIOS and change it from the RST/Optane to ACHI and then let it boot. After that Linux Live will see the NMVe drive and Win 10 will also boot with no errors. Hope this saves other hours and hours of troubleshooting.

Commodore_1995# · November 2018

@Inothome Does your notebook model change uefi to legacy mode in the boot mode section? Have you checked that ssd is recognized in the bios information section, both legacy and uefi? Did you get to also change rst with optane mode to ahci and check if in that mode, hd is recognized in the information section?

Inothome · November 2018

I did not see any legacy modes in the boot section, I looked and both the 2.5 and the 2280 SATAs were never recognized. I tried ACHI and RST/Optane, disabled TPM, disabled the safe boot, disabled and reset anything I could in the BIOS, one at a time and then reverted back when it didn't work, reloaded defaults, cleared anything that had an option to be cleared. Nothing allowed the SSD to show, but the HDD would show every time. I literally spent 6 hours today with the 2.5 SSD and every combination in the BIOS. That drive was a working drive and is now back in a working laptop. I then bought the new 2280 SATA and had the same results. And just like the original post, the NMVe drive worked no problem.