Windows 10 update 1809 breaks my acer switch 11v SW5-173

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Answers

  • BorisZX6R
    BorisZX6R Member Posts: 20 Networker
    JackE said:

    Yes, I was referring it to some of the others who crashed your thread later. The next major update should be released fairly soon. Hopefully it'll have some fixes for machines that 1809 doesn't seem to play nice with. Jack E/NJ
    Hope dies last :)

  • Sha_Chan
    Sha_Chan Member Posts: 9

    Tinkerer

    Microsoft posted 1903 on MSDN.  I updated Windows 10 as 1903 at today.  BOOT problem still exits Silurian said at Feb 22nd.  Of course, BIOS (F2) option only helps for cold boot.  I now decided to buy Apple product is MacBook for a replacement of Switch 11v. 
  • Silurian
    Silurian Member Posts: 20 Networker
    Sha_Chan said:
    Microsoft posted 1903 on MSDN.  I updated Windows 10 as 1903 at today.  BOOT problem still exits Silurian said at Feb 22nd.  Of course, BIOS (F2) option only helps for cold boot.  I now decided to buy Apple product is MacBook for a replacement of Switch 11v. 
    Yeah, I tested 1903 as an insider track earlier this year. The Acer Switch 11v has to stay on 1803 and never update past it. The switch 11V only took 3 years to be end of life which is really sad. This is the first laptop that I had of many laptops that only lasted three years of windows updates. I am not really sure to blame Acer or Microsoft but in the end I feel they both are at fault for various reasons.

    The whole UEFI boot seems half baked and a poor way of locking in an OS. If Microsoft decides on a whim to change the way Windows 10 integrates with UEFI without concern for backwards compatibility, then any computer is at risk of not being able to update until the UEFI(BIOS) is updated by the manufacturer. There is no guarantee that computer manufacturers will develop UEFI/BIOS updates beyond 2 years (if even that long) as shown in this case with Acer.

    Since the Acer switch 11V is more of a niche laptop, there is little incentive for Acer to produce any updates. In fact, the last software/driver/BIOS update for the 11V was the 1.09 Bios way back in June 2017.

    I am now looking into getting a new 2 in 1 hybrid laptop which can also double as a Windows 10 tablet. The choices are limited. It almost seems that Microsoft is not really trying to push into the tablet market which is sad. Windows 10 works fine in tablet mode.
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,246 Trailblazer
    I'm running a Switch Alpha 12 and the new Switch 7 Black Edition. They are both running well as hybrids, though the SW7 BE is a bit pricey. I've got a friend who went the Dell XPS 13 2in1 route and he's really pleased, though he spent more than I did on both. :)
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • Leighd7
    Leighd7 Member Posts: 1 New User
    Still waiting for a fix for this I will never buy an Acer again. it's disgusting that they cant supply some kind of update to fix this. 
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,897 Trailblazer
    You'll probably have to wait some more for the next major 'official' Win10update release. Should be out soon as major releases seem to be on a ~6mo schedule. Jack E/NJ  

    Jack E/NJ

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,246 Trailblazer
    Yes, the next major release is supposed to be out this month (May 2019). No idea though whether Microsoft fixed the bug or not...
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • Silurian
    Silurian Member Posts: 20 Networker
    billsey said:
    Yes, the next major release is supposed to be out this month (May 2019). No idea though whether Microsoft fixed the bug or not...

    I really doubt there will be any "fix" from Microsoft as it appears that after version 1803 of Windows 10 there was a fundamental change on how Windows 10 integrates with the UEFI boot process. This is probably not considered a "bug" but a more secure method of the UEFI boot process. It was stated earlier in this thread that the Acer Switch 11V is not certified past version 1803 of Windows 10. I understand this as Acer will not produce a BIOS to fix this issue (which is required) and Microsoft will not roll back their code (or even include a workaround).
  • Hungerys
    Hungerys Member Posts: 1 New User
    I had the same problem a week ago, this is the solution that worked for me:

    Go into the bios and make sure Windows Boot Manager is the first to be loaded.
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,246 Trailblazer
    Yes, Windows Boot Manager should always be first unless you are trying to debug something.
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • windowstablet
    windowstablet Member Posts: 3 New User
    I gave up.   I had been running Windows 1803 just fine.  Of course, 1903 installed and it screwed my Switch v11 with the same freezing symptoms described here.  Check BIOS upgrades, none.  Checked forums, found this.   I am really fed up with Acer's lack of commitment here for a laptop/tablet just a few years old.

    I thought about installing CloudReady to make it a Chromebook, per another user's recommendation on this thread...  But it would just hang during install saying "...system is repairing itself, please wait" forever.   Of course, the Acer Switch is not listed as a certified install, but worth trying regardless.

    So now I have just installed Kubuntu, based on my positive prior experiences with Ubuntu.   Kubuntu provides the KDE UI instead of GNOME, which needs more memory than KDE. 

    Got through the whole install and configuration of network, TZ, user login, etc...  However, upon reboot, Kubuntu is not booting either for some reason, more troubleshooting required.

    Thanks for wasting my time, Acer!
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,897 Trailblazer

    You're posting to an ACER users group, not to ACER employees or a link to ACER customer service. If the hidden ACER recovery partition is still intact, you can try to reset the machine to a factory fresh state using the ALT+F10 cold boot method as shown in the video below. If successful, you can temporarily block 1903 until a future update hopefully fixes the issue. Jack E/NJ


    Jack E/NJ

  • omarr
    omarr Member Posts: 4 New User
    New to this community, although I've been following this thread for some time.  I honestly tried on many occasions to update to to 1903, the first 2 times via windows update (from 1803, skipping 1809 altogether).  But just like everyone else, the experience was terrible on 1903.  Having to go into BIOS first just to boot into Windows was an annoyance I could live with.  But in actual usage Win 10 1903 was a pain.  Frequent hangs, BSOD's, just using Mail and Chrome.  Reinstalled 1803 frequently just so I could use my machine.  But then I get the message on update that essentially 1803's time is up and that Windows would "force update" to 1903 eventually.  So I used the media creation tool to do the 1903 update myself, but then it would BSOD WHILE I WAS DOING THE UPDATE!  Two times it crashed!  So it was then that I just decided to call it quits.  I decided to give Linux a try (my first time to do so), just so I could "save" my machine from the garbage.  Tried Zorin OS and Linux Mint at first, but issues with either the touchscreen or the onscreen keyboard, or both, with these OS's made them less than ideal.  Finally, I tried Ubuntu 19.04, and I think I may have found my Win 10 replacement.  Granted, Zorin and Mint may have worked with just a mouse and keyboard, but I wanted to retain the touchscreen/tablet experience of the switch 11v, and this is where Ubuntu works really well.  Onscreen keyboard is good, and the apps and interface really work with the touchscreen.  The only issue now is with the stylus, which is now just almost like a mouse.  But since I got myself a Galaxy Tab with S pen, I've really stopped using the active stylus on the 11v, and I use the galaxy tab for all my digital art.  Still, I hope to maybe revisit Win 10 if the next update works better than 1903.  I hope you guys can update this thread if that is indeed the case.   
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,897 Trailblazer
    omarr   Thanks for the report. Stay with what works. Don't look back. MS's new unstable/unpredictable life-cycle policy has indeed opened the window of opportunity to finally break the status quo in PC GUIs.  I've already switched my BIOS & UEFI machines to Cinnamon 18.3 or 19.1 primary boots. And configured them to function & look like the last half-way decent MS offering Win7.  And the latest WINE overlay coupled with Linux's unfettered access to the Windows partitions makes the transition exceptionally easy to take. Jack E/NJ

    Jack E/NJ

  • windowstablet
    windowstablet Member Posts: 3 New User
    JackE

    JackE, I never thought I was posting to Acer support... Why did you think that? ?   BTW, my recovery partition is gone, because I gave up on Acer supporting this and did a clean install of CloudReady, and when that didn't pan out, now Kubuntu.   You can only postpone updates for so long, even with Windows Pro, so it was inevitable.

    I am now running Kubtunu, and it's beyond fast.    I had to manually specify the shim .efi file in the BIOS in order to get it to boot directly to Grub, otherwise it would say no bootable device.   I'll need some more time playing with it, but this might be what stays on the Switch 11.
  • JackE
    JackE ACE Posts: 44,897 Trailblazer
    Good for you. My own Windows machines now default boot to Mint Cinnamon 19.1 that's configured to have the same look, feel and function of arguably the last halfway decent Microsoft OS, Win7. Jack E/NJ   

    Jack E/NJ

  • windowstablet
    windowstablet Member Posts: 3 New User
    JackE

    JackE, I never thought I was posting to Acer support.   Why did you think that? ?   BTW, my recovery partition is gone, because I gave up on Acer supporting this.   You can only postpone updates for so long, even with Windows Pro.
  • tbctc1983
    tbctc1983 Member Posts: 11 New User
    All, it has been a while since anyone posted. I usually do not turn my laptop off, only restart twice per week. Therefore did not notice the issue till recently. I have exactly the same issue. I can boot up through the BIOS as mentioned. Any luck with a permanent fix?
  • Silurian
    Silurian Member Posts: 20 Networker
    tbctc1983 said:
    All, it has been a while since anyone posted. I usually do not turn my laptop off, only restart twice per week. Therefore did not notice the issue till recently. I have exactly the same issue. I can boot up through the BIOS as mentioned. Any luck with a permanent fix?
    If you want to run Windows 10, you have two choices:

    One, roll back to 1803 and don't install any feature updates past that version. Windows 10 will boot as normal. The downside is at some point 1803 will move beyond support and Microsoft will stop applying security updates for it.

    Two, boot through the BIOS method as previously mentioned. If you only restart infrequently, then this is a small inconvenience. This way you will stay up to date with Microsoft.

    One can always hope that Microsoft will fix whatever it is that causes the UEFI boot issue but I highly doubt it as it appears to be tied to some sort of new boot security feature. Acer has pretty much stated that the Switch 11V is past support so don't expect any BIOS update from them.
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