Aspire A515-54G-70TZ Adding a second bigger SSD, can't do a RESTART but SHUTDOWN is OK

ArtPovelones
ArtPovelones Member Posts: 12

Tinkerer

edited October 2023 in 2020 Archives
I have a strange problem on a ACER Aspire A515-54G-70TZ.  I recently added a Samsung SSD 850PRO1TB 7KE1T0 as an extra drive, using the supplied HDD Upgrade Kit.  It appeared to go OK because I was using shutdown (vs RESTART).  When I had to do a Restart to Rename the computer,  I received a blue screen "RECOVERY.  Your PC Needs to be repaired"  Anyone else experience this.  Does Acer know about this?  Is it because the second SSD is bigger than the first?

After pressing Alt-F10 after a failure, and selecting "Command Prompt" from the advanced screen, the designation of C: and D: are reversed.  The disk identified as "C:\" is really the 1TB Samsung (empty for this test) and the disk identified as "D:/" is actually the original Acer SSD !!  I believe the Samsung SSD is working OK.  I had been using it previously, and you can see a display of both drives from the Acer after I moved a pot load of files to it.  Just don't hit "RESTART."

To get on, you have to temporarily disconnect the Samsung SSD and reboot the Acer.  .  The the Acer will reboot and both "Shutdown" and "RESTART" work.  After you reinstall the second SSD, the Acer reboot OK and both SSD's work. " Shutdown" works but RESTART produces the blue screen (File: \Windows\systems32\winload.efi Error code: 0xc00000000f)


Best Answer

  • ArtPovelones
    ArtPovelones Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer

    Answer ✓
    It is fixed in BIOS 1.17.  It was fixed somewhere between BIOS 1.07 that I was running and version 1.17.  Sorry for all talk on here.  I wish I would have tried the BIOS myself before I posted all this.  Now I completely happy with my A515-54G-70TZ, a great machine.
«1

Answers

  • The first question I would like to ask, is if you installed windows on ssd like that?
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  • ArtPovelones
    ArtPovelones Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer


  • ArtPovelones
    ArtPovelones Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer

    The 500Gig SSD had Acer installed OS and my files.  The 1TB Samsung was initially empty (a full format, not a quick format),  The picture shows both in operation with a potload of files loaded on the Samsung SSD.  Just don't Restart!!

    T
  • OK! But did you install windows as shown in the video above?
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  • ArtPovelones
    ArtPovelones Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer

    I used these instructions for installing the Samsung:  https://youtu.be/X0sxL3OVKXE
    (Note there are no screws holding down the battery.)
    This is what my installation looks like:

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,829 Trailblazer
    So your OP boot drive is on the 500Gb (C:) and your 1TB slave is (D:)? You should have done the 'Computer Rename' with the 500Gb (C:) OP boot drive only, not with both  installed, as that is why you cant do a restart. If this persists then reinstall Win-10 without the slave and then refit the slave afterwards, as in the video guide above.  

    Or try this, start again, turn off the laptop, take out the (D:) 1TB, restart and rename the 500Gb (C:) boot drive to another name, then, turn off computer [as you have said, that it works 100% with just the boot 500Gb (C:)], now, check if that happens? If it does, turn off laptop and reinstall your 1TB Samsung SSD, 'RESTART' and it will work with both drives, to either "Shut down" or "Restart".  

    This happened to me also, I reinstalled Win-10 with my 1TB spinner slave (full of data) inside and it completely made the slave unusable, I had to take the slave to a data recovery so that they could recover all the valuable data, luckily they recovered 99.99% of the data.   
  • ArtPovelones
    ArtPovelones Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer

    J am sorry.  I don't get what you are saying.  Here's what I expected.  (I don't know the correct names for the components I am about to mention.  I just found out my C:/ drive is a M-2 Internal SATA Drive).  I expected a reply like: "This is a known bug in your BIOS.  It is fixed in BIOS Rev xxx.xxx.xxx.  Get it from Acer.  Or here is how you patch your BIOS."
  • Does the same problem occur when you change sata mode to ahci? To do this, enable safe boot on windows:

    Then, restart windows and uninstall the intel rapid storage driver and the driver related to optane memory in safe boot. Restart windows again and change sata mode to ahci (you may need to press ctrl + s to enable sata mode).
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  • ArtPovelones
    ArtPovelones Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer

    My supposition is that the assignment of C:\ and D:\ gets mixed on the 1st half of "Restart".  Because, after that, there is no
    ability that I have found to recover.  You can IPL a million  times with out success.  You get the same Recovery screen that
    I showed above.

    But I think this comes from a reversal of C:\ and D:\ on the first part of "Restart", on the way down.  When you IPL the PC, you don't get the usual circular dots icon on the bottom of the ACER screen.  It goes immediately to the Recovery screen.

    The Recovery screen (refer to my picture above) says:
      File: \Windows\system32\winload.efi
      Error code: 0xc0000000f

    If my supposition is correct, \windows is referring to C:\Windows.. which is searching for the file on the actual drive D:\ which is assuredly is not there.  You can re-boot a million times, with the same result.  "C":\Windows... is not found on D:\.

    Now, from the Recovery screen, select "Troubleshoot" from the image, pictured above.  You receive the "Advanced Options" screen, pictured above.  When you Select "Command Prompt" and type "dir C:\" and "dir D:\", you get the display pictured above.  Obviously C:\ and D:\ are reversed.  You can see from this "C:\Windows\system32\winload.efi" won't be found on this empty disk.  Disk D:\ is the ACER boot drive where the file actually is.  The designations C:\ and D:\ were erroneously mixed up.

    Now physically remove the D:\ drive and reboot.  There is no D:\ drive, and the boot comes from the ACER drive in C:\ where the file is and always has been.  Reinstall the D:\ drive.  Now the system works fine.  Both C:\ and D:\.  You can add and remove files from both C:\ and D:\.  You can "Shutdown" and re-boot fine.  Everything is OK EXCEPT "Restart".  You can't do a restart.  But if you happen to forget and do a "Restart", just disconnect drive D:/ and re-boot.  Then re-install the D:/ drive.  

    This is eminently repeatable.  I've gotten used to it.  I disconnect the D:/ drive by unscrewing the four screws at the disk drive and pulling off the connector.  This is instead of removing the Wireless card and disconnecting the little connector at the other end of the cable.  This is my penance for forgetting to use "Shutdown".  After I do this, both drives work again with no loss of data to either C:\ or D:\ drive.

    Besides asking for a permanent fix, I am posting this to alert future people.  Don't panic when you get the blue screen.  Don't believe it.  Try this first and you won't have to search for a replacement disk (you won't find it on the mislabeled D:\ drive).  Instead your system will immediately respring back to life and you won't have to rebuild your Acer and won't have to recover your data. 

    This reminds me of a rule I learned very early in my programming days: never initialize at the end of a task for the next invocation.  Always initialize before the task.

  • Did you check what I said above? What is the version of the bios? Also, have you cloned the ssd?
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  • ArtPovelones
    ArtPovelones Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer

    edited April 2020
    Version of the BIOS V1.07
    I never cloned the 500G M2 Included SSD.  I added many files/directories to it.
    I did not modify the 1TB cloned and used successfully in an HP.  I added more files to it in the Acer.  Then it failed on RESTART.
    Then I did a full format (many hours) and it failed in the ACER.  That is the picture included above showing the reversal.
    Then I added many files/directories to the drive.  Worked fine until RESTART.  There is a picture above of  windows display.
    Below are pictures of the BIOS, first with then without the 1TB Samsung hard drive.


    Edited the content to hide sensitive information
    Acer-Samuel
  • What happens when you reinstall windows, changing sata mode to ahci?
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  • ArtPovelones
    ArtPovelones Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer

    I should have posted this before.  First a normal DOS display of the two drives, what the drives should look like.  (I have continued to use the Acer by hitting "SHUTDOWN", never "RESTART").  For comparison  here is the DOS display, repeated from Above.

  • Let's start again, okay? Your model comes with a 512gb nvme ssd and windows installed. Is windows still installed on the 512gb nvme? When you disconnect the 2.5 "1tb ssd, does the problem still occur when restarting?
    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
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  • ArtPovelones
    ArtPovelones Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer

    Sorry to be so dense.
    Yes, the 500G drvie that came with the acer "has not been touched".  I did not know what it looked like for the longest time.  I have not touched the drive physically, ever.  I have never disconnected it or removed it.  I have "touched" it, in that I have used the PC.  But in all my descriptions I have never touched the connector to the drive serial #B422-52DB, named ACER.  I have never renamed the drive.

    The 1TB Samsung drive FC8C-BD3C I had been using previously in another machine.  Then I did a format, both a quick, and non-quick format on another machine.  Then I copied many files to it on this ACER that fails.  No matter what the initial state of the 1TB Samsung drive is, I can can install the drive in the failing ACER, boot the ACER, and use both drives, without any errors.  I can SHUTDOWN the
    ACER and boot it up again without error and use both drives without error.

    I cannot do a RESTART with both drives active.  All three initial states of the 1TB Samsung drive.  As shown above RESTART gets the
    pointers C:\ and D: \ reversed.  The DOS display of the two drives, above, shows that the "pointers" (or whatever C:\ and D: \ are properly called) are reversed.  And C:\ does not point to the drive physically mounted in the PC.  I have never moved Drive B422-52DB named ACER.  The ACER mistakenly calls it the D: \ drive, and accesses the 1TB Samsung drive under C:\  

    The error is solid, until I physically detach the 1TB Samsung drive.  Then the ACER correctly refers to the ACER drive B422-52DB physically installed in the machine (and never touched) as C:\ again.  The ACER boots fine.  I can do either SHUTDOWN or RESTART again.  I can use the machine without errors again to read write to B422-52DB.

    If I reinstall the 1TB Samsumg EB8C-BD3C again, it correctly becomes D: \ drive.  And again I can use the ACER without error, adding and removing files from both C:\ and D: \.  I can shutdown fine.  I can re-boot fine.  I just cannot do a RESTART.  The PC goes through its shutdown process and will not restart.  It gets the Blue Screen as DOS shows that the ACER has erroneously tried to boot from the 1TB Samsung instead of the 500G B422-52DB mounted in the machine and never touched.

    The 1TB Samsung is the only drive I have installed and de-installed.  I never touched the socket that the 500GB drive that ACER shipped is installed in.
  • OK! Disconnect the 1tb ssd and do this:
    a) activate safe boot on windows and restart:

    b) within the safe boot, uninstall the intel rapid storage programs and the optane memory program and restart windows.
    c) then, restart windows again and access the bios. Change the sata mode function to ahci and press f10 to save on exit. You may need to press ctrl + s to release the sata mode function on the main tab.
    d) windows will install the ahci driver in the safe boot.
    e) then disable safe boot and restart windows again
    f) go to the power options and disable fast startup:

    g) turn off the computer and connect the 1tb ssd again and check if the problem persists.
    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
    Se você gostou da minha resposta, marque como solução clicando em sim! If you liked my answer, mark it as a solution by clicking on yes!
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  • ArtPovelones
    ArtPovelones Member Posts: 12

    Tinkerer

    D: \ means  D.:.\     D-:-\     D : \   above.
  • I would like to know if the problem occurs with sata mode in ahci. That's why I suggested my tip above. Then, check if the problem remains again!
    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
    Se você gostou da minha resposta, marque como solução clicando em sim! If you liked my answer, mark it as a solution by clicking on yes!
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                                                     egydiocoelho Trailblazer
     
    ProductKey clique aqui para descobrir o serial do windows! click here to discover the windows serial!
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  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,829 Trailblazer
    edited April 2020
    ArtPovelones do what egydiocoelho has instructed you to do above, from steps a) to g) but, the main thing is "Change the SATA Mode in BIOS to AHCI" and not "RTS with Optane"! That is the answer as just adding a slave drive (D:) to an existing system should not be that big a deal and/or a problem like you are having. I've got the same setup a Samsung 970 EVO NVMe M.2 SSD 1TB boot drive (C:) with a Samsung 860 EVO SATA 2.5" SSD 1TB slave drive (D:). The Aspire A515-54G-70TZ comes with an OEM hard drive of a Kingston SSD M.2 2280 512GB, which I've upgraded to the above and added the slave drive as above and did what egydiocoelho said except that I didn't disable 'Safe Boot" as it worked with SB. In my case, I didn't need the Intel Optane, as the "Samsung Magician" software allows you and does exactly the same with "Rapid Mode" activated as the Intel Optane, if not better, that is why I mainly use Samsung as Intel Optane is no longer available and its obsolete.

    Btw, study this article about the Intel Optane "Intel Optane Memory: What It Is and Why It Matters" at:  https://www.tweaktown.com/articles/8119/intel-optane-memory-matters/index.html



  • Commodore_1995#
    Commodore_1995# ACE Posts: 98,349 Trailblazer
    edited April 2020
    @StevenGenActivating the safe boot  will not cause that error when the user changes the sata mode in the bios.
    Oi! Eu não sou sou a cortana! Mas estou aqui para ajudar! Hi! I'm not the cortana! But I'm here to help!
    Se você gostou da minha resposta, marque como solução clicando em sim! If you liked my answer, mark it as a solution by clicking on yes!
    Aceite somente a resposta que ajudou a solucionar o seu problema! Please accept only the response that helped to solve your problem!
    Detection tool click here to find the serial number or partnumber of your model!                                                          
                                                      
                                                     egydiocoelho Trailblazer
     
    ProductKey clique aqui para descobrir o serial do windows! click here to discover the windows serial!
    Para usuários da comunidade inglesa, espanhola, francesa e alemã, usarei o google tradutor! :)
    For users of the English, Spanish, French and German community, I will be using google translator! :)