Acer Predator Helios 300 NO BOOTABLE DEVICE and constant crashes driving me mad

1783pictures
1783pictures Member Posts: 5 New User
edited November 2023 in 2020 Archives
I have a Acer Predator Helios 300 model N17C1 with an intel SSD PEKKW256G7. I also have a spare hdd installed and doubled my ram. I should note that removing the spare hdd and extra ram do nothing to help my situation.

Last year I started getting blue screens of death where it would say it's run into a problem and needs to reboot (it does it automatically). I would also frequently get a NO BOOTABLE DEVICE screen when trying to start the laptop. It got so bad I could no longer use the laptop. I couldn't find what was wrong. Intel SSD Toolbox never found anything. I also spent $150 with a local place to look at it and they were clueless. Said they couldn't help me. Great! Money blown. 

Some here say to switch from UEFI to Legacy in the BIOS. First of all, F2 and delete do not allow me into the BIOS on this laptop. I have to go through a very complicated process buried deep in the Windows troubleshooting that is so hard I can never remember HOW to do it. Talk about ridiculous! What is their goal with that? 

I did try that and it broke my computer. I just got no boot device and random text. I had to find the BIOS and go back to default UEFI. 

Last month I made the decision to reinstall Windows 10. I made the clean install, updated to the latest of everything. Intel SSD Toolbox was installed and said I have the latest firmware on the SSD (it wouldn't give me the option to update firmware). I know one potential problem is ssd firmware from this thread: 

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/556422/how-to-fix-dpc-watchdog-violation-win10-bsod-no-bootable-device-predator-ph315-51

Long story short, everything was great for a few weeks. And then it all started again. And it is bad. I might go a few hours with no problems, but then I will have problems for hours and days on end. I am at my whits end. This laptop was very expensive and I paid a premium at the time because I was overseas (it shipped from the USA to Asia). 

I just reset the battery using a pin into the bottom insert reset (they made the hole so small a paperclip is now too thick). Some say that helps, so it is worth a try.

Right now I am running Intel's SSD Full Diagnostic scan and I assure you, it will be 100% A-Okay. 

So what is wrong?! Why has this been happening? From Spring 2018 to early Fall 2019 the laptop was perfect. Something happened to cause this. Something changed or something is shorting out or a piece of hardware has an issue. I searched and found a LOT of people having similar problems. Many return the laptops. Some say it just disappears. Some never answer as to what happens. 

Clearly there is a problem going on with these units and I would greatly appreciate any help that can be given me. Thank you.

Answers

  • Can you provide the exact model? Example AN515-51-75KZ. Does the windows boot manager appear on the boot tab?
    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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  • 1783pictures
    1783pictures Member Posts: 5 New User
    On the back I have G3-571-77QK and N17C1. That's it, other than the serial number. 

    I opened the back ports, removed the ram and the spare HDD and re-seated them. I reset the battery using a pin in that tiny little slot. After waiting an hour I rebooted, with the unit plugged in. After 4 hours of use I had no crashes. 

    Tomorrow I will try it on the battery. 
  • If windows started correctly after the battery reset, try disabling fast startup in the power options, to see if the problem still occurs.
    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! :)
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  • Reyvelation
    Reyvelation Member Posts: 2 New User
    Also try reinserting the SSD, it might have come loose
  • 1783pictures
    1783pictures Member Posts: 5 New User
    I tried that a while back with no difference. :(
  • Does ssd or hdd appear in the bios information tab?
    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! :)