Acer Aspire XC-704

Pugman211
Pugman211 Member Posts: 15 Troubleshooter
edited March 1 in 2020 Archives
Hi All,

Wondering if you could possibly help me with my Acer, basically I had a power cut whilst my computer was on, and since then, on boot up (it doesn't actually boot anymore) it displayed the following:

"There is an error in the SMART detection Press F1 to continue or DEL to enter setup"

 At first, it would boot up, and everything worked. Then it stopped, and now I get:

"Reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected device and press a key"

I can see a HDD in the BIOS, so I'm hoping that I don't need a new HDD, and I've just lost a boot file or something? I've read about a UEFI or something similar, but have never used one. Ideally, I'm trying to avoid having to format the HDD as there are files that I need on it.

Any help would be great thanks

Edited the content to hide personal information
Acer-Samuel

Answers

  • GAMING6698
    GAMING6698 ACE Posts: 7,774 Pathfinder
    @Pugman211
    1. Boot in bios thrn Go to the Boot tab
    2. Change the boot order and list your computer’s HDD first
    3. Save the settings
    4. Restart your computer 
    windows 10/11 optimization guide for gaming 
    Windows 10/11 optimization guide for gaming — Acer Community

    My AN515-43 laptop UserBenchmark-
    https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/51514566
  • Pugman211
    Pugman211 Member Posts: 15 Troubleshooter
    Hi GAMING6698,

    thanks for your reply. I already checked the boot order, and HDD was the first one to boot.
    Sometimes the PC will go into self repair, but once I get to advanced options, its locks and dies. It even once started into windows, but again, froze quickly and wouldn't respond to basic CTRL+ALT+DEL commands. This PC is only 3 years old, and is only used for basic word documents/ spreadsheets etc. It has a 3TB HDD, of which hardly anything is used.

    Thanks


  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,215 Trailblazer
    SMART error detection was trying to tell you the HDD was failing and likely it's failed far enough to affect the boot info. You might be able to copy some of your data off it by booting into diagnostic mode from a Windows install flash drive, but chances are you're going to need to replace that drive and reinstall. It's a great opportunity to put a fast SSD in though, so there is some silver lining to your cloud. The XC-704 came originally with Windows 8.1, so it's old enough to not have an M.2 slot, but you can put  2.5" SSD in easily (with an adapter to fit the 3.5" bay).
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • Pugman211
    Pugman211 Member Posts: 15 Troubleshooter
    Hi Billsey,

    Thanks for the tip. I'm quickly coming to the conclusion that the HDD will need to be replaced, and I was actually thinking about buying a 2nd HDD, and doing a fresh install on it, and making that the first boot device and try and copy the data I want off the old one.

    I'll look into a fast SSD, and see what's out there. Can you recommend a particular one?

    Cheers
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,215 Trailblazer
    I try to stay away from recommendations, other than to suggest you stick with one of the name brands, from a reputable seller. I have an Intel in one desktop, a Samsung in another and a Micron in one of the laptops. I can't remember what I put in the other laptop, it was old enough that I replaced the DVD with a caddy and SATA SSD...
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • Pugman211
    Pugman211 Member Posts: 15 Troubleshooter
    @billsey

    Thanks for your reply. I'm going to buy an SSD, can I use the PCI e slot and buy the newer M.2 ones? I know I would need an adapter to use the slot, Which version would I need. I think my system has the v.03, but I'm not sure.

    Many thanks
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,215 Trailblazer
    The problem with using the PCie slot for a NVMe drive is you typically can't boot from it. That gets you away from what you really want, which is the fast boot a SSD gives you. Better to just use a SATA SSD in replacement of the HDD that came originally.
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • Pugman211
    Pugman211 Member Posts: 15 Troubleshooter
    Thanks @billsey.  I appreciate the help. 👍
  • ttttt
    ttttt Member Posts: 1,947 Community Aficionado WiFi Icon
    Pugman211,
           I am one who always suggest to people to use the latest technologies if possible, but people seldom listen to me. As their computer is still working fine and they are comfortable, so they don't want to change. If our computer has M.2 slot for M.2 NVMe SSD or an extra PCIe x4 (or x8, x16) slot, you can put M.2 NVMe SSD there (with adapter card) and boot up (assume your BIOS is a UEFI one). If not, I suppose you can put a 2.5" SATA3 SSD to any still available SATA3 slot. You will definitely see the increase in performance with the new SSD over the old spinning HDD.
  • Pugman211
    Pugman211 Member Posts: 15 Troubleshooter
    Thanks @ttttt I will be 100% honest, that although I have a pretty good idea what I'm doin, I also haven't dabbled on computer internals for years haha. So I'll describe what I have/ can see.

    I have the Xc-704 desktop. It doesn't have an M2 slot, but has 1x PCI e x16 slot which I dont use for anything. I have bought and adapter and a SAMSUNG - 970 Evo Plus M.2 Internal SSD - 250 GB and I was gonna use that to start off. My Bios definitely can use UEFI option as I remember seeing it.

    Thanks for your input
  • ttttt
    ttttt Member Posts: 1,947 Community Aficionado WiFi Icon
    Seems like you are well planned for that. Do not forget to format the 970 EVO  after inserting the adapter card using Disk Management.
  • Pugman211
    Pugman211 Member Posts: 15 Troubleshooter
    @ttttt thanks.

    Here lies the original problem I have. My original HDD is corrupted and won't boot up. So I'm not sure if you can format from bios? Or would I have to boot UEFI try and format and install a clean version that way and then try and pluck data from the hdd (I think just the MBR is corrupted)
  • ttttt
    ttttt Member Posts: 1,947 Community Aficionado WiFi Icon
    I hope you have an image file previously stored. Disk Management is a tool in Windows 10, not in the BIOS. Do you have a Windows repair disk (or USB flash  drive)? If so, you can try to repair the MBR with the repair disk. If you don't have it now, create one copy from a working computer (if you only have one computer, try use one from your friends).
  • Pugman211
    Pugman211 Member Posts: 15 Troubleshooter
    @ttttt thanks I will also try that.
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,215 Trailblazer
    You can always do an install from scratch using a Windows install flash drive. Build the flash drive on a different system. As long as you pick the same version of Windows (likely Windows 10 Home) the key stored in the BIOS will work. Most PCIe SSD cards aren't bootable, so you need to keep a HDD or SATA SSD in the system in order to do the UEFI boot. UEFI needs a very small partition on a system drive in order to complete the boot process.
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • Pugman211
    Pugman211 Member Posts: 15 Troubleshooter
    @billsey thanks guys for all your help. I've ordered a SATA SSD as well, so I'll let you know how I get on. 👍
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,215 Trailblazer
    Good enough, let know as it progresses.
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • Pugman211
    Pugman211 Member Posts: 15 Troubleshooter
    Hey guys,

    Just to finish this thread off. I purchased the Samsung 860 EVO SSD. I also bought a USB stick and was able to install Windows 10 Home via the UEFI method. I just did a fresh install and I'm amazed at how fast the computer boots up in general and does standard tasks etc. No way will i be returning to a HDD again haha.

    Thanks to all who have contributed and helped point me in the right direction. Now that I've done this tho, the kids want a gaming PC built!  :'(

    Regards

    Pug
  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,215 Trailblazer
    Great job! :) Of course, you already know that Acer makes some awesome gaming PCs... ;)
    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.

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