2021 March 31 - New User, First Post!

My A517-51G-55G9 is the i5-8250U version and is at least 3 years old. Before I even powered up the 'then new' laptop to start configuring Win10, I used an external disk caddy to clone the original 1TB HDD to a 2TB hybrid HDD with 2 equal 1TB partitions. This has been running reliably ever since. I have been researching m.2 SSD compatibility for this device for about a month. I found quite a bit of information on the A515-51G, but not much about the 17 inch A517-51G. Yesterday, I took the plunge and purchased a WD Blue m.2 NVME SSD with a capacity of 1TB. To start the installation process, I took the RAM and HDD covers off, took out the 4 screws holding the HDD and its carrier in the laptop and then removed all the case screws from the bottom. It was unnerving removing the bottom cover on my ACER, but I took my time and it got removed. This A517 was built around a C5V01 LA-E892P motherboard (which seems to be a popular model) with date code 2017 03 27 (actual picture below). 



My A517 came with a slimline CD/DVD drive. Once I realized the optical disk plugged into the motherboard, I was able to completely remove the bottom cover. With the bottom cover off, I first unplugged the internal Lithium battery pack. The area reserved for the m.2 drive is adjacent to the RAM on the motherboard. I inserted the m.2 drive into the socket at an angle. I needed to use a screw to secure the m.2 module to the motherboard, so I 'borrowed' a case screw from the HDD carrier to secure it. With the new m.2 installed, I reconnected the Lithium battery, positioned the lower cover with the slimline CD/DVD and plugged it in, then carefully snapped the lower cover back into place. All case screws were re-installed, and the HDD carrier was next (minus one small mounting screw), then I replaced the RAM and HDD covers last. It booted up on HDD no trouble. I was able to verify the m.2 disk was recognized, and power-up rebooted from the hybrid HDD. I used an excellent disk clone software package called Macrium Reflect Free. There is an excellent tutorial on YouTube that talked me through the process. I cloned the first 4 partitions onto the SSD with Macrium software. It took 1hr43m04s. Although the tutorial was not done on an ACER laptop, I needed to enter the BIOS to change BOOT device. The first power-up and boot from the m.2 drive took a bit longer than expected, but subsequent reboots were amazingly fast.

I did notice the CD/DVD tray seemed to bind - it was caused by the bottom cover not snapped into its final position. All works fine now!

In benchmarking, the WD Blue m.2 drive is not being stressed - it operates at no more than 60% of its maximum performance capability. Other m.2 drives may work, but look for performance Read/Write speeds over 1500 MB/sec.

This was a description of my personal experience - your results may vary.

Not sure how much I can help with any questions, but I hope this might give some guidance to others in similar circumstances. - JVM CET