Acer Laptop "Swift 1": No Bootable Device

[JetsetBkk]

A friend gave me his daughter's laptop to fix. When powered on the message "No Bootable Device" is displayed.
He also gave me a "Cruzer Blade" USB flash drive labelled "ESD-USB" which contains a Windows 10 installer.

I could use it to, hopefully, make the C drive bootable again but I don't want to delete any user data on the drive.
I would like to boot from a USB and copy files from the C drive before trying to fix the C drive.

My usual bootable USB drive - which works on all PCs and laptops I have ever tried - will not boot on this laptop.

When I hit F12 after powering on, the Boot Manager screen appears with an empty list.
If I plug in the ESD-USB drive, power on and hit F12, the Boot Manager list shows "USB Cruzer Blade".
If I do the same but plug in my usual bootable USB drive, the list is empty.

What I want to do is to boot something from a USB drive that will allow me to browse the C drive - if it is still working - and copy data from it to the USB drive.

Any ideas?

Edited March 20, 2021 by JetsetBkk

[Crossy]

Does the hard drive show in the BIOS list?

No drive in the boot list suggests that the drive has failed (but do check it's not just become unplugged).

The Acer website suggests it has a 128GB PCI Express SSD so a replacement drive shouldn't be silly money.

[fdsa]

try disabling Secure Boot in BIOS settings, also try to change boot settings from "UEFI" to "Legacy/BIOS/CSM"

 

10 minutes ago, JetsetBkk said:

What I want to do is to boot something from a USB drive that will allow me to browse the C drive - if it is still working - and copy data from it to the USB drive.

Hiren's Boot CD to the rescue!

Edited March 20, 2021 by fdsa

[JetsetBkk]

5 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Does the hard drive show in the BIOS list?

No drive in the boot list suggests that the drive has failed (but do check it's not just become unplugged).

I just plugged in the ESD-USB to see where it appears on the BIOS tabs, and it only appears on the Boot tab.

The only other tabs that refer to the HDD are the first tab - Information - which states SATA mode is AHCI.

The Advanced tab has SATA Configuration, which states SATA Port 0 Enabled.

The Security tab has a HDD Password setting which I have tried setting on and off which no change to the "No Boot Device" message.

Under that same tab, the Secure Boot Mode is "Standard". I can't get to that setting to change it.

[Crossy]

Try changing the mode of the SATA to it's other setting (possibly legacy).

[JetsetBkk]

6 minutes ago, fdsa said:

try disabling Secure Boot in BIOS settings, also try to change boot settings from "UEFI" to "Legacy/BIOS/CSM"

 

Hiren's Boot CD to the rescue!

I can't get to Secure Boot in the BIOS. Very odd. I have also seen videos about changing from UEFI to Legacy, but I can't turn off Secure Boot.

I use Hiren's Boot CD in my usual bootable "YUMI" USB drive. But that USB won't boot or be recognised by this laptop.

[CharlieH]

When I had the same issue on my Acer laptop, I simply replaced the HDD with an SSD and started again. Problem solved.

 

[JetsetBkk]

2 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Try changing the mode of the SATA to it's other setting (possibly legacy).

Under the Advanced tab in BIOS, the SATA Configuration can only be disabled.

I can't find anywhere where the mode can be changed from AHCI.

[JetsetBkk]

2 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

When I had the same issue on my Acer laptop, I simply replaced the HDD with an SSD and started again. Problem solved.

 

I've done that with three of my laptops/notebooks. ???? 

I'm waiting for my friend to let me know if it is still under warranty. I can open it up if it isn't under warranty and check the drive.

[fdsa]

  

12 minutes ago, JetsetBkk said:

Under that same tab, the Secure Boot Mode is "Standard". I can't get to that setting to change it.

 

9 minutes ago, JetsetBkk said:

I can't get to Secure Boot in the BIOS. Very odd.

 

Tell your friend to not buy chinese cráp computers in the future. This is not odd - quite often shítty manufacturers lock the Secure Boot settings to prevent customers install any operating system rather than preinstalled Windows 10.

 

P.S. note that it is not a Secure Boot problem, as it may seem on the first glance, it is a manufacturer problem instead.

Usually people blame Secure Boot for the very same reason as yours — inability to boot the "unsigned" operating system. But if Secure Boot is under control of the user it becames a great feature for the information security. As an example:

having a Normal computer: unlock Secure Boot; delete default Microsoft keys from the Secure Boot database; install your favourite OS; add your own keys and OS fingerprints to the Secure Boot database; lock up the Secure Boot. Result: no one could boot from USB and steal your data from the hard drive.

having a Chinese cráp: impossible to unlock Secure Boot; impossible to install anything beside Microsoft's unholy creation; anyone (e.g. rogue "officials") could boot from "authorized" USB drive and steal your data from the hard drive.

 

Edited March 20, 2021 by fdsa

[JetsetBkk]

OK, I've been given the go ahead to take it apart.

I'll try plugging the drive into my desktop. At least I should be able to save any data if the drive is still functional.

[CharlieH]

2 minutes ago, JetsetBkk said:

OK, I've been given the go ahead to take it apart.

I'll try plugging the drive into my desktop. At least I should be able to save any data if the drive is still functional.

Only a suggestion, if the drive is functional, "clone it"  onto the replacement SSD.

[JetsetBkk]

7 minutes ago, CharlieH said:

Only a suggestion, if the drive is functional, "clone it"  onto the replacement SSD.

I don't actually have a replacement SSD, but that's what I've done in the past (actually a System Image and Restore).

I do have a Windows 10 installer on a USB - also from my friend - but that did not come with the laptop which was bought at Powerbuy and is believed to have a genuine version of Windows on it. 

I'll make an image of it if I can get it to run on my desktop.

[Peterw42]

OP, have you tried the paperclip battery reset on the bottom (disconnects the otherwise unremovable battery on some Acer laptops)

The reset is there because BIOS messed up, Mosfets weird state etc is a common problem

Edited March 20, 2021 by Peterw42

[JetsetBkk]

25 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

OP, have you tried the paperclip battery reset on the bottom (disconnects the otherwise unremovable battery on some Acer laptops)

The reset is there because BIOS messed up, Mosfets weird state etc is a common problem

I did see that little hole with a picture of a battery half out!

Now I have taken the back off thanks to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQD9YX1vZiQ

My plastic spudger managed to unclip all around the back with only a small loss of plastic ???? .

That little hole covers a small push button switch which is now quite accessible. I'll Google what has to be done with that - just press once, press on and off, or press for a specific period of time. 

But the surprise for me was that there is a 128GB M.2 SSD inside. The part number is HFS128G39TND-N210A. I don't believe there is another drive hidden anywhere.

This video shows the model I have: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0_46-V0oM0 

In it, he is upgrading from the exact same M.2 SSD that I have to a 480GB SSD. Glad to see he had as much trouble getting the back off as I did.

The problem is, I don't know how to test an M.2 SSD or recover data from it.

A couple of other issues with this PC:

1. Most of the screws holding the back on were fairly loose. A T6 torx screwdriver bit held in my fingers undid them all. And one of them was missing.

2. There was some "dirt" inside - a few tiny bits of white plastic and fluff lying on the black battery and surrounding.

I reckon this has been opened up before.

 

 

[JetsetBkk]

[Peterw42]

23 minutes ago, JetsetBkk said:

I did see that little hole with a picture of a battery half out!

Now I have taken the back off thanks to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQD9YX1vZiQ

My plastic spudger managed to unclip all around the back with only a small loss of plastic ???? .

That little hole covers a small push button switch which is now quite accessible. I'll Google what has to be done with that - just press once, press on and off, or press for a specific period of time. 

But the surprise for me was that there is a 128GB M.2 SSD inside. The part number is HFS128G39TND-N210A. I don't believe there is another drive hidden anywhere.

This video shows the model I have: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0_46-V0oM0 

In it, he is upgrading from the exact same M.2 SSD that I have to a 480GB SSD. Glad to see he had as much trouble getting the back off as I did.

The problem is, I don't know how to test an M.2 SSD or recover data from it.

A couple of other issues with this PC:

1. Most of the screws holding the back on were fairly loose. A T6 torx screwdriver bit held in my fingers undid them all. And one of them was missing.

2. There was some "dirt" inside - a few tiny bits of white plastic and fluff lying on the black battery and surrounding.

I reckon this has been opened up before.

 

 

The batt reset is , remove power, then press for 10 seconds, then leave off for 5-10 minutes. You can find it mentioned in lots of threads, and specifically when the bios cant see the drives etc.

Also try getting the latest bios from acer, supposedly fixes a multitude of problems.

You need to ask "why does the reset button exist ???

It appears its there to fix problems like you are having

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/560888/no-bootable-device-message-on-my-acer-swift-1-can-anyone-please-help-me-fix-this

[JetsetBkk]

26 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

The batt reset is , remove power, then press for 10 seconds, then leave off for 5-10 minutes.

I did that while I had the back off and I also removed the screw that was holding the M.2 SSD in place. Then I moved the M.2 from side to side until about 1 mm of contacts were visible. Then I pushed it in firmly and did the screw up, hpong that that might reseat the SSD. After putting the back on I powered it on, but still no boot device.

I don't know if it was 10 minutes with the laptop off, so I just did it again. Will leave it for 15.

If that doesn't work I'll put the M.2 in my desktop MoBo (if it's the right size) and see if it is detected.

[JetsetBkk]

Latest info:

The M.2 slot and connector in my Gigabyte MoBo is nothing like the M.2 in the laptop, so can't copy data from the drive to my PC.

I made a Windows 10 "system on a stick" (https://sea.pcmag.com/operating-systems-and-platforms/14442/how-to-run-windows-10-from-a-usb-drive) which took ages and successfully finished installing on a spare 64GB USB.

I booted it in my own Asus laptop, went through the usual Windows setup - Region, Keyboard, etc - and got it running. I could run Disk Management and see the SSD in my laptop as well as the USB that Windows was running from.

I then put it in the Acer Swift laptop and it was not recognised. Again, no boot device.

So the only device that is recognised is this ESD-USB which is a Windows installer. Hopefully, it will allow me to repair the current installation without loss of data. I have no way at the moment of copying anything from the non-recognised system drive.

I wonder what is special about this ESD-USB that makes it recognised when all my other bootable USBs aren't.

[fdsa]

30 minutes ago, JetsetBkk said:

The M.2 slot and connector in my Gigabyte MoBo is nothing like the M.2 in the laptop, so can't copy data from the drive to my PC.

maybe laptop has mSATA ssd, not m.2

31 minutes ago, JetsetBkk said:

I wonder what is special about this ESD-USB that makes it recognised when all my other bootable USBs aren't.

maybe it was formatted with UEFI support and your flash drives are formatted for legacy BIOS. Check the partition format - it must be GPT, not MBR.

[fdsa]

35 minutes ago, JetsetBkk said:

So the only device that is recognised is this ESD-USB which is a Windows installer. Hopefully, it will allow me to repair the current installation without loss of data. I have no way at the moment of copying anything from the non-recognised system drive.

as far as I remember there is a way to run the "explorer" from the installer. Then you could insert another flash drive and copy all data from internal SSD to the second USB flash.

[fdsa]

4 minutes ago, fdsa said:

maybe it was formatted with UEFI support and your flash drives are formatted for legacy BIOS. Check the partition format - it must be GPT, not MBR.

yes, I've just checked the link you've posted and found this:

so if you were strictly following this manual - that's where you (and manual's author) made a mistake. You should choose GPT instead of MBR.

[techietraveller84]

Since we are talking about Acer, today's side story is the company just got hit by a $50 million ransomware attack. Maybe justice for them making it so hard for you to take care of your friend's daughter's laptop. ????

Quote

Computer giant Acer has been hit by a REvil ransomware attack where the threat actors are demanding the largest known ransom to date, $50,000,000.

Acer is a Taiwanese electronics and computer maker well-known for laptops, desktops, and monitors. Acer employs approximately 7,000 employees and earned $7.8 billion in 2019.

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/computer-giant-acer-hit-by-50-million-ransomware-attack/

[Dan O]

The issue with the the unbootable and missing disc drive is the boot sector got wiped. If you F8 at startup and can get the dos drive menu for booting you can go in thru plain dos commands and still see any files in the drive that are not wiped. You'll need to know dos commands or Google them to understand what to write to copy folders and files. Once on the dos screen you can copy those files off using dos commands, that drive is most likely toast for getting it to run again 

[bendejo]

Could it possibly be that the USB port(s) are off?  I'm kind of clumsy-fingered, and I've messed up enough of them in my time.  From the pic you posted it looks like there are 3 USB ports.

Perhaps it's worth a try to make a bootable thumb drive with Macrium Reflect; I would suspect you'd at least get a different error message if it can't find the HD.  I don't know if you're comfortable with Linux, but these days the installer is actually a live version of the OS (as opposed merely an installer) and will let you do anything an installed version can do, including access the internet.  Don't expect performance to be blazingly fast when the OS is running off a thumb drive.

And sometimes these USB things are just finicky.  I have one port on my laptop that allows my external HD to connect, but only sees a fraction of the disk space.  I plug the same drive in a USB hub connected to another port and all is good.  Go figure.

 

[JetsetBkk]

14 hours ago, fdsa said:

14 hours ago, JetsetBkk said:

The M.2 slot and connector in my Gigabyte MoBo is nothing like the M.2 in the laptop, so can't copy data from the drive to my PC.

maybe laptop has mSATA ssd, not m.2

14 hours ago, JetsetBkk said:

I wonder what is special about this ESD-USB that makes it recognised when all my other bootable USBs aren't.

maybe it was formatted with UEFI support and your flash drives are formatted for legacy BIOS. Check the partition format - it must be GPT, not MBR.

Actually the Gigabyte MoBo has the mSATA connector. I guess it is old.

The ESD-USB USB is formatted as FAT32 with MBR partition - same as the USB that I made. I don't know why it is not recognised by the Acer Swift laptop.

[JetsetBkk]

14 hours ago, fdsa said:

as far as I remember there is a way to run the "explorer" from the installer. Then you could insert another flash drive and copy all data from internal SSD to the second USB flash.

I tried to do that using the "Repair" option of the installer. but couldn't find out how. That would be great if it could see the original SSD.

[JetsetBkk]

14 hours ago, fdsa said:

so if you were strictly following this manual - that's where you (and manual's author) made a mistake. You should choose GPT instead of MBR.

But the ESD-USB Windows installer is FAT32 / MBR, as reported by my desktop's Windows 10 Disk Management.

[JetsetBkk]

10 hours ago, Dan O said:

The issue with the the unbootable and missing disc drive is the boot sector got wiped. If you F8 at startup and can get the dos drive menu for booting you can go in thru plain dos commands and still see any files in the drive that are not wiped. You'll need to know dos commands or Google them to understand what to write to copy folders and files. Once on the dos screen you can copy those files off using dos commands, that drive is most likely toast for getting it to run again 

I got to DOS using the ESD-USB Installer option to Repair the system. It allows running a command prompt.

There are no other drives present. 

X: is the default drive when running the DOS box. If I go to C:, it is the same as X: - same files, same structure.

There is no A:, B:, D:, E:....  and C is the thumb drive.

[JetsetBkk]

10 hours ago, bendejo said:

Could it possibly be that the USB port(s) are off?  I'm kind of clumsy-fingered, and I've messed up enough of them in my time.  From the pic you posted it looks like there are 3 USB ports.

Perhaps it's worth a try to make a bootable thumb drive with Macrium Reflect; I would suspect you'd at least get a different error message if it can't find the HD.  I don't know if you're comfortable with Linux, but these days the installer is actually a live version of the OS (as opposed merely an installer) and will let you do anything an installed version can do, including access the internet.  Don't expect performance to be blazingly fast when the OS is running off a thumb drive.

And sometimes these USB things are just finicky.  I have one port on my laptop that allows my external HD to connect, but only sees a fraction of the disk space.  I plug the same drive in a USB hub connected to another port and all is good.  Go figure.

 

Interesting info.  But I use the same port as the ESD-USB Windows installers uses. All my flash drives are not recognised - they don't appear in the Boot Menu (F12) and don't boot. They are formatted and partitioned the same as the ESD-USB: FAT32/MBR