Well, it appears my hard drive had cratered.

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dennishoddy

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Tried to log on tonight and got an icon on the screen that says No Bootable Device. Same result after several attempts to start.
It’s been hard to start for awhile, having to do a check disk every few days to get things going.
Any secret intel to get it going again. And if not, would going to SSD be a better option than replacing a hard drive?
I’ve deleted Mcafee that was wanting to renew.
Acer Aspire 3 laptop
8 GB DDR4 memory
1000 GB HDD
Windows 10
No gaming
Forum and general internet usage.
 

Aries

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You can try the putting the hard drive in a freezer for a while trick, but doesn't always work. I'm not sure it ever works. You could also try slaving it to another computer through a usb adapter, if it's just bad sectors you might get something. SSD is definitely better, although obviously more expensive
 

CapnD

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I have seen the freezer trick that @Aries speaks of work on a couple of drives. Another short term trick that works sometimes is to remove the drive, hold it flat in your hand vertically and whip it forward (don't let go of it!) 2 or 3 times. You are trying to solve a problem that sometimes keeps drives from booting up called stiction.

If the drive stops suddenly, or the motor that rotates the platters fails, then this could cause the heads to slam down on the platter, or stiction. Usually a hard drive will “park” the heads in a safe place designated for them to rest when the drive is not in operation.

Both the freezer trick and the whipping motion can solve your problem temporarily if you are having a stiction problem. However, after you have completed either exercise you will need to place the drive back into the laptop and try to reboot. If it reboots, it will be temporary and you should complete a backup because it will not long-term fix the drive. It will then be time to buy a new HDD or SSD. Both will work in that laptop.
 

tyromeo55

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Thant stinks. Do you have a backup? Yes, SSD you should notice a speed increase it will also increase battery life. @CapnD is right most people use quite a bit less storage then typical platen HDD's offer. A smaller SSD would be a lot more cost effective.

If you order one you really need to keep away from non name brand models and order form reputable sources. There are a ton of fake china crap ones out there
 

dennishoddy

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So there are advantages to an SSD that we can discuss. But first, let me ask you how much of that 1 TB HDD are you currently using? (If it was working)?

Very little. Forum, internet general usage like Amazon, duck duck go and that’s about it.
I have UNUSED social media accounts like FB Instagram and tweeter so I can see pics posted on OSA and other gun/hunting forums.
 

dennishoddy

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Cost isn’t an issue. I’m not looking to save a dime.
The laptop came with the 1TB drive through a military source on close out at the end of a model year at $350.
This issue has been coming on for a few weeks, having to do a disk check to get things moving. Sometimes taking an hour to get online. (On phone now)
 

dennishoddy

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WIn repair disc or install disc can repair boot file & maybe fix issue

I can’t get past the no bootable device icon that comes on to the screen which tells me the CPU doesn’t recognize the hard drive exists.

Anyone know the Acer F key on win 10 to enter safe mode when it’s trying to boot?
I’ll try that or look into bios and see if anything is there.
 

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