For the past couple of weeks, my Acer laptop has occasionally crashed and then reported that no boot device was found. It seemed to happen more often when I had many browser tabs open, so I changed how I use the computer, but the problem still occurs from time to time. My usual workaround is entering the BIOS and selecting Load Setup Defaults, although I sometimes have to do this several times before Windows starts again. The system clock remains correct. I also cannot switch the boot mode to Legacy or change some of the security settings. The laptop has an 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7, 8 GB of RAM, and a 64-bit operating system. What should I check to determine whether this is a failing SSD, a BIOS configuration issue, or something else?
1 Answer
This sounds more like the SSD intermittently disappearing than a normal Windows blue-screen error. The “boot device not found” message is usually generated by the BIOS after the system restarts and can no longer detect the drive. Back up anything important immediately, then check the SSD’s health and whether it is firmly connected. In a laptop, reseating it generally requires removing the bottom cover, so if you are not comfortable opening it, a repair shop can do that.
Would checking or reseating the SSD require opening the laptop itself?