For the past couple of weeks, my Acer laptop has occasionally crashed with a blue-screen or boot-device error, seemingly more often when I have many browser tabs open. I have reduced my workload, but the problem still happens from time to time. After restarting, the firmware sometimes reports that no boot device was found. Entering BIOS and selecting Load Setup Defaults usually gets Windows to start again, although I may need to do it several times. 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 could be causing this, and what should I check?
2 Answers
This sounds more like the SSD intermittently disappearing than a problem caused by having too many tabs open. The firmware message appears after the crash because the BIOS cannot detect the drive, so the SSD may be failing or have a poor connection. Back up important files immediately, then run the laptop manufacturer's storage diagnostics and check the drive's health. If the SSD is removable, reseating it could help, but that requires opening the laptop; otherwise a repair shop can inspect it. Repeatedly loading BIOS defaults is only a temporary workaround, not a fix.
If Windows is still able to start, check whether it is creating files in C:WindowsMinidump. Those crash dumps can help identify whether the blue screens are caused by storage, a driver, or something else. However, because the firmware is sometimes saying the boot device is missing, prioritize backing up your data and testing the SSD before focusing only on the blue-screen logs.
Would checking or reseating the SSD require opening the laptop itself?