Acer Aspire V5-571 No Operating System Found / Can't Access BIOS after HDD replacement

[wesman43]

This is really 2 things. The hard drive on my Acer Aspire V5-571 has bad sectors....so I need ideas on how to pull data off of that HDD as it contains several documents that I really should have backed up. Next, I ended up replacing the HDD with a new one. However, when I tried to boot from a Windows 8.1 disk, it completely bypasses that and says "No Operating System Found". My first thought was to change boot options...so I looked up how to get into BIOS and it's UEFI by default...lovely. I can't access BIOS at all. I've tried del, F12, F2 and nothing works....it just beeps and goes back to the same message. Next, I tried a bootable USB drive with Win 8.1 on it...same exact thing. It bypasses and goes right to "Operating System Not Found". I didn't know what the heck was going on, so I ended up putting it into my Lenovo and installing Windows 8.1 on it. I put it back in the Acer and THE SAME THING HAPPENS. I reset the CMOS using the short under the RAM...still not working. So, just a few questions from this:

1. Is BIOS unequivocally shot?

2. Is there anything else that I can possibly try? I assume UEFI wasn't turned on with the new hard drive by my lenovo because it's several years old and built for Win. 7. I just figured that resetting CMOS would take care of this..

3. Please tell me there is still hope for getting documents off of this hard drive 🙁

3. Any other tools people recommend for recovering data from corrupt hard drives?

 

[C12Friedman]

In many cases the data on a "corrupt" hard drive is still readable using an external adapter like this VANTEC IDE/SATAIII to USB 3.0 Adapter I have a 20 year old USB 2.0 model that still works and it gets a lot of use, it's an investment I've never regretted

Tap the crap out of F2 when you start up the computer, it may take a few tries to get into BIOS but you should be able to get there by doing that

 

[wesman43]

In many cases the data on a "corrupt" hard drive is still readable using an external adapter like this VANTEC IDE/SATAIII to USB 3.0 Adapter I have a 20 year old USB 2.0 model that still works and it gets a lot of use, it's an investment I've never regretted

Tap the crap out of F2 when you start up the computer, it may take a few tries to get into BIOS but you should be able to get there by doing that

Well, I put the old hard drive into an enclosure and Windows detects it, but I'm unable to access it...it literally just makes Windows Explorer hang. I've tried spamming F2 and it simply doesn't work....I get the Acer logo but not the menu option at the bottom like "Press F2 to Enter Setup" or anything like that...it beeps when I spam it, then bypasses and goes right back to the "No Operating System Found" message.

 

[C12Friedman]

The BIOS being UEFI shouldn't have any bearing on the HDD issue nor getting into BIOS but the fact that no BIOS prompt even shows is a little discerning and would seem be an indication that BIOS may be corrupted. Were (at least some) measures taken to avoid static discharge while inside the machine?
I think what I would try here is disassembling to the point you can get to the CMOS battery (almost complete disassembly) - see video here for reference if needed https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYh_akjZDh0 - remove the CMOS battery, check that it is at 3v (replace if it isn't) but, most importantly, leave it out for 24 hours. After 24 hours reassemble the laptop (with CMOS battery in of course) and attempt again.
If you can take pictures of the motherboard (both sides) while the laptop is apart and link the photos, it may help (if good focus and decent resolution).
The bottom part of this thread explains how to post pictures if needed http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2083485/read-forum-rules-styling-posts.html

 

[leic4life]

Any solutions on this as I have exactly the same issue?

Please help

 

[leic4life]

Doesn't work