Understand the “No Boot Device Found” Error
The ‘Boot device not found’ error means that the computer cannot locate the device with a bootable operating system. There are several variations of this error message, such as ”boot drive not found”, “boot disk not found”,’ or “ bootable device not found ”, all indicating the same issue.
Some of the common causes are:
- Incorrect BIOS Boot order: If your hard drive containing OS isn’t listed first in the Basic Input/Output System, then the computer won’t find it.
- Corrupt BIOS sector: When the BIOS sector is corrupted, the computer won’t be able to find the OS files, resulting in a “no boot device found” error.
- Corrupt MBR: When the MBR partition is damaged or corrupted, the drive won’t be able to find the OS files required for the startup., You will have to fix the MBR record.
- Loose or disconnected hard drive: The cable connecting your hard drive and computer may be loose or damaged preventing the computer from reading from it.
Though you are unable to boot into Windows, you can still access the troubleshooting tools in the Windows Recovery Environment.
5 Methods to Fix Boot Device Not Found on Windows 11/10
Try the solutions listed below to fix “a bootable device has not been detected” error:
- Hard Reset Your Device
- Change or Restore the Boot Order
- Automatic Startup Repair
- Fix Hard Drive Connection
- Reinstall the OS
Fix 1: Hard Reset Your Device
Performing a hard reset can re-establish the connection between the BIOS and the hardware which can fix the 3F0 boot device not found error.
Follow the steps to hard reset your device:
- Turn off the computer and disconnect from the power connections and external devices.
- Press and hold the power button for 15 seconds to drain the power completely.
- Reconnect the power cable and restart your computer.
Now check if your device is booting up properly.
Fix 2: Change or Restore the Boot Order
When your device boot order is set to the wrong disc, it can lead to “boot device not found please install an operating system” Verify the boot order of the device, if it is not set to the primary hard drive change it manually or restore BIOS to the default settings.
To change the boot order in BIOS:
- Restart the computer and press the BIOS key (varies depending on the manufacturer).
- Open BIOS and go to Boot settings.
- Look for the boot options and locate the boot order list to see the list of drives connected to the device.
- Move the HDD to the top of the list (the BIOS interface may vary).
- Now save the changes, exit the BIOS, and restart the computer to fix the “bootable device that has not been detected” error.
If you can’t locate the OS files containing the hard drive then choose to restore the BIOS settings to default.
To Restore BIOS Settings
NOTE: Resetting BIOS will erase all custom settings on your device.
- Open the BIOS settings( follow the above steps)
- Locate the reset option either labeled as “Load Defaults” or “Reset to Default” and confirm the reset.
- Save and exit BIOS.
Fix 3: Automatic Startup Repair
Windows 11 and 10 devices have a built-in Startup Repair tool to automatically diagnose and fix the booting issue. You can access it to fix the “bootable disk not found” error.
- Restart your computer and interrupt the process by pressing the power button for a few seconds. (Repeat this until you boot into the recovery environment).
- In the Recovery environment, go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Repair.
Now follow the instructions to diagnose and potentially fix the” no boot device found” problem.
Fix 4: Fix Hard Drive Connection
You can try dismantling the computer and laptop and check if there is a connection issue or wire damage that is causing the booting issues on your computer.
Proceed with this only if you have any prior experience of handling the system hardware, else contact a professional to do this.
Once the connection between the hard drive and system is verified then reassemble the parts and try restart the computer and see if the issue is fixed.
Fix 5: Reinstall the OS
If none of the above solutions didn’t fix the boot device not found error then you will have to reinstall the OS. But there will be data loss on your hard drive, so connect your hard drive to a working computer recover the data from the hard drive and proceed with reinstalling the OS.
NOTE: Ensure you choose an effective data recovery software to recover the hard drive
Conclusion
We hope the solutions listed in this article helped you get rid of the “boot device not found please install an operating system” error, These are tried and tested solutions that have proven to fix this issue on different devices. If you feel it’s too technical, our experts will help you anytime.
