HP "Boot Device Not Found"

Hi, I'm having a problem with my HP laptop. It fails to boot, with the error message:

"Boot Device Not Found

Please install an operating system on your hard disk.

Hard Disk (3F0)"

With the help of Google, HP website etc, I restored the BIOS. I also ran disk diagnostics. It passed both the fast SMART test and the extensive (about 3.5 hours) test with no issues found.

After the BIOS reset/restore it booted normally, but crashed after about 10 minutes, and went back to insisting there's no operating system.

I'm not confident opening it up and reseating the disk, which I suspect might be what's needed here, but is there anything else I should try?

@TLM,

What OS is suppose to be on your laptop? Windows 11? Did you back-up your data? You might have to re-install your OS, if you haven't already tried that. I am based in Basingstoke, Hampshire and would be more than happy to look at your laptop if you would like. DM or email me ([email protected]) with more details if you're interested.

HTH,

Windows 10. Not backed up, but unlikely there was much critical on it, as it has scarcely been used.

All the more frustrating that it's playing silly beggars on one of the few occasions I tried to use it.

It might have been like it for some time, but I didn't discover it because I had no occasion to use it. Today I was trying to fault find an unrelated (probably) problem with my printer (never rains but it pours!) and decided to check whether it would print over a wired connection with the laptop, thus pointing to a network problem.

That's when I discovered the laptop wouldn't boot!

Your offer of help is very kind, but I'm miles from you, down in Bristol, so can't nip round with it! It's six or seven years old, and I've never really taken to it, right from new, so it might be time to cut my losses and get one I actually like.

@TLM,

I would usually recommend upgrading after over 5 years. This might be the wisest advice I could give anyone!

HTH,

Thanks, I'm not a heavy user, and don't rely on it for business, so it's never been critical to have the latest thing. I now use an Android tablet much more, and am questioning whether a PC is even necessary in today's world. I didn't really use the one I've got, and now it's broken, so I can't say I had my money's worth. It's been a pain since Day 1, as I mentioned. If I do bite the bullet and replace it, it won't be HP again.

Just a thought: https://www.uwe.ac.uk/about/values-vision-strategy/s...

Might be useful for future reference, but not the easiest for me to get to on public transport - especially lugging a computer - and not open now until term time at the end of September anyway.

I could afford a paid repair closer to home, but just because I could, doesn't mean it's worth it for an old computer. Might be worth paying somebody to get the data off, just in case there was anything I forgot I wanted. Since I'm fairly sure the disk itself is intact, they might be able to mount it somewhere else and pull the data.

How much did you buy it for?

Given this machine is 6 or 7 years old and you’ve basically said you’d rather not use it / haven’t ever really taken to using it - I just don’t think it’s worth spending any money on getting this repaired.

If it was me I’d open it up and take a look to see if it’s an easy fix. Otherwise it would be straight on eBay 👍🤩

If the disk needed reseating then I doubt it would pass the tests, there is very little space in a laptop and dives are normally in some sort of cradle, or they have been with the laptops I have seen.

Windows itself could have a problem, would you know how to reinstall windows?


I would offer my help, but distance is a problem.

I could doubtless learn how to reinstall it from online resources, but I don't have a copy to reinstall.

I can hear it clicking to try to read the disk as it attempts to boot. It tries three or four times then defaults to the error condition. The weird thing was that restoring the BIOS fixed it, allowing it to boot, and demonstrating that it definitely had an OS (and data, because all my stuff on my home screen loaded up alright). But the fix didn't stick, because ten minutes later it crashed, and started with the same nonsense.