What causes “boot device not found” found errors?Īs discussed already, the “no boot device found” error is caused when your PC cannot find a boot sector. The computer will search for any known boot device configuration, and if all devices error, you get the message.Ī bootable device can be any storage device connected to your computer, and advanced computer users can boot from a network or remote storage, but the majority of us boot from a USB connection, CD/DVD drive, or an HDD/SSD/NVMe connected directly to the motherboard. If the BIOS cannot locate the bootable hard drives, there is no chance of locating the MBR or boot sector. That’s why some versions of this message state “boot device not found, please install an operating system.” The MBR holds the operating system’s startup location which is read to start Windows 10 (or whatever version you’re running). It also contains the hardware address of the hard disk and the instruction sets needed to read the hard drive master boot record (MBR) or boot sector. The BIOS contains the boot device sequence for your laptop or desktop computer, and the first boot device is usually the system drive (Windows partition). Operating System Not Found hard drive boot error If you have an HP laptop computer or PC, the 3f0 error might be displayed.

The “boot device not found” error is generated by the system’s motherboard. There should be one located on your system, but this error states the computer is unable to detect a bootable device. Instead of loading Windows normally, you’re stuck looking at the black screen of the startup command prompt shortly after pressing the power button. What does “boot device not found” mean?Īll computers use a boot device to start Windows 10 or macOS. Once you load the BIOS setup screen, you can use it to get the information needed to identify if the hard disk is recognizable, or what hard drive errors are present. If you’re still getting no boot device, enter the BIOS setup by selecting F2 or DEL after pressing the power button. A loose power cord connection to a hard disk is a very likely cause of this problem. We will troubleshoot fully later, but remember to always check your cables.

The “boot device not found,” “no boot device,” or “boot device not found please install an operating system” error occurs after a user has hit the power button, the system has gone through its initial BIOS system boot process, then at the point the operating system would normally start to load, you get a black screen, maybe a flashing white cursor, sometimes an insert boot disk error messages or a hard disk 3f0 error, then the system exits to the boot partition or recovery prompt.

Boot computer without hard drive