HP laptop - no boot device found

[Donald]

On 3 or 4 occasions I have looked at my computer in the morning and it apparently tried to reboot and found no boot device (see picture). I run diagnostics and nothing is found. Exit diagnostics and reboot normally. Run Crystal Disk Info and hard drive is fine.

 

[wwillson]

Do you have a USB drive in one of the ports?

What happens when you hit F2 and look at the hard drive that way?

 

[SwampSurvivor]

USB drive or some sort of photo printer that has a card reader in it? I've seen computers try to boot off of printers that have SD card slots or USB ports in them.

 

[Dave Sherman]

Once had a laptop that had a flaky SATA connector on the hard drive that would occasionally come up with something like that. Re-seating the hard drive in its connector fixed it.

 

[demarpaint]

I'd have a look at the BIOS and make sure the boot order has the HD with the boot partition on it at the top of the boot order list.

 

[Leo99]

That's a warning that something catastrophic might happen soon to your boot drive. Back up what you want to save so if it happens, you won't lose any data. Do you hear any clicking? Do you have SSD or mechanical hard drive?

 

[uc50ic4more]

If it worked prior, and doesn't work consistently now, and you haven't changed anything that would affect boot devices, something is getting funky. Back up your data ASAP.
I would then check that all the cables are seated properly (unplug 'em, compressed air, plug 'em back in). I would then confirm my boot order in my BIOS or EFI interface however that gets accessed on your device. I'd also confirm I don't have an errant USB or optical disk inserted during boot. I'd also run some diagnostics on the boot disk.
But back up your data anyway.

 

[slo town]

Agree with those who say to check for USB and BIOS boot order. But it's possible the directory is blown. Hope not.

Scott

 

[Propflux01]

Sounds like HDD failure on the horizon to me.

 

[Hall]

and it apparently tried to reboot

Why is it rebooting, Windows updates ? If it's rebooting on its own, along with the error you're getting, as others have alluded to, it sounds like a flaky drive or controller. It's not practical to "fix" either. The drive can be replaced but odds are the controller is integral to the MB.

 

[UG_Passat]

On 3 or 4 occasions I have looked at my computer in the morning and it apparently tried to reboot and found no boot device (see picture). I run diagnostics and nothing is found. Exit diagnostics and reboot normally. Run Crystal Disk Info and hard drive is fine.

Check to see if the hard drive is fully seated into its pins. It's a common HP laptop problem, as they don't use a standard type of connector to connect the laptop to the motherboard, and it's easy for the hard drive to shift up and out of the connector.

 

[Pew]

Sounds like HDD failure on the horizon to me.

I concur. Once this happens to any laptops at work the drive is usually on it's way out without warning.

 

[JMJNet]

I agree, buy HDD or SSD and start transfering your data.
Put the new one in and problem solved.
You will thank us later.

 

[PandaBear]

Once had a laptop that had a flaky SATA connector on the hard drive that would occasionally come up with something like that. Re-seating the hard drive in its connector fixed it.

I have a laptop like this.

It would corrupt the file system and it would eventually kill the drive no matter how many times I swap them out. Eventually I took out the DVD drive and put in an optical bay to 2.5" adapter off ebay, and move my SSD over there. It has been reliable ever since.

 

[blufeb95]

Did it lose the CMOS settings and get switched from UEFI to legacy boot mode or vice versa.

 

[JustinH]

I've done thousands of these over the years, not so much anymore but over the years..

Here is what it could be.

#1- BIOS is set to UEFI when HDD is configured for BIOS or vice versa.
#2- HDD is not seated correctly in the cradle, or needs to be reseated.
#3- HDD Failure is iminent.
#4- HDD needs new firmware as this is a bug, or laptop needs BIOS firmware updated. Firmware usually fixes stuff like this, if it is indeed a false positive and a bug.

I would update all the firmware, reseat the drive, and go from there. Laptop SATA or m2 drives are pretty dirt cheap so they can be considered disposable and easy to replace.

 

[benjy]

had a black screen on my 17" HP 3 YO lappy a while looked on another lappy + told me to hold the start button a while i think ? anyhow it worked! i usually disconnect ALL power but this is the first lappy without an easily removed battery, cost cutting for sure!!

 

[Donald]

I have done what the HP support item says and that is to reset the BIOS to factory settings. Next step is to open up the case and see if the drive is fully seated the way it should be.

 

[uc50ic4more]

I have done what the HP support item says and that is to reset the BIOS to factory settings. Next step is to open up the case and see if the drive is fully seated the way it should be.

If HP support is suggesting a BIOS reset, I begin to wonder if the CMOS battery ought to be replaced. Especially if it is an older system, a ~$0.50 1032 watch battery is usually the type that is visible on the motherboard. When those begin to go, all sorts of hilarity ensue.

 

[Donald]

If HP support is suggesting a BIOS reset, I begin to wonder if the CMOS battery ought to be replaced. Especially if it is an older system, a ~$0.50 1032 watch battery is usually the type that is visible on the motherboard. When those begin to go, all sorts of hilarity ensue.

To be clear I did not talk to HP Support, just found it on their website as a possible solution for "no boot device found".