Firmware is unable to locate the boot loader that it expects to see. This could be due to settings, a mode error, damage to the boot sector, or a bad disk drive and these items should be separated and checked individually before jumping to conclusions.
In about half the cases the drive is completely fine; however, some type of change occurred causing the system to look for the drive differently than originally. The remaining half of the cases are typically failing drives; the differences between these two scenarios are identifiable through the system BIOS.
Enter your computer’s BIOS or UEFI setup. Usually, this will be one of these keys when you first turn on your computer: F2, F12, DEL, ESC. The first thing that you should do is ask: is the drive listed at all? If the drive does not appear in your setup then please go directly to the hardware portion below. If the drive does appear in your setup, go to the boot order area of your setup. If there is a USB stick inserted into the computer; if a second hard drive has been installed into the computer; or if you have reset the CMOS (your computer’s internal memory) by letting the battery go dead, then your computer’s real boot device may be pushed to the bottom of the boot order list.
Next you need to confirm the mode. Any disk that has been installed in UEFI mode cannot be booted with a Legacy or CSM setup and any disk which was previously set up to use Legacy/CSM will fail if booted in UEFI mode. The disk itself is entirely healthy. Firmware updates sometimes inadvertently make this switch and there are no costs associated with reversing it as it can happen instantly.
As long as your disk shows in the BIOS and is set up correctly in terms of mode, you may have damage to one of the boot structures: MBR/GPT, the EFI system partition (ESP), or the boot configuration. Some common causes of damage to these structures include: a failed firmware update, an unexpected loss of power while writing something, malware, or poorly done file replication when using a cloning software.
You should know that all of your original files are still intact under the surface. This is very important to note at this time since many users would go ahead and reinstall their version of Windows (losing their files) before calling a professional. If your files were important, the correct way to do things would be to disconnect the drive, connect it to another computer or boot from a live USB/CD/DVD, copy those files somewhere safe, and then attempt to fix the problem with the boot structure(s).
The cause of the problem will be the hardware if the BIOS cannot find the drive (or lists it as an empty model, or has a completely absurd size). Clicking or tick-tack means that there is a head problem and you must shut down the computer immediately; complete silence with no spinning means either the circuit board or the motor is at fault; a normal spin with no identification by the BIOS indicates a problem with the circuit board or the firmware. Firmware problems can often be recovered from and this would be one of them.
The worst of the three is an intermittent failure of a drive to be recognised by the system as it allows multiple restarts which are each read time that could be better spent.
Inspect the boot order & boot mode. Reseat the SATA cable, or try another port and cable. Try the drive in another computer or in a USB caddy; if it is recognised then copy your data off first. If it isn’t recognised at all, or makes some sort of noise, stop.
One drive costs from £300 +VAT after a free 48-hour diagnostic & written quote, and in most cases you only pay if we recover your data. Please send just the drive instead of sending the entire computer (wherever possible); a local shop will remove the drive from your system in minutes.
That firmware has scanned its configured boot devices & did not find any valid bootloader. This does not necessarily mean the disk is bad; a changed boot order, a UEFI / legacy mode mismatch, or damaged boot sector all produce the same message on a perfectly healthy disk.
In general no. Most of the time the data is still good and just some part of the boot path has become corrupted or messed up. The major risks are the two default responses: Startup Repair, and reinstalling. These options will also write to your hard drive and can cause damage that could be avoided by using a recovery option (which won’t even touch your data).
Check in the BIOS or UEFI settings. If you see the correct drive name/model/capacity, then the issue is likely related to software/your operating system. If you do not see the proper drive name/model/capacity, or you see a blank name, incorrect size, etc., then there’s clearly a hardware failure, especially if you hear it clicking (turn off your PC now).
Only after your data is safe. Both actions will modify your hard drive. Before you do either of these things make sure all important data has been safely copied off the drive. Remove the drive from your computer, insert it into a different machine or a USB caddy, copy every file off the drive, and once you’re done fix the boot paths afterwards.
A single recovery starts at £300 + VAT, and includes a fixed written quote based upon our free 48hr diagnostics. In most cases you only pay if we recover your data; we require a 50% deposit for all donor/part work, with the balance due only when successful.