Troubleshoot Hard Drive Wont boot

gantrix

Level 2
Thread author
Verified
Nov 7, 2013
50
Okay this is what happen My friend got me to install Linux on my laptop and told me to wipe drive he said it would be easy to reinstall windows later. So after a few months of Linux my sister's husband needed a computer for his school so I decided to switch it back to Windows 10 for him to use because I have a desktop as my main so didn't mind letting him have the laptop. I installed windows 10 flawlessly updated it put security software along with a few engineering programs he wanted was running smoothly gave it to him. Get a call about week later saying it wont boot he said it work very good but now it wont. So he gave it back to me and I tried what i did before but windows cant repair it or install. i have tried system recovery but since it was wiped the image is no longer there. I then tried one or two partition recovery software's on it. it said it recovered the partitions but windows still wont install it. So after many attempts and videos and article etc to attempt to fix i am out of luck so thought I post here to see if any can help. When it comes to the actual computer meaning boot up into windows i can fix about anything but when it cant boot or partion lost etc i kinda a newbie at it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AtlBo and shmu26

shmu26

Level 85
Verified
Honorary Member
Top Poster
Content Creator
Well-known
Jul 3, 2015
8,150
The Laptop is a HP envy dv7 it came with windows 8. The exact Error is Boot Device Not Found Please install an operating system on your hard drive. Hard Disk (3F0)
Sometimes the BIOS forgets where the hard disk is, this can happen after a bumpy shutdown, or after booting from another media. Everything is there, but BIOS is looking in the wrong place.
Go into the BIOS settings and make sure the hard disk with windows is at the top of the list. You might have to reset it in two different places, depending on the BIOS.
 
Upvote 0

gantrix

Level 2
Thread author
Verified
Nov 7, 2013
50
IMG_20170712_104645.jpg
 
Upvote 0

shmu26

Level 85
Verified
Honorary Member
Top Poster
Content Creator
Well-known
Jul 3, 2015
8,150
It looks right to me, but I would suggest enabling legacy mode and disabling safe boot, and see what happens.

It is possible that your hard drive simply failed, this is extremely common, and can happen with or without warning. Not all HDDs enjoy longevity. They can die at any age, it is totally unpredictable.
 
Upvote 0

gantrix

Level 2
Thread author
Verified
Nov 7, 2013
50
It looks right to me, but I would suggest enabling legacy mode and disabling safe boot, and see what happens.

It is possible that your hard drive simply failed, this is extremely common, and can happen with or without warning. Not all HDDs enjoy longevity. They can die at any age, it is totally unpredictable.
it starts up looks like my linux boot then says no operating system found
 
Upvote 0

shmu26

Level 85
Verified
Honorary Member
Top Poster
Content Creator
Well-known
Jul 3, 2015
8,150
If you have the patience, you could test the hard drive by hooking it up to another computer and running scan disk on it.
Maybe others know more, that's about all I can think of right now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AtlBo
Upvote 0

shmu26

Level 85
Verified
Honorary Member
Top Poster
Content Creator
Well-known
Jul 3, 2015
8,150
it starts up looks like my linux boot then says no operating system found
If it looks like linux, maybe grub is starting up, instead of windows boot manager. You will have to get rid of grub, perhaps by booting from a CD with Gparted, or something like that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AtlBo
Upvote 0

shmu26

Level 85
Verified
Honorary Member
Top Poster
Content Creator
Well-known
Jul 3, 2015
8,150
a couple of days ago the update for the gt 650 crashed my system too. and I had to reinstall Windows .
Okay, but his problem is that he can't even reinstall Windows. When he boots from legacy, it looks like linux (which he had before).
Do you think that maybe it is booting from grub? If so, how can he get rid of grub?
 
Upvote 0

About us

  • MalwareTips is a community-driven platform providing the latest information and resources on malware and cyber threats. Our team of experienced professionals and passionate volunteers work to keep the internet safe and secure. We provide accurate, up-to-date information and strive to build a strong and supportive community dedicated to cybersecurity.

User Menu

Follow us

Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to know first about the latest cybersecurity incidents and malware threats.

Top