'Bootable' message following steps to try and resolve a 'blue screen'

[M_Q1]

Hello.
Hope you can help please.
Laptop is currently showing following message on start up  'No bootable device--insert boot disk and press any key' on a black screen.
Prior to this I had continually experienced a blue screen restart with a 'memorary management' error message which continually forced the laptop to restart.
I contacted PC World who ran a few checks and concluded that  I could reset the laptop to manufacturers settings, which I did. This was unsuccessful and I was advised to make contact with 'HP' to obtain, I believe to request a disk or recovery tool to allow me to reininstate windows which is no longer on the laptop.
Any help would be appreciated. Thank you

[IT_WinSec]

Hi @M_Q1

Thank you for posting in the HP Support forum. Welcome !

The error you see about "no bootable device" may appear because:

• either the BIOS is not correctly configured and your computer does not boot from correct device (does not find a real bootable media)
• Windows is corrupted

or

• hardware failure - HDD failed / HDD is not present or not detected due to connection issues

I will be happy to help you and I can surely provide you a way for the recovery media. But I cannot blindly trust PC World's words so I recommend you do the necessary checks now with me.

Please, check this official article from HP for more details > http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c01443463

1) Test your HDD

2) Restore the BIOS to default settings  (also check Legacy mode and Secure boot settings)

 Please, perform some basic hardware checks

1. Please, shutdown the computer using the power button

2. Power it on.

2.1 As soon as you press the power-on button, immediately begin hitting the Esc button (like tap-tap-tap).

This should open a HP Startup Menu which may look similar to this one

3. Choose F2 to open System Diagnostics. Follow the on-screen instructions to perform System Test >> Quick test.

This will check major hardware componets for issue (do it just in case) . Here is more info >> http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03467259#AbT1

If there are no system checks/no quick tests, perform HDD and RAM check.

Let me know the test results. 

4. Repeat steps 1-2 above but when HP Startup menu opens, please choose F10 for BIOS setup.

>> Navigate through the BIOS and ensure you RESET your settings / LOAD default settings.

>> Your model HP Laptop 15-p158sa  comes with Windows 8.1 preinstalled.  If you use 8.1 ro Win 10 but W10 upgrade, not clean install, check also the Legacy mode settings and Secure Boot settings (Secure Boot must be ENABLED  if this is your case)

Save the changes and exit BIOS.

Can your PC start now ?

Looking forward to your reply and details.

[M_Q1]

Hi and many thanks for replying to my post.

1) I ran the Test HDD and the following test results were noted.
'Smart Check - Passed'
'Short DST - Passed'

2) I performed the reset as requested and I can confirm the Secure Boot is Enabled as required in my case.

The Legacy Mode, I was uncertain whether it should be Enabled or Disabled. Therefore I tried both options to restart the laptop however both options were unsuccessful.

With the Legacy mode 'enabled' the error message was on start up: 'Boot Device Not Found. Please Install An Operating System On Your Hard Disk.  (3F0)  F2 System Diagnostics.

Again hoping you may help.
Kind Regards. MQ

[IT_WinSec]

Hey @M_Q1

You are very welcome !

It's good the hardware tests passed - this confirms it is not a hardware problem but a software one.

Please, ensure Secure Boot is enabled and BIOS set to default.

With regards to the recovery media - yes, recovery media is indeed available - it is for Windows 8.

I see your computer originally comes with Windows 8  but I also noticed you have selected that your PC runs Windows 10.

How was Win 10 installed ? Was it part of the free upgrade campaign some time ago ? Which Windows do you prefer and want to restore - Win 8 or Win 10.  Please, let me know so that I can provide you with specific instructions.

If you want Win 8 - you will need to use a HP original recovery media to restore it due to the error and due to the fact Win 10 might have corrupted the HP recovery Win 8 partition. The media costs about 33 - 34 pounds.

If you want Windows 10 and if your PC was upgraded to Win 10 some time ago (the free MS upgrade campaign) - another option is available which is ~free.

Looking forward to your update and clarifications.

[M_Q1]

Hi and thanks for reply.

Hopefully not all bad news then !

I will ensure Secure boot is enabled and BIOS at default. Windows 10 was installed as part of the free upgrade campaign which was run sometime last year. I am happy to continue with Windows 10 and if you could help with the option to reinstall this, that would be great.

Again my thanks in advance.
MQ

[IT_WinSec]

Thank you for the clarifications 🙂

OK, since you previously performed upgrade from Win 8.1 to Win 10 on this very same computer and if you used Win 10 for a while and if Windows 10 was activated (it's licence was activated), then your computer has a Digital entitlement option stored on Microsoft servers. Because of this, you no longer need a code/lic key to activate Windows if you need to reinstall it.  More info about Digital entitlement:

>> https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/12440/windows-10-activation

>> http://www.winbeta.org/news/digital-entitlement-a-new-method-of-activation-in-windows-10

** You can directly download Windows 10 ISO from MS site or download Media creation tool from Microsoft site, create installation DVD or installation USB  and  proceed with clean installation/reinstallation.

>>download>>  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO

Use either Microsoft's Media Creation Tool >here< or  use these methods below to write/burn the ISO image to create a bootable installation media for Win 10 -> How to create bootable ISO on USB device >> http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop/create-a-usb-stick-on-windows

When ready with the Win 10 USB drive:

Shutdown the computer using the power button.

Insert the Windows 10 USB thumdrive

Power  on the PC.

As soon as you press the power-on button, begin hitting the Esc button (like tap-tap-tap).

This should open a HP Startup Menu which may look similar to this one

Choose F9 to open Boot options. Select the USB thumb drive as boot option.  If you encounter issues booting from the USB device, please let me know.

Follow the on-screen instructions to install Windows 10

Delete all partitions and install W10 on a unpartitioned space

Eventyally, after installing Win 10, download drivers from HP web site when Win installation completes or via Windows Update/Device Manager >> http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03330139

Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes, provide update and feedback.

Post again if you face difficulties.