Boot device not found please install an operating system on your hard drive, hard disk - (3FO)

[rullo]

Hello everyone,

I am currently having an issue where my computer restarts randomly and with increasing frequency. The following message appears upon the computer restarting itself:

Boot device not found please install an operating system on your hard drive, hard disk - (3FO)

I have had a fully depleted battery for over 6 months that I have been too lazy to replace, so I have been consistently using the computer with it plugged in to the charger. Could this be part of the problem? I have run hardware tests through the F2 system check and the only result shown is that I need to replace my battery. Another circumstance that may provide context is that I neglected to update my computer, and recently the computer had been trying to update itself but has been showing failure to complete update messaging.

If anyone has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it!

[WAWood]

@rullo 

This issue is often due to a failing drive.

So, let's check that first, because if it is failing, it would need to be replaced and there is no point then in doing anything else until we confirm that.

If your PC is new enough to support UEFI, you can use these steps to test the HDD (Hard Disk Drive): http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00439024

If not, to check the HDD you have to follow these steps:
1) Press Esc key repeatedly, several times a second, while rebooting the laptop. Do NOT hold the key down, just press it over and over.
2) Eventually, you will see an HP Startup Menu
3) Press the Function key for testing the hard drive (usually F2) and let it run.

If the drive checks out OK, then report that and I can provide you options for reinstalling Windows on your PC.

Please note that if your model has an SSD instead of an HDD, these diagnostics might not work properly.

[rullo]

Hello,

I appreciate your response. I ran that check manually with the two quicker versions of the test and both just showed that my battery was depleted without mentioning other issues. Not sure if the test stopped once notifying me of the battery issue as it provided no information on the health of my pc other than battery. I am not at my computer and am not sure if I have SDD or HDD.

The last couple times I tried to restart the PC, it took me through automatic repair. On the last instance it took me through automatic repair and tried to prompt me to reset the PC. I did not do that, which resulted in the computer turning off. After this I turned it on once more and the computer was extremely slow and shut down again promptly.