Boot Device Not Found

[Tuan_23]

Hi! I tried to reset my computer back to factory settings after being attacked by Ransomware.  Anyway after numerous failed attempts at resetting, I end up with a screen that starts with “Boot Device Not Found” followed by “Please install an operating system on your hard disk”. After pressing F2 and checking my hard drives, this error shows up:

SMART Check: Passed 

Long/Short DST: Failed

Failure ID: UC2M7W-97XA2W-MFPW3G-61EU03

Product ID: 3WL23UA#ABA

Is my hard drive broken and needs to be replaced? Seems unlikely as physically it hasn’t been touched, I think this either has something to do with windows or the virus that I got, will I need to replace my hard drive?

[TheUltraCube]

I know you might've done this already. But have you tried making a bootable Windows Installation USB on another computer using the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool?  During the installation process be sure to format the drive where you will be installing windows (If you have an SSD,  you should install it there, as SSDs are faster in general).

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If you want to do a more proper format of the hard drive (which will delete your OEM recovery partition(s), so do be warned), open up Command Prompt in the whole Windows Recovery/Troubleshooting menu (if accessible)

Type in the following commands in this order:

diskpart

list disk

select disk (your drive number here) (if the disk you previously had windows installed on is missing, this could be useful in determining whether your hard drive is dead or not)

clean

convert gpt

exit

exit

Shut down your computer.

Then boot again using your USB, click on the drive/disk you just cleaned and converted to GPT, and continue the Windows installation process as usual.

Usually it's best to rule out software issues before coming to the conclusion that your hard drive is physically defective.

[Photoray002]

I concur with @TheUltraCube about using Diskpart to clean the drive.

Your specs show you have both an NVMe and HDD installed. The OS will be installed on the M.2 NVMe drive but if you cannot access it, disconnect the HDD, then try again. Sometimes this helps.

If you can now access the M.2 drive, use the Microsoft ISO from Microsoft via USB to reinstall as was suggested above.

But its a good idea (and recommended) to clean install to the M.2 drive with the HDD disconnected first anyway.

Here is your manual... http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c06219881

If the M.2 drive is still inaccessible, it will have to be replaced. Its not the first time this sort of thing has happened.

If you are under warranty still, you can try doing a claim with HP, but no guarantees on a "timeline" as the Covid 19 outbreak has affected things world wide. Otherwise, you can replace it yourself.