Boot Device Not Found - Hard Disk (3F0)

[RohitDod]

I purchased the HP spectre x360 13-w053nr from USA in November 2016. I have now moved to India.

Lately I get the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD - Error - CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED) and my PC shows the Error Boot Device Not Found - Hard disk (3F0).

The HP Service Centre here is completely unwilling to help me as they say the model is not available or supported in India. They told me that it is the problem of the hard disk and will have to be replaced but they cannot help beyond that.

1) Is it really a hard disk problem?

2) If yes, How do I choose an appropriate hard disk for my laptop? Is the Samsung 960 Evo Nvme PCle M.2 compatible with my PC? Or should I choose another SSD?

The laptop runs intermittently and the same problem keeps happening sometimes within 2 minutes of startup and sometimes in 2 hours. The UEFI Hardware diagonstic Test results were completely fine when checked while i could start the PC but then the problem is still there. Please HELP!

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

You say the UEFI hardware check was fine "while I could start the PC". Can you no longer start it? You should be able to run those tests even if the hard drive is dead. Tap esc as you power up from a no-power state, then F2 then component tests. Run the long test on storage (hard drive/SSD) and memory and report back. It does seem a very high likelihood to be a bad SSD. The Samsung 960 Evo NVME/PCIe has proven to be incompatible in many HP laptops even if they generally support PCIe/NVME. Samsung PM961 is harder to find but has had much more success. 

See pp. 24-29 of the Service Manual here:

Manual

Exact replacement for your disk:

256-GB 847109-016

https://www.ebay.com/itm/847109-016-MZ-VLW1T00-GENUINE-ORIGINAL-HP-SSD-256GB-13-AC-13-AC013DX-CA21-/...

https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-MZVLW256HEHP-PM961-256GB-Internal/dp/B06VYJMLS8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qi...

Better snap this one up at this price:

https://www.ebay.in/itm/256GB-SSD-Samsung-PM961-M-2-PCIe-NVMe-PCI-Express-3-0-x4-Performance-SSD-OEM...

Post back with any questions and please accept as solution if this is the answer you needed. 

[RohitDod]

Thank you so much for the prompt response and the links.

I'll explain the problem again. The laptop starts normally and suddenly after a few minutes or a couple of hours i get the BSOD and then the 3F0 Error. On powering off and on a couple of times, I am able to restart the PC again (without the error) only to get the BSOD and same error again (sometimes immediately, sometimes after a few minutes or hours).

I have attached the screenshots of the errors. When I go to system Diagnostics from the error page, and try to test hard drive, I get the message "No Hard Drive installed. Please check that the power and data cables are connected properly."

Following are the error images and results of the tests when i could run it while the PC worked in between errors.

[Huffer]

Almost certainly an issue with the SSD. It should be replaced. 

[RohitDod]

On once again running the tests probably during the error time I got the following WARNING message.

The SSD options that you have posted are either Used or from out of India (hence no warranty on the SSD incase it fails again). Is it worth taking a risk with Samsung 960 EVO or should I order from Amazon.com and forget about Warranty.

Also, would you recommend going to a local technician and getting it done there or is it advisable to do it myself at home too?

[Huffer]

I am more certain than ever it needs to have the SSD replaced. I have seen so many people here buy the Evo 960 disk just to install it and have the system fail to acknowledge its presence that I cannot, in good conscience, recommend you buy one. 

HP will not warrant a replacement SSD anyway unless you have them do the work and so far they have refused to do anything for you, right? So the warranty thing I would not worry about losing. 

We can find you a new Samsung PM961. I have noticed these electronic components sell for a premium in India so I tried to find you something much less expensive but here is a new one from a US seller who will ship to India:

https://www.ebay.in/itm/Samsung-PM961-NVMe-256GB-M-2-PCI-Express-X4-SSD-MZVLW256HEHP-Internal-OEM/28...

I cannot assess your skill level so it is your call whether to install it yourself or take it to a technician. Two things need to be done, obviously. Physical installation and then software needs to be placed on the disk (Windows and apps). We can help with both. 

[RohitDod]

Thank you so much for such prompt replies. I cannot thank you enough 🙂

I was reffering to the 5-year warranty of the SSD offered by the manufacturer (Samsung in this case) in case the SSD fails again within 1.5 years like it has just now!

But I guess I will have to take a risk and also a trade-off between cost and risk..

Thank you so much for your time and patience. Really appreciate it!

[Huffer]

If your inquiry is solved please select "accept as solution" on the post with the information so it is easier for others with the same problem to locate with an internet search. Glad to have helped. 

[jarmandox]

Hi, Envy 13 (2016) owner here with the same problem (screens, test results, etc.) thank you very much for sharing your details.

I sincerely hope your problem is solved by now, mine is too but I didn't need to buy a new SSD, here's my story and two cents:

1. My laptop has this -special- USB port capable to provide power (e.g. phones, tablets) even when the PC its off.

2. I had an external hard drive (old one, it uses it's own AC cable) connected to this particular USB (business as usual).

3. Then chrome failed, explorer (windows/file manager) failed too, and after a minute without response (even killing processes in task manager), I hit Ctrl-Alt-Supr and click on shut down.

4. Windows ask if I want to update and turn off or update and restart, so I think an update was working behind the curtins, I clicked on update and turn off.

5. Shut down takes longer than usual so I remove the external drive's usb cable from the PC and the whole thing went off, inmediatly.

6. I restart it manually and comes the blue screen with the - 😞 - and the error you showed before, plus a buzz from behind, not the fan, but a louder buzz, like something is trying to make a phisical connection but it just can't.

7. After trying multiple times with no results at all (same error again and again) I plug again the external hard drive (turned on) and the PC boots fine, but keyboard fails after the four strokes of my password, so that was a clue.

8. Tried a couple more times with no results (same original error) so I went to sleep, keeping the PC off but connected to AC.

9. I tried this morning again, so I plug the external drive, turn it on, then turn on the PC and I was able to log in, removed the device (external HD) from the notification area and here's my PC working again.

So, welll yes, this confirms that sometimes, this advice about re-plugging the USB device that was connected to your PC while you turn it off (nicely or keeping the power button pressed) works, but for this PC, this special USB port seems to be a little more problematic for this matter, somehow, seems like the external HDD was "balancing" the AC power through the port and the moment I removed the cable while the PC was shutting down messed that balance.

Sorry for the long post, again, I truly hope your problem is solved by now, your deep explanation certainly helped me a lot too.