After a Windows 10 update now the error message boot device not found appears.

[DW904166-]

My laptop is just over a year old. After the most recent Windows 10 update now the error message "boot device not found" appears. I'm able to access system diagnostics and all the system tests pass. I am not able to do system recovery and the error message exiting the system diagnostics page says "boot device not found. Please install an operating system on your hard disk" 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

If the recovery option didn't work and the hardware passed the diagnostics tests, see if you can clean install W10 as follows...

You can make a W10 USB flash drive installer with the Microsoft Media Creation Tool, using an 8 GB flash drive using another Windows PC, if your PC is not working.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

If you are asked to enter a product key during the installation process, select the 'I don't have a product key' option, and W10 will install and automatically activate once you are connected to the internet.

Here are the steps to create the W10 USB flash drive installer...

Select Download tool now, and select Run.

If you agree to the license terms, select Accept.

On the What do you want to do? page, select Create installation media for another PC, and then select Next.

Select the language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) for Windows 10. You want 64 bit.

Select which media you want to use:

USB flash drive. Plug in a blank USB flash drive with at least 8GB of space. Any content on the flash drive will be deleted.

Then you can reinstall the drivers and available software from the PC's support page.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-17-ak000-laptop-pc/15551430

[WAWood]

@DW904166- 

Before you attempt a clean install, I want to suggest an alternative that is less destructive, if it works.

If your PC can not boot into Windows, a way around that is to follow the instructions below to create boot media from Macrium Reflect (MR) that can be used to rewrite/repair the boot media on your PC:
1) Download and install Macrium Reflect (MR) from this link: http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx
2) Use the option to create a boot USB stick or CD

That will create MR bootable media. Then, you can boot your PC into WinPE using that media.

Have patience, as that can take a while to start and bring up the screen.

Once the screen is there, select the option to Fix Windows boot problems. It will then search for the OSs installed and list them, Select the one you want to repair and click Next.

It will now do the repairs, listing the things it has done.

When finished, select the option to Restart the PC.

If this worked, the boot repair succeeded and you will have your PC back

[DW904166-]

How long should we wait for the screen to load? It has now been about 2 hrs with no visible activity.

[WAWood]

@DW904166- 

If you're asking about how long it takes using a USB stick made using Macrium Reflect, should be no more than 2-3 minutes.

If it is sitting for HOURS, then there is something more seriously wrong with the PC, and it is unlikely to be the hard drive because booting from the MR USB stick does not use the hard drive.