What does a do-it-yourselfer do when the error message "Needs an operating system" is the only thiw

[DCz1]

My friend, who has an HP 14-ax0XX Stream asked me to look up possible solutions to his problem with an error message at startup.  "Need to install an operating system" with some error code about the the hard drive. I know by looking at the possible remedies that the hard drive  on this computer operates on a  MMC configuration.  Any advice for him?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

The only suggestion I can offer if the notebook did not produce a 24 character drive failure code would be to use the HP cloud recovery tool with another Windows PC running W7 64 bit or newer to create a bootable USB recovery drive that will reinstall W10, the drivers and the software that originally came with the notebook.

Here is an info link for how to use the utility...

HP Consumer PCs - Using the HP Cloud Recovery Tool (Windows 10, 7) | HP® Customer Support

If the PC generated a 24 character short or long DST failure code, then most likely the eMMC drive has failed, which would require the motherboard to be replaced as the eMMC drive is an integral part of the motherboard.

Below is the link to the service manual...

HP Stream Laptop PC 14 * Model numbers: 14-ax0XX Maintenance and Service GuideIMPORTANT! This docume...