[Solved] No Bootable Device Found Error (2024)

Are you seeing the Error message saying “No bootable device: press F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility”?

Don’t worry as this error is common and is randomly seen by most of the users.

In this post, I will focus on how to fix no bootable device error easily in just a few steps. So, let’s get started.

What does Bootable Device mean?

A bootable device is hardware that is required to boot a computer’s data. The hardware can be a floppy disk drive, DVD, CD-ROM drive, USB flash drive, etc.

One thing to keep in mind is that:

A bootable device must contain the necessary files to boot a computer, otherwise, the computer will show No Bootable Device Error.

What does No Bootable Device Error mean?

The computer has an in-built software that is independent of OS known as BIOS (Basic Input Output System). The error message, “No bootable device; press F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility” is handled by BIOS.

When the BIOS cannot find any hardware to load from the device, it shows you the No Bootable Device Error message on the screen.

This error also occurs although if you have a working bootable device connected to your PC. (more on that later)

Read more on Why BIOS Keeps Changing Boot Order.

Why Am I Seeing No Bootable Device Found Error?

The main reason for seeing a No bootable device found error is your computer is unable to recognize which drive to select while booting. This may occur if your bootable device is somehow disconnected from your PC or damaged.

Even this error shows up for having more than one hard drive in your PC.

I’ve seen this error more than 100 times. So, chill… I know how to fix it super simple.

How to Fix No Bootable Device issue on Windows

I know you are eagerly waiting to solve this error message.

And your question might be:

Which steps should you follow first?

Well, if you have no knowledge about the internal working process of a computer then it is better to follow the methods below step by step to avoid any risk.

Also, follow our guide to know Will Motherboard Boot Without CMOS Battery.

Here are the steps to fix no bootable device error in Windows:

1. Reconnect the Required Components

This step is kept in the first place for checking if you have any hardware issues or not.

The No bootable device found error is only made by your hard disk. So, you will need to open your PC first and then check you hard disk connection.

Your hard disk or SSD is connected to your computer via two SATA cables. One is a SATA Power cable and the other one is a SATA data cable

Be sure to check if the connections are ok or not. if they are not connected properly then disconnect and reconnect them.

Sometimes your motherboard’s port gets damaged which can cause this problem. So make sure to change the ports of the SATA data cable that connects your hard drive to the motherboard.

This step will ensure whether you have corrupted hardware that is leading to a No bootable Device message or not.

2. Change Boot Order From BIOS

An incorrect boot order often misleads your computer to boot from an unknown source or non-bootable hard drive or device which results in no bootable device error.

And that’s why you need to make sure is that your boot order is correct.

BIOS menu of different motherboards are different so, I’ve given a general way by which you can change the boot order in any motherboard.

So, here are the steps to fix no bootable device error by changing the boot order from the BIOS menu:

• Enter the BIOS Menu by pressing the F2 or Del button continuously while your PC is starting.
• In the BIOS menu you if you can’t use the mouse to select anything then you will have to use the arrow keys to navigate through the options. And use the Enter key to select anything any Esc key to exit.
• Go to BIOS Setup then open the Boot Tab.
• Now you will see a sequence for booting your PC where you will need to put your bootable hard drive(that contains the OS) to the first position.
• Finally, select Save and Exit which will restart your PC saving the settings.

Check out our separate post: Download Boot Camp Drivers for Windows 11.

3. Check Internal hard disk status

It’s very easy to check whether you have an internal hard disk error.

Here’s how to check hard disk status:

1. Open Command Prompt window. 2. Then type the command chkdsk c: /f and press enter which will search for errors on the C drive and fix them if possible.

4. Fix boot information of your system

Sometimes, Boot information, such as BCD (Boot Configuration Data) or MBR (Master Boot Record) of your computer gets corrupted and thus you may see NO BOOTABLE DEVICE error.

You can try rebuilding the information of your system to see if this fixes the problem.

Here are the steps to fix the Boot information of your motherboard:

• Put the Windows installation media via. CD or pen drive into your computer and boot from that source.
• You have to select language and region. After that, click on Repair your computer.
• Select Troubleshoot and then open Command Prompt.
• In Command Prompt, type the following commands consecutively and press Enter after each command. bootrec /fixmbrbootrec /fixbootbootrec /scanosbootrec /rebuildbcd
• Restart your computer and check if the Error disappears or not.

Also related: Upgrade to Windows 11 on Mac Using Boot Camp.

5. Set the primary partition as an active one

You may ask:

What is a primary partition?

A primary partition is a place where the operating system is installed.

Sometimes, a “No bootable device” error pops up due to the primary partition remaining inactive for some accidental mistakes. To avoid this error, you have to set the partition back to active.

Here’s how to Set primary partition as an active one:

1. First of all open Command Prompt in the installation package.2.Then, type in the command disk part and press Enter. 3. Then type the command list disk and press Enter after command.4.In the shown list, type select disk 0 and press Enter.5.Then, type list partition and press Enter. After that, type the command select partition 1 and hit Enter.6.Finally, type the last command active and press Enter.7.Restart your computer to see if the NO BOOTABLE DEVICE error is fixed or not.

6. Install a New Operating system

No bootable device error can also be caused due to a faulty operating system or malicious attack in windows.

In that case, this problem can simply be solved just by giving a fresh windows installation to your computer.

So, if you try to install a new OS, then your problem will be fixed.

Final Thoughts

This is a very common error message seen by most windows PC users.

I guess there is no one who hasn’t seen this Error Message on the Desktop Screen.

Though this error may seem problematic, the solutions I provided will come in handy for you if you follow them step by step.

Do let me know if you have any inquiries about this error.