How To Fix “Disk Boot Failure Insert System Disk And Press Enter” Error Message

The Inscription “Disk Boot Failure” simply means the system has failed to boot up the Operating System from the specified Hard Disk. So, what causes this and how do you fix it? Continue reading…

When a computer boots up, what activates first is the BIOS. The meeting of software and hardware which sizes up all the components of your computer and makes them available to you is a magical process called booting up.

The first thing the BIOS does is reach out to the Master Boot Record (MBR). The MBR is usually the first sector of any partitioned hard disk, and it contains information about where the operating system is located so that it can be loaded into the computer’s memory, which runs the Operating System and “boots” up the PC.

An error which occurs when this process cannot identify the operating system and its files cannot be loaded into the RAM is called “Disk Boot Failure”. The result displays “Disk Boot Error” to let you know that the BIOS cannot find a drive to boot from.

This is the reason for the second piece of the message, "Insert system disk and press enter" So, it needs a disk with the required bootable Operating System files or it can't start up. This may not be a hard disk error; it could be a minor fault in windows or the BIOS, which can be fixed without stress. Many-a-times any changes you may have made previously in the BIOS may have caused some changes and might require reverting its settings to default. It could also be that the internal SATA cables are not connected properly or have become faulty with use, which will prevent the OS data from being read by the system.

Finally, if none of the above solves the problem it means the boot volume has been corrupted and your computer requires a Windows reinstall.

Having gone through the processes, how do you fix the problem? Let’s see how…

Make sure that there are no external storage devices connected to your computer including CDs. Restart the PC and see if the problem clears. If not read on…

First, open your PC and check if the hard disk drive is connected properly. You can easily check it by checking the Storage Device Connection Status in the computer’s BIOS. Press the Del, F2, F10 or any key that displays on the screen for BIOS setup repeatedly just after you start your Computer System.

In case, if your computer is Powered ON right now, simply restart it and follow the above instructions enter the BIOS environment.

When your BIOS opens up, go to the “Main Setting” or “Standard CMOS Features” or maybe some other BIOS option which can show you your all connected bootable devices like your system’s “hard disk drive”.

If your system hard disk cannot be found in the CMOS or Boot Settings, then there is a hardware problem, and it’s possible that it may be a bit difficult to fix.

Now, grab your screwdriver and lose the system and check the SATA cable; since the cable carries the data from and to the drives, the problem could be in them too. If you have a spare SATA cable, then you can try to replace it and see if the problem continues. In case you don’t have a spare cable, see if any of your other hard drives are being detected; take out its cable and use it to replace the faulty one for a test. If the issue is resolved, then all you need is to just go out and buy a new cable for the old drive.

Or in case, if it is a laptop, then it may not use SATA connection. An alternative way to test the connection is to plug it into a desktop using an adapter, such as SATA to USB Converter. After using your laptop’s hard drive in an external casing, and you were able to access the drive from your desktop, then it’s definitely a connection problem, and now you will have to take your laptop to a repair shop because the internal soldered SATA connector of your laptop is faulty.

When you have eliminated all the above from the list of causes; your Hard Drive has actually failed. All you need to do is to buy a new hard drive.

If your Hard Disk Appears Listed in BIOS:

Ordinarily, a listed status of HDD or SSD in BIOS indicates that the storage drive of your computer is connected properly but the problem is coming from some other possible reasons which are:

·         BIOS “Boot Setting” has been changed.

·         Windows “Startup Process” problem.

·         Windows Drive is ‘Inactive’.

·         Windows “Master Boot Recode” got Corrupted.

And to find out, your computer is suffering from which one of the above conditions?

You will need to troubleshoot everything one after another on your computer to fix this “Reboot and select proper boot device” problem.

Let’s dig out;

Check the boot order and change it: The boot order in the BIOS defines the order in which the BIOS check the available storage devices for the Operating System. You, therefore, need to make sure that hard drive in which windows were installed is at the top of the order. In other words, make your HDD your first boot device in the boot order of the BIOS.

Install a fresh Operating System: when you have applied all the above methods and yet the result is the same, then the end-of-the-rope plan is to reinstall the operating system.

If you have left important files in your Windows system drive then you can take the drive out of the system and make backups by reading it as a secondary drive from another computer. However, always backup your important files for sometimes the hard disk drive might not read and it will result in loss of data.

Follow this guide to make sure you don’t make mistake in formatting your hard disk drive.