The appearance of a message on the monitor screen that says Reboot and select the proper boot device is completely confusing for many users. Starting an operating system is not possible. But why? Further, it is proposed to consider the essence of this computer failure and apply some simple solutions to fix it. But in order to use them, initially at least approximately you need to know what actually caused the unpleasant failure.
Reboot and select proper boot device error : what is it?
Actually, the very nature of the error must be considered from the point of view of a purely technical translation of the message that appears.
In this case, it suggests rebooting the computer and choosing the correct boot device. In general, the appearance of such a message indicates that the start of the OS from the hard drive is impossible. By the way, the second line in the messages suggests inserting bootable media and starting from it. It should be understood that there are many interesting tools on the recovery discs to fix such problems (for example, also the command line). But first things first.
Possible causes of the error
But why does the situation arise when a notification is issued with the text Reboot and select proper boot device? In the simplest and most banal case, this can only be due to the fact that the user set the boot priority in the BIOS for the removable device, and when restarting, he simply forgot to remove it from the drive or port. But this is not the only problem.
Among the most common reasons for the appearance of the inscription Reboot and select proper boot device, one can distinguish the following:
- lost primary system settings (BIOS / UEFI);
- errors or damage to the hard drive;
- disruption of the bootloader;
- penetration into the system of viruses;
- power supply malfunctions, etc.
BIOS settings and boot options
The first step is to check the BIOS settings. In this case, the issue of restoring the system boot after checking the installed components is to specify the hard drive as the first device.
This is done in the Boot section, where a line is selected that contains in the description something like Boot device priority or Boot sequence. Here you just need to put the hard drive in first place or use the PageUp / PageDown selection keys on the first line. It goes without saying that after this the set parameters must be saved (F10 + Y).
However, even after this, the new parameters can, as they say, “fly off”. On desktop computers, when booting, the Reboot and select proper boot device line appears again. Why?
The thing may be that the CMOS battery, which is located on the motherboard and is responsible for storing the BIOS settings with the terminal turned off, has ended. Conclusion: the battery just needs to be replaced. Indirectly, the cause may be damage to the power supply or power surges. Here you will either have to try to replace the unit, or install an additional voltage regulator.
Notebook Reboot and select proper boot device may issue for a completely different reason. Very often this is due to the presence of the primary UEFI system, and not the BIOS, when the user simply does not have time to apply the keyboard shortcut to enter the settings interface. You will have to try to press the right combination in time, but sometimes the inscription disappears, after which you can log into the system, use the power settings and uncheck the fast boot item.
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In some cases, when starting the download, you can use the F9 or F10 keys, which help to call up the boot menu and select the desired drive or device. But this method is suitable for a one-time start. But if the problem lies precisely in the hard drive, and the Reboot and select proper boot device line appears constantly, you will have to take drastic measures.
Errors on the disk - this is not the worst. You can check the hard drive and fix its state from the command line when starting from the recovery disk (chkdsk / r / f / x /). But what if the failures are not programmatic but physical in nature?
It will have to be tested taking into account surface testing. To do this, one of the good tools is the Hiren's Boot CD disk utility. Also, the HDD Regenerator console program can be used for verification , but its use can be justified only when the hard drive starts to “crumble”. But the first utility fixes failed clusters and sectors instantly.
Bootloader corruption
Finally, another problem may be that the hard disk has damaged the boot area and the boot tool itself.
Here it is necessary to use the command line again at startup from removable media (usually it is called through the combination Shift + F10).
To restore, use the three commands shown in the image above. The first two are entered without fail, the third - if they did not give the proper result when you restart the computer system.
The situation with disruption of the bootloader may also be related to the impact of some types of virus threats (in this case, the appearance of the Reboot and select proper boot device start line is also possible).
But you need to deal with such things exclusively with the help of programs with the general name Rescue Disk, which are recorded on removable media (optical disks or USB-drives), and the download is carried out from them (of course, with the installation of such devices as priority for starting in the BIOS )
Instead of a total
In general, only the main possible reasons for the fact that the start of the operating system is impossible were mentioned here. Unfortunately, it is impossible to immediately say what served as the primary source of the appearance of the failure, and what solution to apply to correct the situation. Have to act, as they say, at random. But, if you approach the issue purely for practical reasons, you should first check the parameters of the primary BIOS, the state of the hard drive and restore (or even overwrite) the boot record. Perhaps such actions will help.
If none of the above methods work, then you will have to change the hard drive, because critical errors can be solely due to the fact that it began to fail. There is nothing to be done, and, of course, it is completely naive to hope for the use of the HDD Regenerator program. No matter how good it is, it is simply not able to eliminate absolutely all problems with the hard drive.