Top 5 Ways to Fix No Bootable Device Error in Windows 10

If you don’t bother with the original installation, your computer will run Windows 10 and Windows 11 without errors. However, it’s terrible to wake up and see your computer is throwing a ‘No Bootable Device Detected’ error.

This error occurs when the hardware cannot detect the Windows operating system in your computer’s storage. It can also happen if the boot files are corrupted. Whatever the case, troubleshooting and running a few fixes can clear the error. Here’s how you can do that.

1. Check Your Boot Sequence and BIOS Settings

A misconfigured boot sequence can lead your computer to install from the wrong drive. This can happen if you installed a new hard drive or SSD but forgot to define the boot order from the BIOS. In such a case, your computer is giving this error and you can fix the problem by correcting the boot order.

Stage 1: Turn on your computer and click a specific key to access your BIOS/UEFI settings menu. The most common keys you can press include F2, F12 or DEL.

Note: Different computers have different keys you can press to access the settings menu. Check your computer manufacturer’s support site to confirm the correct key.

Step 2: Go to your computer’s boot option.

Note: The location of the boot menu will differ from one device to another. Use the manufacturer’s manual to select the boot option in your computer’s BIOS.

Stage 3: Move your system drive to the first option and press F10 to save the changes.

Restart your computer and confirm if you can start your computer now.

2. Disconnect Then Reconnect External Devices

Loose or damaged peripherals are the primary cause of No bootable device error. In such a case, you need to check all connected devices for functionality. You can try removing external devices and then plugging them back in to see if your device boots up properly.

Additionally, check and replace damaged peripherals. For removable devices like USB drives, consider rebooting your device before plugging it back in. Then you can plug in the external devices one by one to identify what’s causing the error and fix it.

3. Fix MBR Boot Information

Corrupted MBR boot information can also cause the ‘no bootable device’ error. Use command prompts to rebuild your Master Boot Record (MBR). For this method, you need Windows installation media on USB or DVD.

Stage 1: Boot from the Windows installation media.

Step 2: Select Language and region and click Next.

Stage 3: Press Repair your computer.

Step 4: Select Troubleshoot.

Step 5: Tap on Advanced options.

Step 6: In the Advanced Options window, tap Command prompts.

Step 7: Type the commands below and press Enter after each one.

bootrec/fixmbr

bootrec/fixboot

bootrec/scanos

bootrec/rebuildbcd

Wait for the process to finish, then exit the window and restart your computer.

4. Use SFC to Scan for Corrupted Files

You can also use SFC commands to scan and fix corrupt files. Here’s how you can do that.

Stage 1: Open the command prompts window and type this command. Replace C and D with the drive letter assigned to the system reserved partition and your current Windows installation, respectively.

sfc /scannow /offbootdir=C:\ /offwindir=D:\Windows 

Step 2: Press Enter to start running the command. Exit after the process is complete, then restart your computer.

5. Set Primary Partition to Active

A problem with the primary partition can sometimes cause the No bootable device error. In cases where the primary partition is not active, follow the steps below to make it active.

Stage 1: Boot Windows installation media and follow solution 3 to access Command prompt.

Step 2: Medicine disk partition and press Enter. Then type list disk and press Enter.

Stage 3: Type select disk 0 where 0 is the disk where your operating system is installed, then press Enter.

Step 4: Type list partition and press Enter to see several partitions on the disk. Find the System reserved partition, which is usually the smallest size.

Step 5: If the system partition is #1, select partition 1 and press Enter. Type active and press Enter to set it to active.

To update the changes, exit the command prompt and restart your computer.

Booting Your Device

Running command prompts can help fix the No bootable device error. Fixing problems with external devices is also another viable device for error. Additionally, consider maintaining an updated Windows system. Updating Windows offers features that fix most driver issues.