If your PC boots up without removable media connected, it was trying to boot from a drive that didn’t contain a bootable operating system. You can avoid this in the future by removing connected/inserted media when rebooting, or by continuing with this method to change the boot order. If your PC still doesn’t boot, continue with this method anyway.

To reboot into the BIOS or UEFI, you’ll need to know your PC’s setup key. This key is usually F2, F8, Del, Esc, or F10. When you reboot your PC, press the setup key repeatedly as soon as the PC restarts. You may see a message on the PC that says “Press (setup key) to enter SETUP. "

If your system has a UEFI, you can usually use your mouse to click and select menus and options. If your mouse is unavailable, use your keyboard’s arrow keys to navigate, and press Enter to select options.

If your system has a UEFI, you can usually use your mouse to click and select menus and options. If your mouse is unavailable, use your keyboard’s arrow keys to navigate, and press Enter to select options.

If your system has a UEFI, you can usually use your mouse to click and select menus and options. If your mouse is unavailable, use your keyboard’s arrow keys to navigate, and press Enter to select options.

If your hard drive is not found, the drive itself might be disconnected from the motherboard. You will need to open your computer and check the cabling. If everything is nice and secure, it’s likely your hard drive is dead. The steps to choose a boot order are different in each BIOS. You may have to manually reorder all devices by selecting them and using the arrow keys to move them up or down. Sometimes you’ll have to choose 1st and select a device. The device you set as first in the boot order will be the first drive your PC boots from each time you turn it on. If you set a removable drive or CD/DVD as first in the boot order, you can still boot into the operating system installed on your hard drive—just be sure to disconnect the removable media or remove the CD/DVD when rebooting.

If your hard drive is not found, the drive itself might be disconnected from the motherboard. You will need to open your computer and check the cabling. If everything is nice and secure, it’s likely your hard drive is dead. The steps to choose a boot order are different in each BIOS. You may have to manually reorder all devices by selecting them and using the arrow keys to move them up or down. Sometimes you’ll have to choose 1st and select a device. The device you set as first in the boot order will be the first drive your PC boots from each time you turn it on. If you set a removable drive or CD/DVD as first in the boot order, you can still boot into the operating system installed on your hard drive—just be sure to disconnect the removable media or remove the CD/DVD when rebooting.

If you don’t have the original Windows DVD or a bootable repair disc, you can create a bootable install drive using any working PC. To boot from a bootable drive or DVD, you’ll need to go back into the UEFI or BIOS to make your removable or optical drive first in the boot order. Insert the install or recover media, reboot your PC, and follow any on-screen instructions to boot from the installed media.

If you don’t have the original Windows DVD or a bootable repair disc, you can create a bootable install drive using any working PC.

Type bootrec /FixMbr and press Enter. Type bootrec /FixBoot and press Enter. Type bootrec /ScanOs and press Enter. Type bootrec /RebuildBcd and press Enter.

You can now set the boot order back to your hard drive being the primary boot device.

If you don’t have the original Windows DVD or a bootable repair disc, you can create a bootable install drive using any working PC. To boot from a bootable drive or DVD, you’ll need to go back into the UEFI or BIOS to make your removable or optical drive first in the boot order. Insert the install or recover media, reboot your PC, and follow any on-screen instructions to boot from the installed media.

You can now set the boot order back to your hard drive being the primary boot device.