Forum Discussion
Constant "Boot device not found" and "ran into a problem and needs to restart"
I have a 2017 HP Spectre laptop running Windows 10 Pro. Up until now it has been functioning near perfectly despite its age, and it's the only computer I want to use for the rest of my life if at all possible. I treat it like glass. Nothing has ever gone wrong with it that I can remember (except needing the battery replaced about a year ago, and occasional charging issues since then).
Well, this past month or so, it's started giving me a "Boot device not found" black screen and/or the "ran into a problem and needs to restart" blue screen when I turn it on, whether it was hibernated or fully shut off. I tried to troubleshoot, but I'm not nearly tech-y enough to follow any of the suggestions I found, and I'm scared of messing something up. The message(s) would appear sporadically at first, but now it's literally EVERY TIME I turn it on. Restarting always clears the problem and then I can use my computer like normal, but it's been days since I was able to turn it on without needing an immediate restart. It probably wouldn't be smart to just leave it on or in sleep mode all the time, but I also don't know how good it is to let it crash every single time I start using it. And also this means I can't leave any files open, ever. I need to be able to put things aside overnight without worrying about losing them.
I haven't noticed any other issues with my computer, either related or unrelated, but I am very worried about what happens if this persists or escalates somehow. What should I do?
(Lmk if more info is needed. I haven't gotten a shot of the error code on the blue screen because it always flashes away too quickly to read, but I can try to catch it next time if that helps?)
1 Reply
Hi,
The behavior you describe — “Boot device not found” on the first startup, then a normal boot after a restart — is often caused by the SSD taking a bit too long to wake up on older laptops.
When that happens, the firmware doesn’t detect the drive fast enough, but everything works once the system restarts.
On many HP Spectre models, this can be improved by adjusting one setting in the BIOS/UEFI:
- Disable Fast Boot (this forces the system to fully initialize the hardware every time).
If you want to check this, you can enter the BIOS by pressing Esc or F10 right after turning the laptop on. The option is usually under System Configuration or Boot Options.
If you’re unsure, you can take a photo of the BIOS screen and share it — that’s often easier than trying to describe it.
If the issue has become more frequent over time, the SSD may also be starting to age, but the BIOS setting is the first thing to try.
