Boot & recovery
PCs that will not start, automatic repair loops, boot configuration errors and using Windows recovery tools.
- "Boot Device Not Found. Please install an operating system on your hard disk" (3F0): how to fix itThe PC's firmware could not find a drive with a working Windows boot loader, so it stopped before Windows started. Unplug USB devices, check that the drive is detected in the BIOS, and check the boot order and boot mode. If the drive is healthy, rebuild the boot files with BCDBoot. Find your BitLocker recovery key before changing firmware settings.
- Windows error 0xc000000f (often typed 0xc00000f): how to fix itError 0xc000000f means the boot process could not load a file it needs, so the PC stops before Windows starts. Guides sometimes write it as 0xc00000f and describe the same boot problem. The usual fix is Startup Repair or rebuilding the boot configuration data (BCD) from Windows recovery media.