Laptop ran out of battery and died; now won't boot properly

Causes of this Error...

1. Incorrect boot order.
2. Partition not set as active.
3. Hard disk failure.

Fixing “Reboot and select proper Boot Device” on Windows

NOTE: Some of the solutions below require the use of the Microsoft Windows setup CD/DVD or USB.


1. Check Boot Order

The simplest fix for this error is to make sure your computer’s boot order correctly list your hard disk as the 1st option.

To check the boot order...

a. Restart your computer
b. Access your BIOS menu.
c. Go to the Boot tab.
d. Change the boot order so that your computer’s HDD is listed first.
e. Save the settings.
f. Restart your computer.

2. Partition not set as active.

This error will also appear if your primary partition is no longer set as 'active'. To set the primary partition as active, you need to use diskpart to run the necessary commands for this.

If you have the original Windows installation media, you can use that media:

a. Insert the Windows installation CD/DVD or USB and boot from that.
b. At System Recovery Options or the Troubleshoot, click Command Prompt.
c. Now type: "diskpart" (without the quotes) and press "Enter".
d. Next type: "select disk 0" (again without the quotes) and press "Enter".

NOTE: Where 0 is the disk’s number where your Windows is installed on. For a full list of disks that are available on your computer, type "list disk" (without the quotes).

e. Now you want to type: "list partition" (yes, without the quotes) and hit "Enter".
f. Here you will type in: "select partition 1" (you guessed it, without the quotes) and hit "Enter".

NOTE: Where 1 is your primary partition.

g. Finaly type: "active" (no quotes) and hit "Enter".

This should resolve the problem.


NOTE: If you don’t have the original installation media, you will need "Easy Recover Essentials" and run the fixes from the Command Prompt.