When your computer hardware seems to start properly, but cannot boot Windows operating system, you need to begin some Hard Drive Recovery troubleshooting that includes steps to fix the booting problems. In most of such situations, you get an error message that gives a brief notion of probable issues. Here is one such error messages that you can encounter when starting your Windows computer.

A Windows user can report below mentioned error message on trying to start up the computer:

“Boot Failure reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device Press any key when ready”

Since this is a boot-time error message, it won't allow you to access Windows OS and the data stored on the hard drive.

Cause

You can receive the above error message in the following cases:

Hard drive is not configured correctly in BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) settings Hard drive is not in the correct boot order in BIOS BIOS is outdated Hard drive cables are bad Hard drive MBR (Master Boot Record) is damaged

Note: For any partitioned storage media like hard drive, MBR contains the first boot instructions that Windows needs to load properly. Windows cannot start without this information.

Troubleshooting Steps

Enter BIOS setup when starting the computer using suitable hotkey. Make sure the hard drive is correctly configured. Ensure the correct boot sequence. Make sure that BIOS looks first for floppy diskette drive and then for the hard drive. Contact your computer manufacturer for getting the recent BIOS updates. If required, install the new BIOS. Check for the damaged hard drive cables and replace them. Boot the computer using Windows install disc and run fixmbr command. If this fails, erase and reinstall Windows.

After reinstalling Windows if you find data backup being unavailable, corrupted, or facing some other issues, it is advised to use a Hard Drive Data Recovery software. Hard Drive Recovery utilities offer more efficient results if used before reformatting the hard drive.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is one of the known utilities used for recovering and restoring lost data at a safe location. Compatible with Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003, and 2000 operating systems, this Hard Drive Data Recovery software features advanced options like, RAW file recovery, disk cloning, disk imaging, and more.