6 Ways to Fix Operating System Not Found

Many users have reported to experience a boot screen error known as the,

'' Operating System not found ''

In simple terms what this error means is that the system was unable to find an operating system. As a result, it will prevent the booting process. 

Any version of windows can experience this error. And also there is more than one cause for this error. However for each cause there is a corresponding solution. 

In this article, you will get the information on 6 Ways to Fix Operating System Not Found. All the effective solutions for this error are mentioned in this article. 

Let's get started,

1. Perform Startup Repair

As you all know operating system not found is a boot related error. So similar to other boot errors this too can be fixed using startup repair. You can easily perform startup repair with the help of an installation disk. 

To perform Startup Repair,

1. Insert the installation media
2. Restart the PC
3. Boot from the installation media
4. Choose your language
5. Select '' Troubleshoot ''
6. Select '' Automatic Repair ''

This process will repair your operating system.

2. Change UEFI Settings

Majority of the computers are equipped with UEFI firmware settings. In most cases, the UEFI mode will be enabled on default. And if the operating system uses a MBR disk then it will not be able to boot in UEFI mode. Therefore, disabling UEFI can fix the operating system not found problem. In the contrast, if the operating system not found uses a GPT partition, enabling secure boot might work.

3. Check Windows Partition

The partition which the windows operating system uses can be disabled causing this error. Especially if the system uses a MBR disk with legacy BIOS. Hence, you need to manually reactivate the windows partition so that the system could find the operating system successfully. 

For correcting partition,

1. Insert one of the installation media.
2. Boot from them.
3. Open Command Prompt by pressing Shift+F10.
4. Type '' diskpart '' and Press Enter.
5. Then type '' list disk ''
6. Find EFI partition number.
7. Type Select volume {EFI partition no.}
8. Type assign letter = y or any other letters.
9. Exit the diskpart utility.
10. In the Command Prompt type '' cd/dy:\Microsoft\Boot\ and bootrec/fixboot '' and Press Enter.
11. Close the Command Prompt and remove the installation media.
12. Restart the computer.

4. Rebuild MBR

Master Boot Record (MBR) is a boot sector which the computer uses to start the operating system. Thus, any computer in the MBR will hinder the boot process. One reason is due to virus attacks. However you can easily repair the damaged MBR using the command prompt or by any third party software. 

To Rebuild MBR,

1. Insert the installation media
2. Restart the PC
3. Boot from the installation media
4. Choose your language
5. Press Shift + F10
6. Type the commands (Press Enter after each command)

                    bootrec.exe /Rebuildbcd

                    bootrec.exe /Fixmbr

                    bootrec.exe /Fixboot

Once typed restart the PC.

5. Reset BIOS

There is also a possibility of alteration in the BIOS settings. Most often this happens unknowingly. Hence, this can be one of the reasons to trigger operating system not found. One best way to solve this problem is by resetting BIOS to default. 

6. Reinstall Windows

If the above mentioned solutions does not work, then there is high chance that the operating system is actually deleted. The OS installed on the hard drive could be formatted unintentionally. The easiest way to fix this is by reinstalling the operating system.