5 Ways to Fix Reboot And Select Proper Boot Device in Windows

 When you turn on your computer, an error message appears: Reboot And Select Proper Boot Device. What does it mean? The computer was working fine when you shut it down, and now it's not working at all? If your system reboots and has the error message, see the fix below.

What is the Reboot And Select Proper Boot Device Error?

The “Reboot And Select Proper Boot” error message is your computer's way of telling you that it cannot find an operating system.

During the boot process, your system's BIOS/UEFI knows which hard drive your operating system is on. It then boots up the operating system, and you arrive at the Windows 10 login screen. That's a very simplified version, but you get the gist of it.

If the BIOS fails to recognize where the operating system is, it will not load. reboot and select proper device error has several possible causes:

* Corrupted BIOS/UEFI installation

* The hard drive is damaged

* Bootloader is corrupted

* Hardware failure

This is not the only cause, but the root of the reboot and select proper device error is usually related to one of these areas.

So, how to fix reboot and select proper device error?

How to Fix Reboot And Select Proper Boot Device

1. Check Connections

The first thing to check is the connection between your hard drive (or SSD) and your motherboard inside the computer. If your hard drive is not communicating with the motherboard properly or has been disconnected completely, your operating system will not load.

Examining the inside of your computer case might seem a little confusing. You have to open the cover, then check for disconnected cables.

When you open the computer side, you should also take this opportunity to clean the computer. Cleaning your computer may not resolve the reboot and select proper boot device error, but it can help protect against overheating and problems that stem from it.

2. Wrong Drive Selected In BIOS/UEFI

If your hard drive is connected to the motherboard properly, you should try another fix. The next step is to check if your BIOS/UEFI recognizes your hard drive and system boot order. From here, you can understand whether the hard drive is the first thing your computer looks for when trying to load the operating system, or if something replaces it.

To check, you have to enter the BIOS.

1. During the boot process, you have to press the BIOS/UEFI access key. Specific keys differ between computers, but commonly used keys include F2, F10, DEL, and ESC .

2. Once the BIOS is loaded, look for a menu or tab named Boot or similar. Check for a menu called Boot Device Priority, Boot Option Order , or similar. The name varies between different motherboard manufacturers and the BIOS used, but the menu content is the same.

3. In the device priority menu, you need to check two things. First, check your hard drive is on the list. If there is, that's a good sign. The second thing to check is the boot position. The hard drive containing the operating system should be the first thing to load, and therefore make sure it is placed in Boot Option 1 or BIOS equivalent. That will put your operating system's hard drive in the first boot position.

4. Now, save your BIOS settings, then restart your system.

3. Use Windows Startup Repair

If you fix the problem with the BIOS, or there are no problems with the BIOS and boot order to start with, you can try two more solutions.

Windows Startup Repair From Advanced Options

Use the Windows Startup Repair feature. This will fix your boot problems automatically, but only if it's running.

Windows Startup Repair From Advanced Options

When Windows has boot problems, it should launch Startup Repair automatically. If this happens:

1. The Advanced boot options menu will open.

2. Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Repair.

3. You will then need to enter your password, after which the startup repair process will begin.

The Startup Repair process may take a few moments to complete, but it will fix your boot device errors.

Startup Repair Using Command Prompt And Windows Installation Media

If the advanced boot options don't open automatically, you can still access them using your Windows 10 installation media. It's a USB drive or disc with Windows 10 on it. So make sure you have a bootable USB according to the operating system used on your computer.

Startup Repair Using Command Prompt

Once you have prepared your Windows 10 installation media, you can force the system to load the installation process. From there, you can repair the boot process manually, using the bootrec.exe tool.

1. Insert the Windows 10 installation media, then turn on your computer.

2. Press the F2, F10, F12, or ESC key to enter the system boot menu. These are some common buttons, but differ between systems.

3. The Install Now button will appear. At this point, press Shift + F10 to open Command Prompt.

4. Now, you have to enter the following commands in sequence, pressing Enter each time:bootrec.exe /fixmbr

bootrec.exe /fixboot

bootrec.exe /rebuildbcd

5. Once the process is complete, you can restart your computer, remove the Windows 10 installation media and boot as usual.

Exporting And Rebuilding Master Boot Record

If none of these fixes work, there is a third fix you can try. Microsoft recommends exporting and rebuilding the BCD store (where your boot data is stored). You will need to enter the Command Prompt using your Windows 10 installation media, as per the steps in the previous section.

When you arrive at the Command Prompt, you will need to enter the following commands in order:

bcdedit /export c:\bcdbackup

c:

boot cd

attrib bcd -s -h -r

ren c:\boot\bcd bcd. old

bootrec.exe /rebuildbcd

The export and rebuild process should fix your reboot and select boot device errors.

4. Set Active Partition

When you use the Command Prompt via Windows 10 installation media, there is another fix you can try. Windows DiskPart is an integrated system tool that you can use to manage your hard drives and disk partitions. In this case, you can make sure your operating system hard drive is active.

Again, enter Command Prompt using your Windows 10 installation media, following the steps in the previous section. When Command Prompt opens, complete the following process:

1. Enter diskpart to enter the diskpart tool.

2. Now, enter list disk to see a list of disks on the machine. You need to find out which drive contains your operating system. The drive letter for your operating system is usually C .

3. After you find the correct disk, enter select disk X (X is the corresponding disk number).

4. Enter list partition to list the partitions on the disk. You need to select the system partition, which contains the bootloader (the bits of code that launch the operating system). In this case, we will select partition 2 using the select partition 2 command.

5. Now, enter active to mark the system partition as active.

Set Active Partition

Reboot your system, and you should no longer experience boot device errors.

5. Reinstall Windows

If you have done all of the methods above and none of them have succeeded in overcoming the reboot and select proper boot device error, then another way you can do is to reinstall Windows. If you have trouble doing this, you can bring your laptop or PC to a computer technician so that everything is handled thoroughly.

Conclusion

So there you have it, some ways to fix the reboot and select proper boot device error. This error is indeed frustrating. It appears without warning and can paralyze your computer, leaving your important files locked. But you can use any of the above fixes to restore your boot devices to the correct order and regain access to the computer.