Boot Device Not Found Hard Disk 3F0 Error on HP [FIXED]

What Does Hard Disk 3F0 Mean

The Hard Disk 3F0 error occurs when you are trying to power/ restart your computer. The Hard Disk 3F0 error means that your PC firmware is unable to find the operating system (OS) to boot the device. This is why you see the display message as "Boot Device Not Found." This means there's an issue with the Hard Drive where the OS resides, generally the C drive.

There are quite a few reasons why the Hard Disk 3F0 error occurs. Some of the potential reasons for the error are mentioned below:

• PC and Hard Disk connection issues.
• Outdated or misconfigured BIOS settings.
• Wrong or Faulty boot sequence in BIOS.
• Damaged OS files or boot files.
• If the bootable disk is corrupted.

In the following section, we will see how to fix the boot device not found hard disk error (3f0) on hp with practical solutions. Continue reading to solve the hard disk 3F0 error.

[6 Fixes] Boot Device Not Found Hard Disk 3F0 Error

• 1. Conduct a Hard Reset
• 2. Restore BIOS to Default Settings
• 3. Run System Recovery Using HP Recovery Manager
• 4. Test Hard Drive via HP PC Hardware Diagnostics
• 5. Reinstall Windows
• 6. Create Bootable Media to Boot Your HP Computer 👍(100% Solved)

1. Conduct a Hard Reset

A hard reset is more like a forced restart that starts the system as a whole. A hard reset forces the system to establish all the connections between the BIOS and the hard disk. It also gives the OS a fresh start, so follow the below steps to perform a hard reset and fix the boot device not found 3F0 error.

Step 1. Turn off your computer. Remove the computer connections from any docking station or port replicator.

Step 2. Disconnect all external devices (peripherals) like USBs, CDs, etc.

Step 3. Unplug the adapter and remove the battery from the computer if you can.

Step 4. Now, To drain the electrical charge, press and hold the Power button for 15 seconds.

Step 5. Insert your battery (if applicable) and plug the adapter back into the laptop.

Step 6. Now, press and hold the Power button to turn on the computer. A startup menu with options opens, use the arrow keys to navigate and select Start Windows Normally option, and press Enter.

This should start your HP laptop without any error, but if you are still facing the issue, move to the next one.

2. Restore BIOS to Default Settings

You may also face the boot device not found hard disk 3F0 error if the BIOS settings are misconfigured. In this case, the firmware may not be able to find the bootable file, so restore BIOS default settings to see if the error resolves. Follow the steps below to restore BIOS settings to default.

1. First, turn off your computer and wait for at least 5 seconds.

2. Now, press the Power button to restart the computer and repeatedly press the F10 key to enter the BIOS setup.

3. The BIOS Setup screen appears. Press F9 to select and load the BIOS Setup Default settings.

4. Now, press F10 to save and exit. A prompt message saying Exit Saving Changes appears, use the arrow keys to select Yes. Press Enter.

5. After that, follow the prompt to restart your computer.

Now, the firmware tried to boot the computer normally, if it works, then the issue is resolved. If the screen again displays a Hard Disk 3F0 error, try using the next method to solve it.

3. Run System Recovery Using HP Recovery Manager

HP provides an inbuilt system recovery manager to deal with errors like "boot device not found" on HP laptops. So, you can consider running the system recovery manager to resolve this issue.

Note: If you have purchased an HP laptop from the beginning of 2018 you may not be able to access the system recovery manager. Since the HP recovery manager does not come preinstalled on these, you will have to download it before moving to this part.

1. Turn off your HP laptop and disconnect all external peripherals except the power cord and mouse.

2. Turn it back on and immediately press f11 a few times.

3. Then, the Choose an option screen appears. Click Troubleshoot and select Recovery Manager.

4. Now, the Recovery Manager window displays two options to recover. Select Back up your files first (recommended), if you want to backup your files and recover or you can choose to Recover without backing up your files if you have already backed up your files.

5. Again a system recovery screen appears with some messages, read them and click Next to start the process.

6. When the process is complete, click Continue to start the installation phase of the system recovery.

7. Now, the computer restarts several times during this process and you can click Finish after that to restart the computer.

8. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup process. After that turn off the computer, connect all devices, and restart it to see if the hard disk 3F0 error is fixed.

4. Test Hard Drive via HP PC Hardware Diagnostics

Another thing you can try to fix the boot device not found 3F0 error is to test hard drive connections with HP Hardware Diagnostics. Here's how you can do it: 

1. Connect the AC adapter to the computer.

2. Press and hold the Power button until the computer turns off.

3. Now, turn on your computers and press Esc repeatedly. When the menu appears, click F2 key to redirect to the HP PC Hardware Diagnostics.

4. You can see the main menu of HP PC Hardware Diagnostics. Click Component tests > Quick Test > Run Once.

5. If you want to test one particular hard drive, you can select the drive and test it. Or if you wish to test all hard drives, select Test All Hard Drives. Now, the Hard Drive Quick Test begins.

6. The test logs with the hard drive test results will be displayed on the screen, once the test completes.

Remember: If the problem persists after this, go for extensive tests. Or if you are able to detect the problematic drive, note down the failure ID (24-digit code). This will be helpful when your contact HP support.

5. Reinstall Windows

There can be instances, where the issue is with the Windows OS itself and you may have to reinstall it to solve the hard disk 3F0 error. But it is a complicated process. Check this Reinstall Windows blog from Microsoft to get into the details like prerequisites, preparation and all to reinstall Windows on the computer.

Before opting for Windows reinstallation, make sure you have backed up your data.

6. Create Bootable Media to Boot Your HP Computer

When errors like Hard Disk 3F0 happen, in some or the other case, we come across a fix that involves the risk of losing data. Moreover, these methods are complex and need you to be tech-savvy. What if there's an easier way to safeguard your data and resolve errors like this using bootable media, sounds great, right? And this is where EaseUS Todo Backup comes in.

EaseUS Todo Backup is a professional data backup and bootable media creation software. It provides all-around solutions to create clones, advanced backups, and security from external threats. With a simple UI, you can do the job in just a few clicks, download EaseUS Todo Backup, and check out more.

Key Features of EaseUS Disk Copy:

• Create bootable media like USB, CD/DVD, or ISO to boot up your PCs in case of emergencies.
• Create Disk/System clones to upgrade to new OS, migrate the data, etc.
• Offers advanced backup and restoration solutions.
• Avail of Security Zone features to protect data from external threats.

Follow the steps below to create a bootable USB to boot your HP computer:

Step 1. Prepare a USB drive which can be written and read.

Step 2. Launch and install EaseUS Todo Backup on the Computer B.

Step 3. Find and click "Tools" and choose "Create Emergency Disk".

Step 4. Choose the Boot disk location. You can create an ISO file, a bootable USB or CD/DVD disc.

Step 5. Then click "Create" to start.

Conclusion

The Hard Disk 3F0 error on the HP laptop occurs due to various reasons like misconfigured boot order, wrong BIOS, or hard drive issues. But there are a few practical solutions to resolve the boot device not found error. This post details how to fix the boot device not found hard disk error (3f0) on hp with step-by-step guides. And such complex methods include a data loss risk. To avoid the risk of losing data and create bootable media to get all your system back to normal, EaseUS Todo Backup is the best solution.

FAQs

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions on how to fix hard disk 3F0 errors. If you have similar queries hope this will help you.

1. Why is my PC saying boot device not found?

When you start your computer, the firmware fetches the Operating System files from the hard drive to boot the system. If in any case, the firmware is unable to do this, the PC displays a boot device not found error.

2. How do I fix the HP 3F1 error?

Firstly, HP 3F1 errors occur due to hard drive issues or corrupt OS files. To fix this you can try the following methods:

• Hard Reset your PC.
• Set BIOS settings to default.
• Run HP PC Hardware Diagnostics.
• Reset/Remove the hard drive.

3. What is error code 3F0 on HP hard drive?

The error code 3F0 on HP hard drive means the system is unable to find the boot device. Every system uses OS files on the hard drive to boot the system. The boot device not found errors occurs due to many reasons and all the practical solutions are given above.