This video describes the troubleshooting for No Boot.
No Boot means the computer powers on, successfully completes the Power-On Self-Test, and displays the Dell logo onscreen but cannot access the operating system.
This is indicated by either a plain black screen, a screen with only a blinking cursor, or a blue screen with a failure message. Common causes include a corrupted operating system, a connection issue between the system and the drive storage device, or a damaged drive storage device.
To address No Boot issues, run system diagnostics for any hardware errors. Before you begin the ePSA diagnostic, make sure the power adapter is plugged into the system and keep it plugged in throughout the entire process. Turn on or restart your system.
When the Dell logo appears, repeatedly tap the "F12" key to enter the "One-Time Boot" menu. Click on "Diagnostics". Then follow the onscreen instructions to complete the diagnostics. Note, that you should not run the extended stress/memory test. If you receive an error code, make note of it and let us know.
If not, let’s continue. Now let’s check if the system can boot into Safe Mode. Turn on the computer. On your third attempt to boot into Windows, the system will automatically enter the Windows Recovery screen. Click on "Advanced options" and then select "Troubleshoot".
Choose "Advanced options", select "Startup Settings", and click on "Restart". After your system restarts, press the "F4" key to enable Safe Mode.
If your system successfully boots into Safe Mode, continue to the next step. If your system couldn’t boot into Safe Mode, skip this next step, and proceed to the following step. We will now perform a system restore. Search for "Recovery" in the Windows search bar.
Select, "Open System Restore" and click on "Next". Choose the latest restore point from the list and click on "Next". Click "Finish" to complete the restore process. If the system couldn’t boot into Safe Mode, we need to verify if the hard drive is detected. Restart your computer.
Repeatedly tap the "F2" key at the Dell logo screen to enter BIOS. On the left menu, select "Storage", and navigate to the "Drive Information" section.
In this section, you can view all the storage units installed, as well as the status and size. Make sure to share this information with our tech expert so they can best assist you. Next, let’s reset the BIOS to default settings. Restart your computer. Repeatedly tap the "F2" key at the Dell logo screen to enter BIOS and select "Load Defaults".
Click "OK" on BIOS Defaults and then "OK" again on the warning message. Click on "Exit" to restart the computer. Still unable to boot? It’s time to try recovering the operating system.
To do this, you need to create a SupportAssist operating system recovery media on another system that is able to boot into Windows. Navigate to the website shown onscreen. Click on "Download OS Recovery Tool". Open the downloaded file and click on "Install".
You can close the installer once the installation is successful. Insert a USB storage device with at least 16 gigabytes of free space. Launch the "Dell OS Recovery Tool". Identify the computer that needs the operating system installed. Select "This computer" or "Another computer".
If you select "Another computer", you will need to enter the service tag of that system. After you have made your selection, click on "Next".
Verify the USB device destination, check the agreement box, and click on "Download". Once the download is complete, connect the USB device to the desired computer. Restart the computer and repeatedly tap the "F12" key at the Dell logo screen to enter "System Setup".
Navigate to the "Boot" menu and select the newly created USB drive. Allow the system a few seconds to boot to the USB drive. The "SupportAssist OS Recovery" homepage will display.
Under the "Recover" section, use the "Back Up Files" option to save a copy of your data. Once everything is backed up, use the "Reset" option to continue with the recovery process and follow the onscreen instructions.