Operating System Not Found

You can encounter the frustrating error of “Operating System Not Found” as soon as your machine starts up. It can also appear as “Missing Operating System” or “Setup did not find any hard drives installed on your computer.“ Often, it will not allow you to interface at all with any of the operating system functions. This means there is little that you can do as a user to correct the problem.

This usually happens to machines that have Windows XP installed. The error appears at the start up and does not allow further interaction with the interface of the machine. Users can take some relief that this error is likely not caused by something they did.

When this error appears, it means that there has been a problem with the firmware of the machine. Firmware is a type of electronic and computing system that in some ways could be thought of as software, but is typically much simpler and more integral to the operation of a machine than other software.

Setting the time on a microwave is a user interacting with firmware; the firmware of the microwave. The firmware tells the machine how long to operate for. However, it might be a stretch to call the time settings on a microwave “software.” In computing, the line between these two programming systems often blurs, but computers do have many programs that are clearly defined as software. For our purposes, we can think of software as a program where a change does not affect hardware. Any changes to firmware, however, can and often do affect the hardware.

All PCs have a protocol called a BIOS, which stands for “basic input output system.” The BIOS is part of the firmware of your PC. When you start your machine, you may see the Windows logo and status bars that indicate to you the machine is starting up. Inside the machine, however, is a very different story. This BIOS is connecting the hard disk where your information is stored to Windows XP, so you can access it.
The “Operating System Not Found” error can mean one of the following things:

• The basic input/output system (BIOS) does not detect the hard disk.
• The hard disk is damaged.
• Your hard drive has a malformed master boot record, meaning that there has been a problem with the processes of your computer booting up.

Unfortunately, as this is an issue with the firmware, which can affect the hardware, some extensive physical repairs may need to be done. Check the physical state of your machine to make sure no liquids or dents are in the casing. Check for any exposed components, which may have become damaged. It may be necessary to contact the actual manufacturer of your machine instead of Microsoft and take it to one of their repair centers. Hardware damage can cause irreparable data loss, so back up often!