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Reboot and Select Proper Boot Device: How to Fix
Reboot and Select Proper Boot Device, the error message that gave heart attacks to many. If you have encountered this message upon booting up your computer, you probably know how it feels.
Keep reading to know what that message is all about and how to get it fixed.
Reboot and Select Proper Boot Device: Causes and Fixes
One of the main causes for this message is a wrong hard drive selected in the BIOS. What is the BIOS, you might ask? Let us break it down for you.
BIOS stands for (Basic Input Output System). It is a computer program used by the CPU to enable your computer's start-up process when you turn it on. It also recognizes which hardware is connected to the device and loads the operating system into the main memory.
Therefore, when you face the Reboot and Select Proper Boot Device error, your BIOS is reading the wrong hard drive to boot your OS, or your hard drive is corrupt or has loose cabling.
To fix the problem, you will have to open the BIOS menu and check your boot order. If the boot order is fine, you will have to resort to the other fixes that we will mention below.
You might need your Windows setup DVD or installation DISK to proceed with some of the upcoming fixes.
How To Check Boot Order
To check your boot order, you will need to open the BIOS menu, as we mentioned earlier. To do so, you need to restart your computer, and upon the start-up/welcoming logo, press one of these buttons: Esc, Del, F2, F8, F10, or F12.
Each manufacturer has a certain key to open the BIOS; it usually appears on either top corner of the screen.
Once the BIOS menu is open, you can navigate with your keyboard keys.
Go to the BOOT tab, and put your computer's hard drive first on the list.
Save the settings and reboot your computer.
Disable UEFI Legacy Boot
Some computers, instead of using BIOS, use UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). The main difference between the two is that the former can support remote diagnostics and repair of computers, even with no operating system installed.
UEFI has a legacy boot option on its menu; some reports say disabling it can fix the Reboot and Select Proper Boot Device.
Repeat the steps from above to boot into UEFI, and navigate to Legacy Mode to disable it.
Use Windows Recovery Media
For this fix, you will need your windows installation disk. If you do not have one, you have the option to burn the windows image on a DVD or USB. Follow the steps below to know how.
Download Windows Installation Media Tool from this link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
You will need a blank USB with at least 8GB of storage or a blank DVD.
- Run the tool when downloaded
- Accept license terms
- Select 'installation media for another PC.'
- Select the language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) depending on your requirements
- Select the media device you want to use; USB is preferable
- Select the ISO files of the windows ISO you downloaded
Now you need to attach the USB to the computer with the Reboot and Select Proper Boot Device.
- Boot your computer to the BIOS menu again, and select the USB to boot first in the Boot tab
- Restart your computer and go through the installation setup
- Select language, time, and keyboard, then press next
- Click on repair your computer
- Click on the operating system you want to repair
- When prompted for a repair option, select Troubleshoot, then Advanced Options, then Command Prompt.
- Type Bootrec /fixMBR and press enter
This method should fix your Reboot and Select Proper Boot Device problem.
To check for its health, repeat the steps above until you navigate to the CMD.
Type CHKDSK X: ( replace X with the name of your hard drive you want to scan) and press enter.
Last Thoughts
Since you already have your Windows installation media tool at your hands, we advise using the /sfc scannow command on CMD.
Follow steps 1 to 6 from above, and type /sfc scannow and press enter. This command scans the integrity of all your system files and fixes any corrupt ones it can find.
These are your best option for fixing the Reboot and Select Proper Boot Device problem. However, if your device still does not boot properly after following these methods, we recommend you contact a computer expert to have a look at your PC.