operating system not found on screen

[dove2977]

i own a Lenovo x120e
it was sitting on my table. eventually went idle. then, all of a sudden, when i tried to log back on, it would begin to load, but then go dark, with only the words,operating system not found.......don't know what to do. Tried the basic stuff of restarting, taking out battery, etc. tried hitting 'enter' during startup and have it load default settings, but didn't work??????????????? I have only had it for about 4 months............

[emtee3511]

I found this troubleshooting guide on Lenovo website:

"Operating system not found. Verify the following:
*The HDD or SSD is correctly installed.
If you still see the same error message, check the boot
sequence, using the BIOS Setup Utility."

I don't have an X120e, but I have the similar X100e -- you can take the back off the machine by removing a few screws and make sure the HDDD is fully seated. If the HDD/SSD is tight, then check BIOS startup and make sure the HDD is number 1 in the startup list.

[sarbin]

@dove2977...

the msg may also mean that the hdd's boot track/master boot record has been corrupted. this can happen via software or hardware failures. if it's a "soft" failure, there are ways to rewrite the mbr. if it's a "hard" failure, your first concern would probably be to try to get important files off of the drive.

i had success once, for a client with a problem like this by booting a linux live cd, "mounting" the troublesome hdd, attaching a usb external hdd, starting a copy of the important data and documents... and praying. all worked out that time.

[uchuk]

The true cause of "Operating System not found" error is explained in the article:
http://www.prime-expert.com/articles/b1 ... -found.php
It also contains detailed instructions how to fix this error.