Power outage over weekend, came back to turn pc on and now it says: reboot and select proper boot device.

Understanding and Troubleshooting the “Reboot and Select Proper Boot Device” Error After Power Outage

Experiencing a sudden loss of power can be disruptive, especially when it leads to boot issues with your computer. Recently, after returning from a camping trip where a brief power outage occurred, I encountered a frustrating problem: my Windows 11 PC displayed the dreaded message:

“Reboot and select proper boot device.”

This article aims to share my experience, the steps I’ve taken to diagnose the issue, and some insights into potential solutions for similar boot problems.

Background and initial observations

Upon powering on my PC after the outage, the system failed to boot properly. The BIOS recognized all three of my SSDs, indicating that hardware detection was functioning correctly. My storage setup includes:

Toshiba TR150 (likely containing the operating system)
Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 500GB (possible Windows drive)
Samsung SSD 870 EVO 2TB
Additional HDD (not recognized as a boot device)

Given that the BIOS recognized the drives, the problem seemed to be at the software or boot configuration level.

Troubleshooting steps undertaken

Checked and adjusted boot priorities: I entered the BIOS settings and tried moving each SSD into the primary boot position. Despite these adjustments, the error persisted.
Reset BIOS to default settings: I restored BIOS to UEFI default settings, hoping to resolve any potential misconfigurations.
Power cycle method: I unplugged the PC from power, held down the power button to drain residual power, then restarted, but with no change.
Examined drive recognition: All drives appeared in BIOS, suggesting they are powered and detected at hardware level.

Considerations and hypotheses

Reflecting on these steps, a few possibilities came to mind:

Corruption of the primary drive: The accident might have corrupted the boot partition or OS files on the drive containing Windows, impairing boot processes.
Power outage impact: A sudden power loss can sometimes cause file system corruption or affect the SSD’s firmware, leading to boot issues.
Drive failure or hardware anomaly: Although drives are recognized at BIOS level, experiencing issues at a boot level cannot be ruled out.
Boot configuration issues: The bootloader could have been affected, especially if the OS drive was in the middle of a write process when power was lost