Black screen after a certain amount of time

My laptop was working perfectly fine until just a few days ago.
I’ll turn it on, get some work done, and then—after a certain amount of time—the screen suddenly goes black and displays this message:

Broadcom UNDI PXE-2.1 v15.0.11
Copyright (C) 2000-2011 Broadcom Corporation
Copyright (C) 1997-2080 Intel Corporation
All rights reserved.
PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable
PXE-M0F : Exiting Broadcom PXE Rom
No bootable device — insert boot disk and press any key

The timing is incredibly inconsistent—sometimes it happens after two hours of use, sometimes after six, and other times I can go an entire day without seeing it at all. It's quite frustrating!
Does anyone have any idea what might be causing this issue?

The system isn't detecting the drive. We could spend all day throwing theories at the wall to guess what went wrong, but honestly, it’s probably best to just take the laptop to a repair shop.

I honestly cannot wrap my head around why there are certain days when it runs flawlessly all day long—it just makes no sense to me

No bootable device — insert boot disk and press any key

Regarding what placidtinker39 mentioned
It could be anything from faulty connectors to an outright failure of the drive itself.
That black screen is a direct symptom of the system being unable to read data from your hardware.
You might attempt to run some diagnostic software to verify the drive's integrity. Alternatively, you could simply pick up a new SSD; replacing one is a trivial task that usually takes no more than a couple of minutes.

Jerry Robinson56 said:No bootable device — insert boot disk and press any key

What > mentioned earlier
could be anything from faulty SATA connectors to the actual drive itself.

1) Honestly, I’m not totally sold on that theory. I actually worked on a laptop just the other day that used to throw that exact error message in MS-DOS constantly, cycling through every single drive it could find. The funny thing was, if you tried to install Windows 10 using a CD-ROM, it would fly right through the process without even acknowledging those "missing" drives, and then it would run perfectly fine once everything was set up. This whole situation feels like another case where the issue isn't necessarily a dead disk, especially since the computer boots up and functions normally otherwise.

2) While seeing an error like that during an old-school MS-DOS boot sequence makes sense, you almost never see a message like that pop up once the OS is actually running.

If I had to guess, it sounds like we might be looking at an uncontrolled reboot within MS-DOS, which usually points toward a RAM issue, a motherboard hiccup, or maybe just some dusty contact between the memory and the board—something I could probably fix easily with a little 😁 ☕

ps: You sometimes see messages like this on drives formatted specifically through Windows OS, like via Windows disk management, even when they are perfectly healthy. A few years back, I got a handful of 3.5" floppies for free, formatted them using a Windows 98SE startup CD, and then they worked like a charm once I moved them over to Windows XP. On my old desktop setups, those drives would show that same prompt the second the machine powered on.

I don't spend all my time messing with boot sequences, but if I remember correctly, there's usually a connection to UEFI, EFA, or some other boot protocol involving a DOS boot file, though I doubt that's what's happening here.

Regarding that sudden restart > experienced when jumping from Windows back to MS-DOS on that laptop, it could honestly be a dozen things—maybe a driver conflict, likely the GPU, or it could just be a software glitch, a virus, or even a momentary power surge. It's hard to say for sure.

Just a side note: My own desktop, the one I'm typing on right now, has only restarted three times in the last two years, and that only happened while I was browsing the web via Mozilla Firefox on Windows XP.

Honestly, seeing Windows XP or even MS-DOS feels like a total blast from the past—it’s not even the 90s anymore, for crying out loud. I still occasionally spin up Windows XP or MS-DOS in a virtual machine just for the nostalgia, though I wouldn't dream of running them on actual hardware.

The issue here seems to be that the BIOS isn't consistently picking up the HDD during the boot sequence, so it skips straight to the network card, which isn't connected, leading to that error since there's nothing to boot from. It might be worth checking the health of the drive using some SMART tests:
https://hddscan.com/

Quote:>

driftingcanyon2 says: The user is seeing this error because the BIOS occasionally fails to recognize the HDD during the boot sequence. Consequently, it moves to the next device in the list—the network card—which isn't even connected, leading to an error since there's nothing to load. I suggest running some SMART tests on the HDD here: https://hddscan.com/

>🙂 quite the expert...
though I have to admit, Windows XP remains an infallible "law" in my book... I've had one machine running the exact same installation and hardware for seventeen years now without a single hitch.

So, I just ran some diagnostics using Hard Disk Sentinel, and the results are—well, they aren't great. Here is what the report is showing me:
HEALTH: 11 % (critical)

The drive has 851 bad sectors on the surface. The data from those specific sectors was relocated to the spare area.
I also saw 1682 errors during the data transfer process.
If you happen to run into a sudden system crash, a reboot, a blue screen of death, or find yourself unable to access certain files or folders, you really ought to check your data and power cables. It’s worth trying different connections if you can—just to prevent things from getting even worse.

Maybe back up your data and swap out that HDD before things go south. I'd definitely recommend going with an SSD instead.

driftingcanyon2 said:Good grief, talking about Windows XP or even MS-DOS? It’s not the 90s anymore! That era is long gone, swiftowl7. Personally, I still spin up Windows XP or MS-DOS once in a blue moon inside a virtual machine, but I wouldn't dream of running them on actual hardware.

I’d honestly say that downgrading to XP in 2020 would be a massive step backward.😉 Modern Windows versions feel like they were programmed on a coffee maker compared to what we used to have.

The user is seeing that error because sometimes the BIOS fails to recognize the HDD during the boot order sequence, so it tries to move to the next device—which ends up being a network card that isn't even connected, hence the error since there's nothing to boot from. Better check the HDD with some SMART tests:
https://hddscan.com/

It doesn't seem like a boot issue, though, because the computer boots up just fine, installs everything, and runs normally; the black screen happens right from within Windows.

I shared those notes based on my own experience earlier, and while the HDD might be acting up, that's not how a computer behaves when a drive is failing. There is no way the BIOS would react to a dying HDD by causing a Windows crash like this.😁 🙂

To me, it looks like a Windows or driver issue rather than the HDD itself, which is why the system just resets. Like I mentioned, I deal with this myself when using Mozilla Firefox... I can surf all day without a hitch, but sometimes it'll restart the PC after five minutes, and other times it'll last a few hours—it just depends on its mood. You're browsing along perfectly fine, and then suddenly, bam, black screen and motherboard beeps.

When I switch over to Chrome, though... zero issues, no resets at all.

@swiftowl7/">@@swiftowl7 I guess Windows is just forcing a restart because that drive is dying; you can tell from the scan the author ran. Sometimes the BIOS picks up the HDD after a reboot, sometimes it doesn't.

swiftowl7 said:I’d argue that downgrading to Windows XP back in 2020 was already pushing it.😉 Modern Windows versions feel like they were programmed on a coffee roaster.

It doesn't seem like a boot issue since the machine boots, installs, and runs just fine; rather, it's the Windows environment itself that triggers that black screen crash.

I’ve shared some observations based on my own experience—sure, the HDD might be shot, but that isn't how a computer behaves when a drive fails; there's no way a BIOS would react to a failing HDD by making Windows crash like this.😁 🙂

The issue lies with Windows or the drivers, not the HDD, which explains why the system resets. As I mentioned before, it happens to me while using Mozilla Firefox... I can browse all day without an issue, or sometimes it restarts after five minutes, or maybe after a few hours, depending on its mood. You're just browsing normally when suddenly—bam—black screen and motherboard beeps.

When I switch over to Chrome, though... no issues at all, not a single reset.

The issue isn't really that Windows XP has stopped evolving; it's that modern applications either don't work right on it or won't run at all, effectively making the OS useless. You run into codec issues, websites demanding modern standards, a total lack of drivers for newer hardware, and zero support because 90% of the American IT industry considers XP completely obsolete. You won't find updated antivirus software or any other critical tools for it anymore. In short, its time has passed; its only real use now is running old legacy programs inside a virtual machine.

Regarding that disk with an 11% health rating from the SMART tests, it's basically trash. It’s all been said before (maybe read a little more closely), and the author even noted the drive has thousands of bad sectors. Just swap it out for a new one—preferably an SSD—and the problem should be solved.

A friend of mine lent me an old HDD—it’s perfectly functional, by the way—which I plugged into my laptop earlier this morning
So, the laptop has been running for over 12 hours now, and that dreaded black screen hasn't made a single appearance
I plan to keep a close eye on things through tomorrow—I'll be monitoring it all day long—so we shall see how it behaves under pressure

driftingcanyon2 said:...for example, you'll run into constant issues with codecs, websites demanding modern standards, or finding zero drivers for any recent hardware. Plus, there's absolutely no support left because about 90% of the US tech industry considers Windows XP completely obsolete, which they have every right to do. You won't find updated antivirus software or any other critical tools for it anymore. In short, its heyday is long gone; the only real use for it now is spinning up an old legacy program in a virtual machine and calling it a day.

True, but I’m actually typing this to you from Windows XP right now—I use it all the time. We have several computers here at my place, and every single one is running Windows XP; there isn't even a single Windows 10 machine in sight. I'm browsing the web using an older version of Chrome specifically made for XP.

The reason? Because I don't want to compromise security on them by switching to Windows 10. You aren't wrong about any of those points you mentioned, but an experienced Windows XP user usually knows how to work around the hurdles you listed. Honestly, I don't need Windows 10 for anything at the moment, unless I just feel like dealing with computer headaches.

What I mean is that the GUI, and really the whole concept behind Windows 10, is just junk, regardless of those "not supported" advantages you pointed out. I'm definitely not the only one who has lost their patience with Windows 10; there are actually plenty of people who feel the same way.

Regarding the drive mentioned in the thread, with only 11% health according to the SMART tests, that disk is basically trash. It's already been said (just try reading a bit more closely), and the author himself noted that the drive has thousands of bad sectors. So, just swap it out for a new one—preferably an SSD—and the problem is solved.

Alright then, let's see if he actually replaces that HDD and we can see what happens.😁