Laptop error: Operating system not found

Yesterday, my screen just froze completely—totally unresponsive—so I had no choice but to force a shutdown using the power button. When I tried to boot it back up, I was greeted by this error message: "An operating system wasn't found. Try disconnecting any drives that don't contain an operating system. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart"
The thing is, when I dive into the BIOS, the laptop doesn't even acknowledge the presence of the Samsung SSD 128 where my Windows 8.1 is installed; it’s just... gone. It keeps defaulting the boot order to the HDD as the primary option.
I've noticed the laptop only recognizes the Samsung SSD 128 if I physically pull the battery out and then pop it back in. But even after I manually set it as the boot drive and restart, it vanishes again, leaving me unable to load Windows. It feels like some sort of electrical glitch or a faulty connection? Honestly, I'm at my wits' end here.
My theory is that this whole mess is happening because the BIOS isn't detecting the drive at all, but how on earth do I fix that??
To make matters worse, the machine just got back from the repair shop yesterday—they were replacing the screen due to a manufacturer defect—and now this happens!

For context, the laptop is practically brand new, only about two months old. It uses a hybrid setup with an SSD + HDD combo. The OS lives on the Samsung SSD 128, while the HDD is strictly for my data, like photos, games, and music.

Take it straight back to the service center. There’s really no point in you trying to troubleshoot this yourself. They clearly botched the job... Just get on their case and make sure they fix it right then and there while you're standing right in front of them.

I gave the repair shop a call, and I’m dropping my computer off first thing tomorrow morning. When I explained what was going on, the technician told me it’s likely some kind of controller failure. But honestly, what does that even mean in plain English? It sounds like technical gibberish to me!
Do you think they’ll have to swap out the whole SSD, or is there actually a fighting chance to save everything without losing all my precious data?!

Look, whatever they did, it’s on them to hand it back to you in working order. Whether it’s a brand new Samsung SSD, a fresh motherboard, or just some tiny mistake during assembly... who knows? It doesn't matter.
What really bugs you—and honestly, it shouldn't even be their concern while they're working—is your data. At the end of the day, the user is responsible for their own files and making sure they have a solid backup. If you actually have a separate SSD and a separate HDD, and you kept all your stuff on that HDD, then your data should stay right where it is as long as that drive is healthy. They shouldn't even touch it. But if the SSD itself fails, or whatever system drive you're using, you're looking at a clean installation of Windows, which means all your installed programs are gone...
And if things are different and you're actually running an SSHD, well, that’s a whole different story from what you described...

Alright, thanks for clearing that up; things make a lot more sense to me now.
I haven't actually cracked the laptop open myself—mostly because I don't want to void the warranty—but according to the specs, it's listed with a Samsung SSD 128 and some mystery brand 750GB HDD. That's exactly how everything shows up in the Device Manager, the BIOS, and under My Computer.
Since this laptop originally shipped without an operating system, will they still go ahead and install a fresh, clean version of Windows 8.1 like they've done before, or does that rule not apply here?

Sandra White10 said:Alright, thanks for clearing that up—it makes way more sense now.
I haven't opened the laptop myself—mostly because I don't want to void the warranty—but it's listed as having a Samsung SSD 128 and some random brand of 750GB HDD. That's how they show up in Device Manager, the BIOS, and My Computer.
Since the laptop didn't come with an OS originally, will they still toss a clean version of Windows 8.1 on there like they did before, or does that rule not apply here either?

Look, if those Windows copies are pirated, they can easily just refuse to install them—though I guess if you play your cards right and ask nicely, they might do it anyway. If it's an official license, though, you shouldn't have any issues.

Anyway, the whole situation sounds to me like a faulty SSD—I mean, that error usually pops up whenever the drive running the OS starts acting up.

Since the SSD isn't showing up in the BIOS, it’s possible the drive has kicked the bucket, or maybe someone was a little sloppy when they were tinkering with it last and didn't seat it quite right.