In some cases, the system may boot normally after waiting a few hours, as the drive becomes temporarily detectable again. However, in more persistent cases, the error appears immediately at startup, stalling the system before the BIOS fully initializes. This issue is often accompanied by frequent blue screen crashes. The complete message displayed is: “Error 1962: No operating system found. Boot sequence will automatically repeat.”
The most common cause of this error is a faulty hard drive or solid-state drive (SSD) or a loose or damaged SATA connection to the motherboard. Other possible reasons include an incorrect boot order, a corrupted operating system, outdated BIOS firmware, or interference from Fast Boot and Secure Boot settings. Before proceeding with the solutions, ensure that the installed drive actually contains a working operating system. Once you have ruled that out, you can apply the following fixes.
1. Test the Drive
If a defective HDD or SSD is causing the problem, running a health check can help confirm it. Warning: Removing a drive incorrectly may void its warranty. If the drive contains critical data, seek professional recovery services before replacing it.
2. Check SATA Cables
A loose or damaged SATA cable can also trigger Error 1962.
3. Check Boot Priority
An incorrect boot order can prevent the system from loading the OS.
4. Disable CSM (for UEFI systems)
The CSM (Compatibility Support Module) allows the system to use legacy boot methods. If your operating system was installed in UEFI mode, enabling CSM can cause boot issues. Most modern Windows installations (Windows 10/11) use GPT/UEFI. Disabling CSM ensures the system boots in full UEFI mode.
5. Change Boot Mode
6. Disable Fast Boot & Secure Boot
Fast Boot and Secure Boot can interfere with the detection of some drives. Warning: Switching between Legacy and UEFI modes may render the OS unbootable if it was not installed for that mode.
7. Reset BIOS
Corrupted or misconfigured BIOS settings can also cause boot errors. Warning: This will reset all custom BIOS settings (RAID, overclocking, etc.) and may change your boot order.
