How long does computer repair take at The Computer Cellar in Durham NC?

Most diagnoses and common repairs at The Computer Cellar are completed within 24 hours of check-in. If uncommon replacement parts are needed, they usually take 1-3 days to arrive. Walk in Mon–Fri 10AM–6PM at 720 9th Street, Durham NC.

Do I need an appointment at The Computer Cellar?

No appointment is needed at The Computer Cellar in Durham, NC. Just walk in Monday through Friday, 10AM to 6PM. We are located at 720 9th Street, Lower Level (basement of The Regulator), Durham NC 27705.

Does The Computer Cellar repair Macs and Apple computers?

Yes! The Computer Cellar repairs both PCs and Macs including MacBooks, iMacs, and Mac Minis. We fix hardware and software issues. Visit us at 720 9th Street in Durham or call (919) 314-3327.

What computer repair services does The Computer Cellar offer?

The Computer Cellar in Durham NC offers virus and malware removal, laptop screen replacement, battery replacement, data recovery, water damage repair, hardware upgrades, custom PC builds, and refurbished laptop sales.

Where is The Computer Cellar located in Durham NC?

The Computer Cellar is located at 720 9th Street, Lower Level (basement of The Regulator bookstore), Durham NC 27705. Open Monday through Friday, 10AM to 6PM. Call (919) 314-3327.

"No Bootable Device" — Why Your Laptop Says This and How to Fix It - The Computer Cellar

“No Bootable Device” is the wording Acer and Lenovo laptops typically use when the BIOS can’t find an operating system to load. It’s the same fundamental issue as “No Boot Device Found” on HP machines or “Boot Device Not Found” on Dells — different brand, same problem.

no-bootable-device error screen illustration

What’s actually happening

When you press the power button, your computer runs through a startup checklist. One step is “find a drive that has an operating system installed.” If the BIOS gets through every connected drive without finding one, it shows this error and stops.

That can happen for a few different reasons:

The drive is fine but the BIOS is looking at the wrong device first
The drive has come loose physically (more common than you’d think)
The drive has failed
The boot files on the drive are corrupted

Free things to try

Unplug all USB devices. A flash drive, SD card, or even a phone plugged in for charging can confuse the boot order. Unplug everything except your keyboard and mouse and restart.

Check BIOS boot order. Press F2 (most Lenovo and Acer models) during startup to enter BIOS. Find the Boot section and make sure the main drive — usually labeled with a brand like Samsung, WD, or “Windows Boot Manager” — is at the top of the list.

Verify the drive is detected. While in BIOS, find the Storage or Information page. If you see your drive listed, the hardware is alive. If you don’t, the drive may need to be reseated or replaced.

Lenovo-specific: the OneKey Recovery angle

Some older Lenovo laptops have a small recovery partition that can show this error if the main partition table gets corrupted. We’ve fixed a number of these by repairing the boot record without losing user data — worth knowing before you write the laptop off.

Acer-specific: F12 to choose another boot device

Press F12 at startup on most Acer machines to bring up a one-time boot menu. If your drive shows up here, the drive is detected and the issue is the boot priority list. If it doesn’t show, the drive isn’t being seen by the BIOS at all.

Come See Us

If the basics don’t fix it, walk into our 9th Street shop in Durham. We’ve worked through this error on every brand and most of them are fixable. Most diagnoses done within 24 hours of check-in. Mon–Fri 10AM–6PM. (919) 314-3327.

Related errors: “No Boot Device Found,” “Boot Device Not Found,” “Operating System Not Found.”