220-1102 Question 588
Single answerNo OS foundA technician is troubleshooting a Windows 11 laptop that displays "No OS found" immediately after the manufacturer logo. The user says the system worked yesterday, but this morning they connected a bootable USB drive to copy files from another PC and now the laptop will not start Windows. The internal SSD is detected in BIOS/UEFI diagnostics and passes a quick hardware check. Which action should the technician take FIRST to restore normal boot behavior?
- A
Change the boot order in UEFI so the internal SSD is listed before removable USB devices
- B
Run chkdsk /f from the Windows Recovery Environment to repair file system corruption
- C
Disable Secure Boot because it is preventing Windows 11 from loading
- D
Replace the SSD because the "No OS found" message indicates the drive has failed
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The best first action is to verify and correct the boot order so the laptop attempts to boot from the internal SSD before any removable media. In real-world troubleshooting, recent changes are a critical clue; here, the user connected a bootable USB drive just before the problem began. CompTIA A+ troubleshooting best practices emphasize identifying recent changes, establishing a theory of probable cause, and testing the simplest explanation first. If the SSD is visible in BIOS/UEFI and passes diagnostics, the technician should check firmware settings before assuming file system damage or hardware failure. UEFI firmware commonly allows removable devices to take priority, which can trigger "No OS found" if the inserted media is not suitable for booting that system. Vendor documentation for major OEMs and Microsoft recovery guidance both support checking firmware boot settings early when a device cannot locate an operating system.
- A. Correct.
Correct. The scenario strongly indicates a boot-order issue caused by the recently attached bootable USB device. If the firmware is trying to boot from USB first and that device is not presenting a valid boot path for this system, the laptop may report "No OS found" before ever attempting the internal SSD. Since the SSD is detected and passes diagnostics, checking and correcting the boot sequence is the most appropriate first step.
- B. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Running CHKDSK can be useful when Windows files or the file system are corrupted, but the clues here point first to firmware attempting to boot from the wrong device. A technician should rule out the simple and likely cause before moving to OS-level repair tools.
- C. Incorrect.
Incorrect. Secure Boot problems usually present differently, such as blocked bootloaders or security-related boot messages, especially if unauthorized or incompatible boot media is involved. In this case, the recent connection of a bootable USB drive and the healthy SSD make boot priority a more likely cause than Secure Boot.
- D. Incorrect.
Incorrect. "No OS found" does not automatically mean the storage device has failed. The SSD is still recognized by firmware and passed hardware diagnostics, which argues against immediate replacement. Replacing hardware before verifying boot configuration would be premature and not aligned with standard troubleshooting methodology.