👍 #909 – “Default Boot Device Missing or Boot Failed” – What Now?

My Laptop Died!

And, as luck would have it, at the worst possible time.

I documented my diagnostic process, and the eventual repair. While the specific failure might not happen to you, the process is educational.

Oh, and I didn't have an image backup. Yep, me. But it was an intentional decision.

Explanation (or rationalization) and what happened in: "Default Boot Device Missing or Boot Failed" - What Now?

Also this week:

• You can do everything right and still get hacked?
• I use a lot of software. Yikes.
• Malware, malware, everywhere?

As always, links below.

Elsewhere on the web

A few items I found interesting or useful this week.

• The Hidden Hack for Super-Speedy Web Browsing - I'm going to have to try this.
• Spacecraft Captures Highest Ever Resolution Image of the Sun and it's 83-Megapixels of Insanity - Ten times higher resolution than your new 4K TV. (Download it here).
• The Library of Congress is preserving these major historical recordings for posterity - Very cool.
• A soundtrack to your writing - I've been listening to these lately: seven playlists created by Substack writers.

TEH Podcast

Gary and I spent a fair amount of this episode discussing John Oliver's "Last Week Tonight" segment on privacy and data brokering. Unfortunately, there are some oversimplifications and missleading ideas. Also: the space station, Clickbait, Tales from the Loop, and that ever-present topic: "more".

TEH 161: Solving privacy, Space Station Angles.

Have a great week!

Featured Article

"Default Boot Device Missing or Boot Failed" - What Now?
It happened to me at the worst possible time.

My laptop died. Here's the process I went through to resurrect it.

https://askleo.com/144575

Also This Week on Ask Leo!

How Was My Bank Account Hacked When I Did Everything Right? When everything isn't enough.
Even with all the right things in place, stuff happens. I'll review the additional steps you can take to protect yourself. https://askleo.com/42906

The Software I Use It's a long list that changes often.
I get lots of questions about what the best software for various situations may be. I can't answer them all, particularly as it often depends on your own situation, but I can tell you what I'm using. https://askleo.com/130154

Can Malware Infect Other Computers on My Network? Networking, risks, and mitigation.
There are forms of malicious software that attempt to travel from machine to machine on your local network. There's good news, though. https://askleo.com/144126

How Should I Configure Virtual Memory Settings? Balancing RAM, disk, and disks that looks like RAM.
The default settings for virtual memory are good enough for most. Tweaking virtual memory settings depends on your computer and what you do with it. https://askleo.com/3062

Ask Leo! on YouTube

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How Should I Configure Virtual Memory Settings? The default settings for virtual memory are good enough for most. Tweaking virtual memory settings depends on your computer and what you do with it. https://youtu.be/RO1c6A8rfK0

Can Malware Infect Other Computers on My Network? There are forms of malicious malware that attempt to infect computers on your local network. There's good news, though. https://youtu.be/v-iKkdDAAwI

The Software I Use I get lots of questions about what the best software for various situations may be. I can't answer them all, particularly as it often depends on your own situation, but I can tell you what I'm using. https://youtu.be/zpSwQcOS6eg

"Default Boot Device Missing or Boot Failed" ' What Now? My laptop died with a ?Default Boot Device Missing or Boot Failed? error. Here's the process I went through to resurrect it. https://youtu.be/fBLBD1vNLjM

How Was My Bank Account Hacked When I Did Everything Right? Even with all the right things in place, stuff happens. I'll review the additional steps you can take to protect yourself. https://youtu.be/0Jv8D1Kzxl0

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