No Operating System! Linux Trying To Boot From HDD

[PunkJr]

Hi all

I have just installed Mint as my first foray into Linux. I am enjoying the experience so far, however I am going to be using the system mostly as a music server. My laptop has a solid state drive, and it is small. I store my music onto an external HDD, and I would like to keep my HDD plugged in at all times. The problem I am having is that when I boot my computer I get the text saying that the operating system is not installed. When I remove the HDD and boot, all is fine. Is there a workaround for this, as I do not want to unplug the HDD every time I boot the laptop?

Any help would be appreciated.

Tom

[wayne128]

The problem I am having is that when I boot my computer I get the text saying that the operating system is not installed. When I remove the HDD and boot, all is fine. Is there a workaround for this, as I do not want to unplug the HDD every time I boot the laptop?

Any help would be appreciated.

Tom

This sounds like your external HDD was set as the first boot device.

You should boot computer, hit a boot entry key ( F2, F10, F12, esc, etc depending on computer bios), then set your internal SSD as the first boot device.

Good luck

[PunkJr]

Thank you Wayne for the quick reply. I had a look at the BIOS boot settings last night and could not detect any problems. I will look at this again - good to know that I may have been on the right track.

Tom

[edwardr]

I agree that it sounds like a boot order issue. Note that you want to edit the boot order in the bios and then save it, rather than the one-time boot option. I say that because with my Dell laptop, if I press F12 on startup, I get to a screen where I can choose the boot device just for that current session. If a USB stick is not plugged in then I don't see USB as an available option. To make a permanent change I have to press F2 on startup, edit the bios setting that gives the boot device order, then press F10 to save the settings.