Laptop doesn't recognize operating system after being punched

Question

My laptop was annoying me and I punched it. My mistake.

Now, when I turn it on, it enters in something called "Aptio Setup Utility - Copyright (C) 2012 American Megatrends, Inc." It's a blue and white menu. Not sure of its proper name. I think it doesn't recognize the windows or hard drive because there are two options I tried. First there is "Launch EFI Shell from filesystem device" and it says "Warning. Not found". The other option I tried is "Start Easy flash" and says the same. Not sure what else to do.

The laptop is an Asus X550C (series). Intel Core i3. OS is Windows 8.0 (bought it with Windows installed).

Solution

Any one of several things may have happened.

You just might have damaged the hard drive, which would be a serious problem as the hard drive would need to be replaced. But this is unlikely, because by punching you'd be far more likely to crash the mechanics (especially if the hard drive was powered up and spinning). If this happened, the drive would be still recognized (the electronics being still OK), only unreadable; and you would definitely not be getting the "setup screen", but more likely an error message saying "No boot device" or, possibly, a beginning of the boot process/splash screen followed by a crash or a hang.

Another not very likely possibility is that the CMOS battery was temporarily or permanently disconnected. Unlikely because it often is soldered in place, and you would get a different error (maybe not even the setup screen but a dark screen with a pitiable beeping in background). If that had happened you would "just" need to open the chassis and put the battery back in place.

What is likelier is that you managed to dislodge the hard drive connector. The electronics are no longer online, the PC can't see a mass storage device, and it drops you to the setup screen. Unfortunately you aren't likely to be able to punch it from the other direction and get the connector back in :-) . You, or better someone with experience in the matter, will need to open the hard drive access door, or slot, or cover - depending on the computer model - and gently push the hard drive back in.

One symptom of this having happened would be that by holding the PC horizontal in your hands, and gently tilting it clockwise and counterclockwise, you'd feel or hear something reasonably large and dense move inside.

Also, if this happened, the hard disk is probably held in place not by four good ol' steel screws but by a modern-looking thingamajig made of two plastic clamps, easy to put in, easy to come out (or if it is a repaired/refurbished unit, maybe the technician forgot to screw the drive in after testing). If at all possible, get four suitable screws from a PC repair shop and lock the drive in place.

If nothing at all happens, then against all odds you might have "succeeded" in crashing the electronics of the hard disk, and/or maybe cracking the connector or breaking it free from the motherboard. In this rather extreme case, it might even be less expensive to purchase another computer than to repair both motherboard and hard disk.

Another possibility is that the hard disk isn't the culprit at all (even if it could be damaged too), and some other component got dislodged, maybe fatally, instead. You should get some kind of error to that effect, though. That sort of diagnosis requires the PC to be taken apart by a support technician, though.

Comments

[JdeBP]

Aptio is its proper name and it is the firmware's SETUP utility. See this recent question for some of the sorts of things that you need to be telling us in your question.

[Outdated Computer Tech]

Anger management classes might avoid this issue with future laptops

[Thalys]

I quote glados when I say..."You MonStEr"

[Psycogeek]

+1 for having told the truth making it easier to diagnose.

[Daniel B]

No, it's virtually impossible for a notebook hard disk to disconnect. There's simply no room to move. As someone with experience in "notebook punching", I can confirm that it destroys the hard disk, thoroughly.

[LSerni]

It depends on the notebook, I guess. Usually there's about a third of an inch - enough to slide the 2.5" drive off its connector and be able to rotate it out of the notebook without cracking said connector (the space may be filled with removable anti-shock foam). On other models the disk has indeed a snug fit, and the connector is attached to a flexible cable so you can first slide it all out, then disconnect. And yes, punching a notebook may destroy the hard disk; but when it does, the electronic is still intact and the system will attempt to boot off the disk, not drop into the setup screen.

[Daniel B]

Well, if the disk is unable to read its firmware (also stored on-disk), the PC firmware won't even be able to see the disk, much less try to boot from it. Whether this leads to the firmware setup opening by itself is another question.

[LSerni]

That said, @DanielB , you do have something: the connector is parallel to the motherboard and therefore perpendicular to a hit coming from above. With this geometry you can break the connector, but not dislodge it, unless the disk is not only insecurely attached, but also already half disconnected on its own.

[Sampo Sarrala - codidact.org]

@DanielB at least some Asus laptops had common problem with HDDs getting loose and finally disconnecting, without punching. I think it was design flaw...

[Andrew]

Yes, hard drive fell off. Warranty replaced it but deleted everything from it, the laptop has this problem often. Afterwards the HDD came off many times, even from just using it while in bed, and shaking it.

[LSerni]

@Arramu so the hard disk disconnected AND was damaged? Because otherwise the reformat was completely unwarranted! Also, it looks like they did not re-secure the hard disk at all! I'd have very strong words with the repair technician. Even with defective connectors, all that's needed is a cut-out piece of styrofoam to fill the hard disk slot and prevent it from jiggling free. I did it myself on an ancient Asus F4.

[Andrew]

The warranty replaced it and did not give the old one back or its contents. The HDD comes off too easily, its the brands fault, faulty product.