I’m 16 and live with my parents. I accidentally spilled water on my computer while using it. I wiped it off quickly, and it worked for a bit, but then it just stopped responding. I turned it off and back on, but now it says ‘boot device missing’ or ‘boot failed.’ I can’t take it anywhere to get fixed, and I really don’t want my stepdad to see what I was doing. Can anyone help me fix this?
Open up the PC, unplug the drive, clean the plugs, and wait at least 24 hours with good airflow to let it dry. If it still shows the error after that, your drive might be fried. Just tell your stepdad then; he won’t see what you were doing.
Exactly! And don’t worry too much; even if he fixes it, if it was on the browser, your history should be fine. Just hope you used incognito mode.
For the future, if you spill something, immediately shut it down and remove the power source. Missing boot device usually means your hard drive is fried or corrupted. Leave it off and dry it out for a few days. Silica packets can help speed that up.
You might get lucky if it’s just the boot manager acting up. A reinstall could fix it if you don’t care about the data. Just remember to unplug everything and let it dry completely before doing anything.