1. Change the boot order in BIOS to boot from the hard drive instead of the network. This will force BIOS to look for an operating system installed on a local hard drive, which is how most computers are set up. 2. Access BIOS and make sure it can detect the hard drive. You might see the PXE-E61 error if the computer tries to boot to a hard drive that doesn’t work or is disconnected. Find the Boot menu and make sure the Boot Drive Order screen (or something similarly named) shows a hard drive and doesn’t read “No Boot Drive.” If BIOS doesn’t detect a hard drive, shut down the computer, open the computer case (if you're on a desktop), and make sure the HDD cables are properly attached. 3. If you’re trying to boot from a USB device like an external hard drive, make sure the device is actually bootable. If it’s not, the BIOS will look for a different device to boot from and might try to use the network, thus throwing the PXE-E61 error. You can use a program like Rufus to make a bootable USB device. See How to Burn an ISO File to a USB Drive if you need help doing that. 4. Also double-check that the boot order is configured to boot from USB, that the device is fully connected, and that the USB port isn’t to blame — try moving the device to a different USB port if you’re not sure. 5. Enter BIOS and disable the PXE if you don't actually want to use it. It should be called something like Boot to Network or Ethernet, and is usually found in the Boot menu. If you do want to use the PXE to boot to a network device, check that the network cable is fully plugged in. If there isn’t a solid connection, then the PXE won’t be able to communicate over the network and will produce the PXE-E61 error. Replace the cable with a known good one if you suspect that it’s gone bad. 6. Update the network card drivers to fix the PXE-E61 error. An outdated, missing, or corrupted driver can prevent the computer from accessing the network, which in turn stops the PXE from working properly.
7. Clear CMOS to reset the BIOS. If the PXE-E61 error is due to a misconfigured BIOS setting, resetting BIOS to its default options will hopefully clear out the error.
Thanks, @Jon61, for your help! I think I can explain it a little better. Last night I tried re-installing Windows 10 on the computer thinking that would fix it. With no USB drive plugged in there are no UEFI boot options listed. For the Legacy External devices there are: Diskette Drive, USB Storage Device, CD/DVD Drive, and Onboard NIC (which I unchecked). Under Legacy External Devices, the buttons for add/ delete boot options are not available, only the view button is.
Switching to UEFI the buttons for add/delete a boot option are available, so I guess I have to add in an option from the from one of the directory lists: $Extend, Boot, or Recovery.
Jon61
2 Intern
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300 Posts
0
April 4th, 2020 06:00
Hello,
Give this a try it worked for me.
1. Change the boot order in BIOS to boot from the hard drive instead of the network. This will force BIOS to look for an operating system installed on a local hard drive, which is how most computers are set up.
2. Access BIOS and make sure it can detect the hard drive. You might see the PXE-E61 error if the computer tries to boot to a hard drive that doesn’t work or is disconnected.
Find the Boot menu and make sure the Boot Drive Order screen (or something similarly named) shows a hard drive and doesn’t read “No Boot Drive.” If BIOS doesn’t detect a hard drive, shut down the computer, open the computer case (if you're on a desktop), and make sure the HDD cables are properly attached.
3. If you’re trying to boot from a USB device like an external hard drive, make sure the device is actually bootable. If it’s not, the BIOS will look for a different device to boot from and might try to use the network, thus throwing the PXE-E61 error.
You can use a program like Rufus to make a bootable USB device. See How to Burn an ISO File to a USB Drive if you need help doing that.
4. Also double-check that the boot order is configured to boot from USB, that the device is fully connected, and that the USB port isn’t to blame — try moving the device to a different USB port if you’re not sure.
5. Enter BIOS and disable the PXE if you don't actually want to use it. It should be called something like Boot to Network or Ethernet, and is usually found in the Boot menu. If you do want to use the PXE to boot to a network device, check that the network cable is fully plugged in. If there isn’t a solid connection, then the PXE won’t be able to communicate over the network and will produce the PXE-E61 error.
Replace the cable with a known good one if you suspect that it’s gone bad.
6. Update the network card drivers to fix the PXE-E61 error. An outdated, missing, or corrupted driver can prevent the computer from accessing the network, which in turn stops the PXE from working properly.
7. Clear CMOS to reset the BIOS. If the PXE-E61 error is due to a misconfigured BIOS setting, resetting BIOS to its default options will hopefully clear out the error.
lu234
3 Posts
0
April 8th, 2020 06:00
Thanks, @Jon61, for your help! I think I can explain it a little better. Last night I tried re-installing Windows 10 on the computer thinking that would fix it. With no USB drive plugged in there are no UEFI boot options listed. For the Legacy External devices there are: Diskette Drive, USB Storage Device, CD/DVD Drive, and Onboard NIC (which I unchecked). Under Legacy External Devices, the buttons for add/ delete boot options are not available, only the view button is.
Switching to UEFI the buttons for add/delete a boot option are available, so I guess I have to add in an option from the from one of the directory lists: $Extend, Boot, or Recovery.
I've taken pictures of the settings to show what I mean. I can always take more if I overlooked one. https://postimg.cc/gallery/x1qkHXz
Thank you again, Jon61!
lu234
3 Posts
0
April 8th, 2020 17:00
My laptop has just the solid-state hard drive. Nothing has worked thus far. There is a slot for a 2.5" internal hard drive. Can I put something like this in to be able to boot an OS? : https://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-2-5-inch-laptop-5400rpm-MQ01ABD050V/dp/B0100ZM5QG/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=hard+drive+2.5%22&qid=1586393074&s=electronics&sr=1-9
Thanks, Luke