How to Solve 'PXE-E61: Media test failure, Check cable

Hard disk boot failure can be due to several reasons, one of the most common being, physical hard disk failure. This article exemplifies hard disk boot failure in PXE (Preboot eXecution Environment). PXE is a boot environment by Intel that allows a workstation to boot using a network interface before booting the operating system from the available, local storage devices like hard disk. Whatsoever the case may be, to deal with physical hard disk failure, you need to consult hard disk recovery experts to extract the lost data.

Consider, you try to boot your computer, but the process doesn't succeed. The computer cannot boot and the below or similar error messages appear on a black screen:

PXE-E61: Media test failure, Check cable.

PXE-M0F: Exiting Intel PXE-ROM

Boot failure: System Halted

While restricting you to access the hard disk data, this behavior repeats each time you try to start your computer.

Error Explanation

Most often, the above error is caused due to incorrect BIOS settings or a faulty hardware, such as hard disk. Sometimes, the error may also occur if the computer tries to boot from a device, on which it cannot find the required boot files. An improperly connected hard disk is also known to cause the same type of issue.

How to Solve?

You should follow the below steps sequentially in order to isolate the cause and solve the issue:

Verify all the cable connections of the hard disk. An improper or loose connection is likely to be the reason, in case the hard disk has been recently installed or moved.

Check if no other storage device is connected to the computer. If it is, remove it.

Enter the BIOS setup when trying to start the computer and see if hard disk has been correctly setup and detected in BIOS. If the hard disk cannot be detected due to any reason, you should consider the next suggestion as it might be physical failure.

Replace the hard disk and restore the data, provided a good backup is available. In other circumstances, you should consult a company that provides data recovery services. These companies have efficient tools and staff to perform hard disk recovery and extract valuable data securely.

Stellar Information Systems Limited is one of the leading providers of data recovery services with ISO 9001:2000 certification, Class 100 Clean Rooms and centers all over the globe. With more than 17 years of experience in the field of data recovery, the company specializes in recovery of data from all makes, models, and brands of hard disks.