A technician powers on a Windows 10 laptop and immediately receives the error message "Operating system not found." Which of the following is the MOST likely cause of this startup error?
The Windows print spooler service is set to Manual startup.
The BIOS/UEFI boot order lists a device without an OS ahead of the internal drive.
The CMOS battery is depleted, causing the system clock to reset.
The video driver is corrupt, preventing the Windows GUI from loading.
The message usually appears when the firmware cannot find a bootable operating system on the device at the top of its boot list. If the BIOS/UEFI boot order is set to start from a USB stick or network device that does not contain Windows, or if the internal drive is listed after those devices, the firmware will fail to load the OS and display the error. Correcting the boot sequence so that the internal SSD/HDD is first typically resolves the problem. The other options do not prevent the firmware from locating boot files during the POST phase.
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