PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable error

green.pixel

green.pixel

Veteran
I keep getting this error while trying to boot W10 on Adata SSD in Lenovo G550.

The full error reads as:

PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable
PXE-M0F: Exiting Broadcom PXE ROM

As I googled, I found out that PXE is a boot method that allows for booting over ethernet, so PXE-boot indicates that it's not able to boot from the drive at all, bypassing local drives because HDD/SSD is not detected so it's going down the boot order and trying a network boot.

SSD works fine when I put it in another laptop, so I guess I can rule it out as the culprit, right? What else can it be, faulty SATA ports of laptop's mobo?
 
Btw does the ssd not detected at all in the uefi? Try resetting the uefi or updating the uefi. Maybe there's a bug
 
Reset should be somewhere near the save and exit in the uefi.

Update should be on the laptop support website page
 
If by resetting you mean "load setup defaults" which is how it's labeled in BIOS, I've tried that already and no effect.
 
When you're in the BIOS, does it show a drive plugged in? Most firmware will show the drive information (sectors, LBA, interface speed, size) to give you a sense that it sees something connected.

It really does sound like your BIOS simply doesn't see the drive plugged in.
 
Well then you have your answer ;) Either the laptop SATA interface is busted, or it's somehow (which is strange?) incompatible with this particular SSD.
 
green.pixel said:
As I googled, I found out that PXE is a boot method that allows for booting over ethernet, so PXE-boot indicates that it's not able to boot from the drive at all, bypassing local drives because HDD/SSD is not detected so it's going down the boot order and trying a network boot.
Click to expand...
You should be able to turn off PXE booting in the bios, at least that's the case with my Asus. If not then try to change the boot order of your drives so that your OS drive boots before PXE.
 
@pharma Nothing like that option in the BIOS, which is very bare bones, I can only disable wireless LAN, and ofc nothing happens. As for the boot order, what you say is by default, so no go there as well.

Albuquerque said:
or it's somehow (which is strange?) incompatible with this particular SSD.
Click to expand...

It worked fine for two and a half years with that SSD, so I don't think that's the issue.
 
Last edited:
Busted motherboard then. Could be just the port. Could be the chips, etc.

Btw if the port is on a daughter board, that connects to the mainboard via a flex cable, try unplugging the flex cables from both sides and clean it with alcohol, and blow with air can to the cable slots
 
If not physically broken: Can't really think anything else than boot mode having been switched from GPT to MBR or vice versa, and automatic mode detection not in use. There must be an option to select UEFI boot or legacy boot, and possibly UEFI+Legacy which would be the automatic...
 
Removing pci/lan from boot order will stop the pxe rom message
Did you check/change the cable ?
Highly unlikely to work but you might as well try it. Change sata mode selection (bios4)
 
Right, it is just old-school BIOS on it, no UEFI. Even if the disk is GPT, the SATA device would presumably be detected unless the BIOS checks that the device is actually bootable.
If another laptop works with the disk, you can double-check with diskpart or Windows Disk Management that the partition type is MBR as it should be; beyond that it does not seem like there is much to be done about it :(
 
Davros said:
Removing pci/lan from boot order will stop the pxe rom message
Click to expand...

Can't be done, it can only be moved up and down the boot order list, nothing else, hitting delete beeps.

Did you check/change the cable ?
Click to expand...

The connector is fixed, I don't see the cable or SATA port on the mobo when I remove the back cover (see the pics). If there is one, it must be behind the rest of laptop's back, to access it I would need to tear apart the whole thing which I don't have the tools for or the knowledge tbh. Would probably need to take it to the repair shop.

https://ibb.co/37mfF7y
https://ibb.co/Wz89BCs

Change sata mode selection (bios4)
Click to expand...

First thing I tried, changed from AHCI to IDE, no difference.
 
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