Greetings. I've seen this problem addressed but haven't found a solution that pertains to my situation exactly. I have a friend with a Pavilion dv5-1017nr that is suddenly giving the 3F0 code on startup (Boot Device Not Found - Please install an operating system on your hard disk). If I attempt to run the diag hard disk test, it says "Hard Disk Not Exist".
I swapped the drive with another SATA drive from another laptop (a Toshiba). The drive from the Toshiba laptop boots normally in the HP and the drive from the HP boots in the Toshiba. But switching them back produces the same results in the HP. Based on that, I don't believe the connector cable or motherboard is the issue. I've also tried restoring the BIOS defaults and clearing the power, but no difference.
Any ideas/suggestions? If any other information is needed, I'll be glad to provide. I thank you in advance for any assistance.
Regards,
--- Gary