I have an Aspire M3985.

JBL59

 One week ago, I started the computer and all I see on the screen is "Reboot and select proper Boot device or insert Boot Media in selected Boot device"
I would love some advice, please.

William_mk2

JBL59
Hi,

If the motherboard is not able to communicate with the hdd you might be getting this message.

Kindly follow the basic steps below..

Step 1
Power Drain test.
Power off the computer.
Unplug all the cables and devices at the back of your computer.
Unplug any devices connected to usb port.
Disconnect the monitor from the tower.
Remove the power cable.
Press and hold the power button for 50 seconds
Please connect all the cables back and the last cable that you need to connect should be the power cable
Computer should turn on properly
Step 2
Bios Defaults
Turn on the computer and keep tapping the del key 
It will go to bios
Press f9 and load the bios defaults.  click on yes
Pres f10 and save the changes.  click on yes 
Computer should turn on properly

If the issue is still not fixed then you can reseat the cables between hdd and motherboard or just only the hdd.   You need to turn off the computer before doing this. 
If the above steps are helpful please click "like"
If the above steps resolves your issue please click "yes

billsey

That's a fairly typical symptom of a failing hard drive. If the steps @mohan2018 suggest don't help you might try pulling the HDD cables and reconnecting them. If there's a little corrosion that can clean it off. You should also try and listen for the HDD spinning up when first turned on.

When you have booted into the BIOS you can check to be sure the drive is recognized. If it is you can try booting from a Windows install image and using diskpart to look at the partitions to see if they re set right.

JBL59

I have tried everything suggested so far but to no avail. I do need to ask how I would know if the drive was recognised, please,

billsey

Most BIOSes show you the list of SATA devices connected. What do you see in the BIOS menu? IIRC with your M3985 it's in the Advanced; Miscellaneous menu and they're listed as AHCI devices.