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How to select boot from usb in BIOS. Loading problems. Setting up booting from a USB drive on an old computer with Phoenix BIOS

Using a flash drive for this purpose is convenient. Let's look at how to start a computer or laptop from a flash drive.

You need to start by choosing one of the alternative actions:

  • Changing the order of boot devices in the BIOS;
  • Selecting a boot device in the Boot Menu.

You must first get into the BIOS Utility settings. You get into them using the Delete (most often) or F2 (the most common cases) keys.

The BIOS call must be made before the OS boots - at the first black screen or reflection of the manufacturer's logo.

Sometimes what you need to click can be seen in the picture of the initial screen:

Changing Boot to UEFI

The UEFI software is graphical and changing boot devices is intuitive:

Most options usually involve changing the boot order by simply dragging and dropping the disk images with the mouse.

Actions in AMI BIOS

Before entering the Bios, the flash drive is connected to the PC in advance.

To start a computer or laptop from a flash drive, the following operational procedure is performed:

  • At the top of the menu, use the “right” button to select “Boot”;
  • By clicking “Hard Disk Drives”, press “Enter” under the “1st Drive” item in the menu that opens;
  • The list contains the name of the flash drive - the cursor is placed on it;
  • Press Enter and Esc alternately;
  • Then in “Boot device priority” you press “Enter” on “First boot device”;
  • The flash drive is indicated again:

We work in BIOS AWARD

Selecting a boot device in Award BIOS is done in the menu settings. You need to select “First Boot Device” with the cursor in “Advanced BIOS Features” and hit “Enter”:

In the list that appears, in order to boot a computer or laptop from a flash drive, install “USB-HDD” (“USB-Flash”).

After this, use the Esc button to move up a level and select the “Save/Exit” option:

Setting up in H2O BIOS

You can boot a USB flash drive into the InsydeH20 BIOS like this:

  • Use the right key to open “Boot” in the main menu;
  • "External Device Boot" must be "Enabled";
  • Use the control keys F5 and F6 to put “External Device” in the first position in the “Boot Priority” section;
  • Exit (“Exit”) from the menu when saving the settings.

The computer will restart from the desired drive.

Without visiting BIOS (for Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 with UEFI)

For such devices, you need to open the “Update and Recovery” tab through the panel on the right and select “Restart”. And in the “Special Options” panel on the “Select Action” screen, select “Use a USB device.” There will also be a choice of network connection and DVD.

The next screen will provide a list of devices from which the flash drive is selected.

If it is not in the list, click “View others”.

The choice made will force the computer to reboot from the selected drive.

Booting through the Boot Menu

The Boot Menu is called up when the vast majority of laptop/computer models are turned on. Being one of the BIOS or UEFI tools, it allows you to select a drive to start the computer in this particular case.

This method is convenient to use for selecting a boot device once before starting the OS from a Live CD, using a flash drive to install Windows OS, and more.

After all, it’s not often that a computer starts from a flash drive - why change the BIOS settings?

IMPORTANT. Through the Boot menu in some laptops it is possible to restore the system.

Path to Boot Menu

Just like BIOS (or UEFI), the Boot Menu is called up by certain keys. Most often it is F12, F11 or Esc. Other options are possible. Sometimes (not always) this can be seen from the information that appears on the monitor screen when you turn on the computer.

Once in this section, you can see a list of connected devices from which you can start downloading (hard drive, flash drive, disks, etc.). You can choose to boot your computer over a network or start an OS recovery using a backup partition.

Features of logging into Windows 8, 8.1 and 10

Shutting down a PC running Windows 8, 8.1 and Windows 10 is not a “shutdown” in the strict sense (hibernation). Therefore, you may not be able to enter the boot menu using the above keys.

In this case, you need to do one of the following:

  • If you hold “Shift” while selecting the “Shutdown” option, the PC will turn off “completely” and the next time you turn it on, the keys will work;
  • Use the necessary keys when rebooting (and not during a preliminary shutdown);
  • In “Control Panel” (view - icons) / “Power Options” / “Actions of the power buttons” - disable enabling fast startup (sometimes you need to “change currently unavailable settings”):

One of the methods will definitely work.

Login to Asus

Desktop computers with Asus motherboards allow you to enter the boot menu by pressing the F8 key (the same time you press Del or F9 to enter the BIOS).

With laptops there is complete confusion:

Most modern ones use Esc;

You need to try all the options!

Login to Lenovo

With the Lenovo brand - almost the easiest way of all - we enter the treasured menu using the F12 key for almost all models of laptops / all-in-one computers.

There is also an arrow button next to power - other boot options are available on it:

We get to Acer

For laptops/monoblocks from Acer, the F12 key works. But for some, in order to enter the menu to work, it needs to be turned on.

To do this, first enter the BIOS using the F2 key, and then switch the “F12 Boot Menu” parameter so that it takes the value “Enabled” (the default is “Disabled”).

Then the settings are saved before exiting the BIOS.

Other models

List of keys to enter the Boot Menu for other branded models:

  • HP - F9 or Esc key, and then F9;
  • Dell - F12;
  • Samsung - Esc;
  • Toshiba - F12.

For motherboards:

  • Gigabyte - F12;
  • Intel - Esc;
  • Asus - F8;
  • MSI - F11;
  • AsRock - F11.

After reading this publication, you are guaranteed to be able to launch your computer or laptop system from a flash drive.

Leave your comments, share your experience.

Microsoft Corporation has been developing and improving operating systems for a long time, but so far not a single distribution has officially appeared that could fully work from an external device on any computer. No matter how hard you try to protect your computer from breakdowns or virus infection, sometimes critical situations occur when the installed operating system can no longer function normally and stably, and you need your files and information that remained in the working folders along with the OS. This is why emergency boot disks, or Windows PE, were created.

Good to know!
In order to load such an operating system from an external storage medium, you must first complete the following steps:

  1. Make the device bootable by assigning boot sectors to it;
  2. Pre-download and correctly port Windows PE to a removable device;
  3. If necessary, add drivers to the image (this especially applies to SATA drivers).

It should be remembered that the speed of the operating system, which is loaded from an external device, is much slower. This is due to the fact that the performance depends on the operating speed of the device itself, as well as the operating frequency of the bus through which the signal travels from/to the device. If you run the OS from USB devices, the speed drops by about ten times (The average speed of loading information from a flash drive is 10 MB/s, the average speed of HDD SATA is 100-120 MB/s).

How does the process of loading and starting OS PE occur?

After pressing the computer's power button, the devices are polled, after which their readiness is checked, and an attempt to boot begins according to the priority list, which is stored in the BIOS settings. The first step is to read the boot sectors, which store the addresses where the boot loader is located to run Windows PE. After this, the preinstalled system image begins to load into the computer’s RAM. It is worth noting that all files and settings that occur while working with the OS will be lost the next time you start it.

How to configure the boot process for Windows PE from a flash drive?

There are currently two types of BIOS. The old one is typical and simple, which is similar to MSDOS and contains only menu items that can only be navigated using the keyboard. The new one is UEFI, it differs significantly both in appearance and functionality. In UEFI, you can control and select all settings using the mouse and keyboard.

Organization of booting in UEFI

If possible, you can simply drag the desired device to the first place with the mouse pointer, thus changing the boot order. The classic download method also works:

  1. Put Boot from USB or the name of your flash drive first.
  2. Start your computer.

Boot organization in a typical BIOS

  1. Connect the USB device before starting the computer.
  2. Go to the BIOS menu in the “Boot Device Priority” section (Del, F2, F12 buttons).
  3. Put Boot from USB in first place (sometimes defined as USB HDD, or in the priority hard drive settings you need to put a USB flash drive) or the name of your flash drive.
  4. Save your changes before exiting.
  5. Start your computer.

Alternative download method

This method is used if you can go separately to the bootloader menu, explicitly specifying the boot devices to it.

Over time, operating systems accumulate unnecessary files and parts of deleted programs. There is a need to reinstall Windows or another OS. Most modern laptops (and sometimes desktop computers) no longer have a CD-ROM, so you need to know how to launch a bootable USB flash drive via BIOS and set the launch priority.

Setting up BIOS to boot from a flash drive

Every modern PC user should know how to set the BIOS to boot from a flash drive. This is due to the gradual abandonment of disks and the convenience of using removable drives. It is much easier to copy the system distribution (installer) onto media and install from it. The only difficulty that everyone who decides to install an OS from a drive faces is correctly setting up the BIOS. It should change the boot priority, which will force the computer to first read data from removable media, and only then launch files from the hard drive.

Some PC owners are faced with the problem that the BIOS does not see the bootable USB flash drive. To avoid this situation, you should follow these recommendations:

  1. The drive must be in USB before starting the PC.
  2. Connect the media to the 2.0 connector, because version 7 of the OS does not have drivers for the 3.0 input.
  3. Sometimes the BIOS does not boot from a flash drive just because the USB controller is turned off (Award version). It must be enabled from the Integrated Peripherals/Advanced Chipset Features section. Make sure that next to this line is the word Enabled.

Booting from a flash drive into Award Bios

Global laptop manufacturers (Lenovo, Asus, Sony, HP) can install different BIOS versions on their devices. Below is an example of how to install the Award version in BIOS to boot from a flash drive:

  1. Restart your computer, press Del or F2 until a blue screen appears.
  2. Go to Advanced BIOS Features.
  3. If there is immediately an option called First Boot Device, then you should click on it and switch to removable media with the OS.
  4. In new versions of system firmware, there is an additional menu section called Boot Seq & Floppy Setup. Inside it, again prioritize the drive as First Boot Device.
  5. It is advisable to set your hard drive as the second device. This will be needed during the installation process so that it does not run in a circle.
  6. Use the Esc key to go to the main menu, go to Save & Exit Setup. Confirm saving changes.

How to boot from a flash drive into AMI BIOS

Do not forget that the bootable media must be inserted into the slot in advance. Below are instructions on how to set the BIOS AMI to boot from a flash drive:

  • go to settings using the Del button (press during the initial splash screen until the BIOS appears);
  • using the arrows, you need to select the Boot section;
  • go to the Hard Disk Drives menu, then press enter on the 1st Drive line;
  • Select the name of your OS drive from the list and press Enter.
  • go to the Boot device priority section;
  • enter the First boot device menu by pressing Enter;
  • re-install the removable media;
  • go to the top menu, select Exit saving changes or Save changes and exit, confirm your consent to make changes.

How to boot from a flash drive in Phoenix-Award Bios

There is another version of global settings. Below is an option on how to set Phoenix BIOS to boot from a flash drive. This option is much less common, but the principle remains the same: you need to assign a boot priority so that the program runs the OS installer. To go to the settings, press Del or F2, then:

  1. Check if the USB ports are enabled. Go to Peripherals and opposite the line “USB 2.0 Controller” there must be the word “Enabled”.
  2. After that, go to the Advanced tab, there, opposite the “First Boot Device” line, set the value to USB-HDD.
  3. Exit the settings and save via Save & Exit Setup.

How to boot Windows from a flash drive to EFI (UEFI) Bios

The latest versions of Windows offer the simplest and most intuitive option on how to boot from a flash drive in Bios. If in previous firmware the menu looked like a regular list in which it was necessary to use the arrows on the keyboard for manipulation, the new UEFI interface includes graphic elements and supports the use of the mouse. For different laptop models, the transition occurs using special buttons, for example:

  • HP - first ESC, and then F10;
  • Asus – Del, then F2.

Some Windows 8 users have noted that they are having problems migrating to the UEFI version of the BIOS. To solve this problem, use one of the following options:

  1. Go to PC settings through the control panel, select the section with power settings. Here you need to turn off Fast Boot mode.
  2. Restart your computer and press the buttons indicated on the start screen to go to the BIOS.
  3. To restart Win 8, press the key combination Shift+Restart. In the menu after reboot, select the Troubleshoot section. Go to “Advanced options”. Here you need to click on UEFI Firmware Settings: you will be redirected to UEFI immediately after rebooting your PC.

There are two ways to start from a drive through a new BIOS. Do not forget that after reinstalling the OS, the boot priority settings will need to be reset to their original form (so that the hard drive boots first). Graphical global settings are very clear; any user can navigate the sections. There are two simple options for setting the priority for the drive:

  1. Go to the Boot Priority menu, it is located at the bottom of the screen. Drag the image of the removable drive to the first position instead of the hard drive and release.
  2. Click on the Exit/Advanced mode button and confirm that you agree to proceed to advanced settings. Here everything is done according to the same scheme: you need to click on the Boot Option Priorities item in the Boot section. In the Boot Option #1 line, select your removable drive. Save and exit settings.

Video: how to set up BIOS on an Asus laptop

Good day.

Almost always, when reinstalling Windows OS, you have to edit the BIOS boot menu. If you don’t do this, then a bootable USB flash drive or other media (from which you want to install the OS) is easy.

In this article, I would like to look in detail at what exactly it is to configure the BIOS for booting from a flash drive (the article will look at several BIOS versions). By the way, all operations can be performed by a user with any training (i.e. even the most beginner can handle it)…

So, let's get started.

Setting up a laptop's BIOS (using ACER as an example)

The first thing you do is turn on the laptop (or restart it).

It is important to pay attention to the initial welcome screens - a button to enter Bios is always displayed there. Most often these are buttons F2 or Delete(sometimes both buttons work).

Initial welcome screen - ACER laptop.

If everything was done correctly, you should see the main BIOS window of the laptop (Main), or a window with information (Information). In this article, we are most interested in the download section (Boot) - this is where we go.

By the way, the mouse does not work in Bios and all operations must be performed using the arrows on the keyboard and the Enter key (the mouse works in Bios only in new versions). Function keys can also be used; their operation is usually reported in the left/right column.

Information window in Bios.

In the Boot section, you need to pay attention to the boot order. The screenshot below shows the check queue for boot records, i.e. first the laptop will check if there is anything to load from the WDC WD5000BEVT-22A0RT0 hard drive, and only then check the USB HDD (i.e. flash drive). Naturally, if there is already at least one OS on the hard drive, then the boot queue simply won’t reach the flash drive!

Therefore, you need to do two things: put the flash drive in the check queue for boot records higher than the hard drive and save the settings.

Laptop boot order.

To raise/lower certain lines, you can use the function keys F5 and F6 (by the way, on the right side of the window we are told about this, albeit in English).

After the lines have been swapped (see screenshot below), go to the Exit section.

In the Exit section there are several options, select Exit Saving Changes (exit with saving the settings made). The laptop will reboot. If it was done correctly and inserted into USB, then the laptop will start booting from it first. Then, usually, the OS installation proceeds without any problems or delays.

AMI BIOS

A fairly popular version of BIOS (by the way, AWARD BIOS will differ little in terms of boot settings).

Use the same keys to enter settings F2 or Del.

Main window (Main). Ami Bios.

As you can see, by default, the first thing the PC does is check the hard drive (SATA: 5M-WDS WD5000) for boot records. We need to put the third line (USB: Generic USB SD) in first place (see screenshot below).

After the queue (load priority) is changed, you need to save the settings. To do this, go to the Exit section.

With such a queue, it will be possible to boot from a flash drive.

In the Exit section, select Save Changes and Exit (translation: save settings and exit) and press Enter. The computer goes into reboot, and after that it starts seeing all the bootable flash drives.

Setting up UEFI in new laptops (for loading flash drives with Windows 7 OS).

The settings will be shown on the example of an ASUS laptop*

In new laptops, when installing old OSs (and Windows7 can already be called “old,” relatively speaking), one problem arises: the flash drive becomes invisible and you can no longer boot from it. To fix this, you need to do several operations.

And so, first go to the BIOS (F2 button after turning on the laptop) and go to the Boot section.

In the Security section we are interested in one line: Security Boot Control (by default it is Enabled, but we need to switch it to Disabled mode).

After this, save the laptop BIOS settings (F10 key). The laptop will reboot, and we will need to go into Bios again.

Now in the Boot section, change the Launch CSM option to Enabled (i.e. turn it on) and save the settings (F10 key).

After rebooting the laptop, go to the BIOS settings again (F2 button).

Now in the Boot section you can find our flash drive in boot priority (and by the way, it had to be inserted into USB before entering the BIOS).

I understand that there are many more BIOS versions than I discussed in this article. But they are very similar and the settings are identical everywhere. Difficulties most often occur not with setting certain settings, but with incorrectly written bootable flash drives.

That's all, good luck everyone!