How to boot from a DVD or USB Flash drive. How to set boot priorities in BIOS

You have a bootable DVD or flash drive, now you need to make sure that the computer can boot from it.

There are 2 ways to boot your computer from a DVD or flash drive:

• Selecting a device in the boot menu
• Changing boot priority in BIOS

Each method has pros and cons.

If you need, for example, to install Windows, then it is more convenient to choose the first method. And if you constantly work with boot disks, then the second method is more convenient.

Features of selecting a device in the boot menu

• On older computers (motherboards) this function is missing. In this case, you will have to change the priority in the BIOS.
• When you select a device in the menu, the computer boots from this device 1 time. This is convenient when installing Windows - there is no need to return booting from the HDD after the first reboot.

Features of changing priority in BIOS

• Works on both new and old computers.
• The priority change is constant, i.e. lasts until the next change, and not one load as in the case of the menu. This is not very convenient when installing Windows from a flash drive; you have to return booting from the HDD after the first reboot.

How to enter the boot menu or BIOS?

There is no universal button for entering the boot menu or entering the BIOS. It all depends on the computer manufacturer (motherboard), they are all different - the keys are also different. The most correct way to find the right key is to read the instructions from the computer (motherboard). For some of the most common boards, the keys are listed below.

The only time when you need to press these keys is during self-test immediately after turning on the computer (English - Power-On Self-Test or POST). Without going into details, POST lasts from turning on the computer until the operating system starts loading (the logo or OS selection menu appears). The POST pass looks something like this:

A prompt appears on the screen: Press DEL to run Setup, which means - click DEL to login BIOS Setup. DEL is the most common key, but there are many others - more on that below.

During POST, a graphical splash screen may be displayed with the name of the computer or motherboard manufacturer.

Keys to enter the boot menu and brief instructions

As noted above, each manufacturer has its own key to enter the boot menu. Here is a short list of the most common ones:

The boot menu looks something like this:

All you have to do is select the desired device from the list. If everything is done correctly, the disk or flash drive is written correctly, the download/installation should begin.

Keys to enter BIOS and brief instructions for changing boot priority

To enter BIOS Setup, use the key corresponding to the manufacturer of the computer or motherboard, here is a small list of them:

You can find less common hotkeys for entering the BIOS.

In addition to the fact that there are several main BIOS manufacturers (AMI, Phoenix - Award), computer (motherboard) manufacturers also modify the BIOS for a specific model. As a result, it is impossible to create universal instructions even for changing one function (boot priority); there will be differences on each computer. You can only roughly show how this is done, but look for exact instructions in the documentation for your computer (motherboard).

To navigate through the BIOS and change settings, use the arrow keys on your keyboard. Enter And + \- .

AMI

Use the arrows to move to the tab Boot, let's go to Boot Device Priority:

In the following figure we see that the boot is performed sequentially: from the floppy drive (Floppy Drive), hard drive (Hard Drive), and the third device is not used (Disabled).

If we want to boot from a DVD, we need to change the priorities so that the first device is the DVD drive. Use arrows to switch to the first device ( 1st Boot Device), press Enter and select from the menu that appears CDROM. Everything is the same with a flash drive.

Click F10 and confirm the exit with saving (Save and Exit) by selecting .

Phoenix Award

We enter Advanced BIOS Features:

If we want to boot from a DVD, we need to change the priorities so that the first device is the DVD drive.

Use arrows to switch to the first device ( First Boot Device), change to CDROM. Everything is the same with a flash drive.

Click F10 and confirm exit with saving (Save and Exit).

Do you know other keys or want to find out more? Comments are open!

Enjoy using it!

Very often a situation arises when you need to boot from a CD-DVD disk, for example, when installing Windows, or loading other applications directly when you start the computer.

To perform such a download, you need to make minor manipulations with the BIOS settings, there are no difficulties here. You just need to press the keys on the keyboard a couple of times.

Depending on your BIOS (Ami or Award), you can configure it to boot from a CD-DVD disk. You will understand which BIOS you have from the pictures in the instructions.

Set to boot from CD-DVD in Award BIOS.

2. Using the arrows on the keyboard, select the Advanced BIOS features tab and press Enter

3. Select the First Boot device tab, press the Enter key, in the window that appears, also using the arrows on the keyboard, place the pointer opposite the CDROM inscription and press Enter.

4. Exit the BIOS while saving the settings; to do this, press the F10 key on the keyboard. After the red window appears, press the Enter key. The computer will reboot and if you have a CD-DVD disk with a boot sector installed in the drive, it will try to start its contents, for example, installing windows.

Set to boot from CD-DVD in Ami BIOS.

1. Launch the BIOS settings by pressing the Delete key when the computer starts.

2. Using the arrows on the keyboard, select the Boot tab, then select the Boot Device Priority item, and use the Enter key to go to this item.

3. Select the 1st Boot Device item, in the window that appears, select your CD-DVD drive and press the Enter key.

4. Exit the BIOS while saving the settings; to do this, press the F10 key on the keyboard, select OK in the window that appears and press the Enter key. The computer will reboot and if you have a CD-DVD disk with a boot sector installed in the drive, it will try to start its contents, for example, installing windows.

The world does not stand still. Once upon a time, the height of popularity was to store information on a disk or floppy disk. Now preference is given to more convenient and capacious flash drives.

To boot into BIOS via a USB flash drive, you need to take into account several features:

• It is recommended to connect the removable disk to the connector located on the back of the system unit. It is he who is located on the motherboard;
• Connect the storage device before turning on or restarting the computer.

Regardless of the BIOS manufacturer, to boot Windows from a flash drive, you must take the following steps:

1. Open BIOS. To do this you need to click Delete or Esc. The service call keys may differ in different versions of the program. They are usually written at the bottom of the screen immediately before the operating system boots.
2. Next you need to enable the USB controller.
3. After this, the flash drive must be moved to the first place in the list of devices from which to boot.
4. Save your changes.

Running from a flash drive in Award Bios

This version of the program is called by the button DEL or keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Esc(in older versions).

Go to the tab "Integrated Peripherals" to enable the USB controller. Near the inscription "USB Controller" And "USB Controller 2.0" set value "Enable". To do this, use the button Enter. Go back one step by clicking Esc.

Now we need to directly configure booting from a flash drive in bios. To do this, go to the tab "Advanced BIOS Features". Choose a section "Hard Disk Boot Priority". Here the first line should indicate the name of the memory card. By default, this position is occupied by the hard drive. Using the key «+» , move the required line to the first place. Return to the previous menu.

Pay attention to the line "First Boot Device". Next to this inscription there should be "USB-HDD", which means booting from a flash drive or external hard drive. Sometimes the installation process may not proceed. In this case, you should select the external floppy drive indicator - "USB FDD".

Hard Disk should be indicated next to Second Boot Device.

After making changes, you can exit the BIOS, while saving the changes. Press Esc to exit to the main menu. Then click "Save & Exit Setup".

Installing boot from flash drive in AMI Bios

Exit to “AMI BIOS” is carried out by pressing keys DEL or F2.

USB controller settings are located in the tab "Advanced", In chapter "USB Configuration". Index "Enable" should be near "USB Function" And "USB 2.0 Controller".

Return to the previous menu (Esc) and go to the tab "Boot", chapter "Hard Disk Drives". The name of the flash drive should come first. Click "Enter" on the first line and in the new window, select the desired item.

In the previous menu, go to "Boot Device Priority". There should be a flash card at the top.

After this, you can return to the main menu and exit the BIOS, saving the settings.

Set boot from flash drive in Phoenix-Award Bios

Clicking F1 or F2 you can open the BIOS version “Phoenix-Award” .

The USB controller section can be found in the tab "Peripherals". Index "USB-HDD" must be placed in line "First Boot Device", tab "Advanced". Don't forget to save your settings.

Configure booting from a flash drive in Bios UEFI

New laptops released no earlier than 2013 have a special BIOS version. One of its features is the presence of protection against installing operating systems from any media other than a licensed disk. To install booting from a flash drive in this version of bios, you must first disable this protection and set the compatibility mode with other operating systems.

After entering the BIOS, go to the tab "Security", chapter "Secure Boot" and set the value there "Disabled".

In chapter "Boot", in line "Boot Mode" value should be set "Legacy Support". In line "Boot Priority" should stand "Legacy First".

Updated – 2017-01-25

Windows boot modes. If you want to understand your computer, and not just randomly poke the keys on the keyboard, then you need to know at least a little about the processes that occur in it. Take Windows boot modes, for example. Believe me, when you begin to understand what you are doing, even routine work becomes a joy. I know people who simply hate computers. Do you know why? Because they don’t understand him and are afraid of him, and what a person fears is what he hates.

Windows boot modes

My most important boss says that he cannot understand people who hang around the computer all the time. He hates the computer. And he really doesn’t have a computer in his office.

Then, on occasion, I told him that it was simply not respectable for such a big boss like him not to have a computer on his desk. At least for appearances sake it should be there. He listened to my advice and on the second day ordered it to be installed.

I went a little further. And she not only installed a computer for him, but also connected him to the Internet. I set everything up and left it turned on on the page about politics (I know that he is very interested in this matter), and left the office. Less than an hour had passed before he called me to his place and said: “There was an interesting article, I clicked something and everything disappeared.”

I showed him how to enter this site and navigate through the pages. Subsequently, he asked a couple more times to show him how to find the necessary information.

A couple of weeks passed and our boss was replaced. I bought myself a laptop and never parted with it. To our delight, he almost never leaves his office; he surfs the Internet. I even learned how to work in electronic document management.

So this is why I am telling you all this. When a person began to understand that he needed this, he stopped being afraid of working at the computer. He began to study, which means he lost his fear.

And in order for fear to pass, you need to know what you are doing. Therefore, we will learn to understand our computer.

Let's consider boot modesWindows

Typically, these modes are not displayed during system boot. You can see them only in two cases:

• Pressing a key F 8 . This is done before the operating system starts or when the boot menu is displayed;
• If the menu opened automatically. This happens if some problems arose during the previous Windows boot and the boot did not complete.

This is what the Windows XP boot mode menu looks like :

So we looked at Windows boot modes. Now you won’t be so scared if your system balks after your unsuccessful attempts.

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Let's say you have a boot disk with Windows in your hands. Or the Dr.Web LiveCD anti-virus disk. Or maybe you want to install Linux. You insert the disk into the computer, but suddenly the question arises: “What to do next?” If you are an inexperienced (yet) computer user, this question will be one of the first to arise. Experienced users also sometimes need to know the boot order in different BIOS versions. So my instructions are suitable for everyone.

So, we are faced with a task: we need to tell the computer which disk it should boot from first. To do this you need to go into the BIOS settings. How to do this - read on.

Which button should I press?

The very first question that arises for an unprepared user. How to boot from a boot disk or flash drive?
Two solutions:

1. Open the boot menu with a list of connected boot devices and select the one you need from the list.
2. Configure the motherboard BIOS so that the operating system loads primarily from the desired device, and not from the hard drive.

Option 1 simple, but not all BIOS support such a menu. In any case, it's worth a try. Typically, the boot menu appears when you press F11 or F12 immediately after turning on the computer. Less often - Esc, F8 or other buttons. Sometimes it is supported but disabled. In this case, read the instructions for your computer's motherboard.

Option 2 It always works - there are boot settings in almost every BIOS. I will tell you about the setup.

We need to get into the BIOS settings. BIOS (or its improved analogue UEFI) is a special system that boots immediately after turning on the computer. The BIOS does not depend on Windows or anything else because it is located on a memory chip soldered into the motherboard. You can read more about terminology.
Typically, to enter the BIOS settings, you need to press the Delete, F2 or Esc button 1-3 seconds after turning on the computer. How to find out which button to press: after turning on the PC, look for the line Press Del to enter Setup on the screen (where instead of Del there may be F2 or another key). This will be the inscription about which button to press. Example:

Another example:

Instead of a black screen with diagnostic text, the logo of the laptop or motherboard manufacturer may be displayed, then the prompt will look like this:

By the way, in the last two screenshots there are hints for the boot menu button (which is called easier) - on the first it is Esc, on the second F12. Let me remind you that this option is preferable, but is not always available.

There is no inscription on the boot screens of some laptops, then look at the keymap
Press the desired button and get into the BIOS. If you press the wrong button, nothing bad will happen, because... the computer will simply ignore your actions or show some other BIOS add-on that will not contain what you need. Then you need to press Reset (reboot button on the system unit) or Ctrl Alt Del to restart the computer.

After pressing the required button and the BIOS screen appears, an ambush awaits us - there are many versions of BIOS, their settings look different. There is good news - they all most often have the same points, so you can figure out what's what. There are two BIOS versions that are very different from each other, we will look at them below.

Please note that similar tips can be found in the instructions for your laptop or desktop computer motherboard. If you do not have instructions in paper form, you can always download it from the model page on the manufacturer’s official website.

After reading this article and looking at the explanatory illustrations, you will be able to configure booting from the Windows installation disk on any computer.

Popular BIOS version. It is, in particular, on many Acer laptops:

We need to get to the Boot section. Press the right arrow three times:

Here is a list of devices from which you can boot. The line names are different on each computer, but the first two words always tell you what kind of device it is:

• IDE CD – CD/DVD drive
• IDE HDD - hard drive
• USB HDD – portable hard drive
• USB KEY – flash drive.

To set the disk drive first (line starting with IDE CD), i.e. change the boot priority, use the up/down arrows to highlight this item, then press F5/F6(on some versions of this BIOS you need to press – or), put it first in the list. It will be something like this:

To save settings made, click right arrow to get to the menu Exit(Exit), select menu item Exit Saving Changes(Exit and save changes) and press Enter twice in a row.

Note: The Exit Discarding Changes menu option allows you to exit the BIOS without saving the settings you have made.

The computer will restart and instead of loading Windows, it should start booting from the selected drive. That is, for example, the installation of Windows will begin. Mission Complete!

The main menu of this BIOS looks like this:

To change the boot order on AWARD BIOS, go to the menu Advanced BIOS Features:

Select a menu item First Boot Device(First boot device), click Enter and put a dot opposite CDROM (Removable, if you need to boot from a flash drive or portable hard drive):

Press Enter, return to the previous settings page, go to Second Boot Device(Second boot device) and set it there Hard Disk– this will allow your computer to boot normally when the DVD or flash drive is removed.

Press Y on the keyboard, then Enter - the settings will be saved and the computer will restart.

Ready! Now, when a boot disk is inserted, the computer will boot from it first, and not from the hard drive. If the disc is not inserted, it will boot from the next device in the list.

Old version of AWARD BIOS

I've only seen this on old computers before 2003. The main menu looks like this:

To configure the boot order, you need to go to the BIOS FEATURES SETUP menu:
Paragraph Boot Sequence is responsible for the loading order. Buttons PageUp And PageDown(or Enter and arrows - unfortunately, I have no way to check) you need to set CDROM first, C second (this is the hard drive), third is not important - set any.

Similar to the aforementioned AWARD BIOS. It most often contains the inscription BIOS Setup Utility without any explanatory names.
Use the “right arrow” button on the keyboard to move to the tab Boot:

On the Boot page you need to go to Boot Device Priority:

There are points here 1st Drive, 2nd Drive– “First boot device”, “Second boot device”. You need to open 1st Drive and specify CDROM (for a disk drive) or USB (for booting from a flash drive) there; in 2nd Drive specify SATA or IDE, depending on what kind of hard drive you have and which item will be available in the menu.

Another AMI BIOS

Everything is clear here, look at the picture:

Buttons and – You can cycle through menu items by pressing a button F10 will call up the option to save settings.

Questions and answers

IN: I can't get into the BIOS settings. What to do?

ABOUT: Make sure you're doing everything right. 99% of problems are due to inattentive reading of the instructions. Everything can be solved if you ask the almighty Google the right question: “motherboard/laptop model, boot settings.”

IN: I configured it as it should, but the error “NTLDR is missing” appears or the cursor blinks at the top left of the screen.

ABOUT: You wrote the boot disk or flash drive incorrectly.

IN: How to boot from a flash drive (or portable hard drive) rather than from a DVD?

O1: You must specify USB-HDD, USB-ZIP or Removable in the boot settings. The item name may vary. In case of problems, read the instructions for the motherboard.

O2: If the BIOS does not support booting from USB devices, you can make a bootable DVD with Plop Boot Manager and, when booting from it, select the “USB” item in the menu that appears. The advantage of this method is that even on old computers, where USB operates in the slow USB 1.1 mode when booting, the speed will be fast - USB 2.0 mode will turn on. Minus - again, it is not always supported by some motherboards. Read more about Plop

IN:How to make a bootable USB flash drive?

ABOUT: If you need a flash drive with installation of Windows 7 or 8, then go to the section

IN:The article does not contain instructions for setting up my BIOS. Please write!!111

ABOUT: With the advent of motherboards that use UEFI instead of BIOS, a large number of externally different, but essentially identical screens with settings have appeared. Since the settings need to be the same everywhere, either read the article above carefully and find similar items in your BIOS, or read the instructions for your motherboard/laptop.

IN: I configured the BIOS, now nothing loads at all. Help!

ABOUT: In 10 cases out of 10, the problem is inattention or an incorrectly made bootable flash drive/disk. Reset the BIOS settings either by removing the battery for half an hour from turned off computer, or the Load Default Settings menu item. Then do everything again, carefully reading all instructions.

IN: When booting from a flash drive, a blue screen appears.

ABOUT: You made a mistake somewhere when creating a bootable USB flash drive. Read the instructions more carefully or look for another one - there are many ways to create bootable flash drives.

IN: I made a boot disk/flash drive, configured the BIOS, but it still boots from the hard drive.

ABOUT: Either you prepared the boot disk/flash drive incorrectly, or you configured the boot incorrectly. If you are unable to read the instructions carefully, consider whether you will do everything else correctly? Maybe it’s better to contact experienced people (service center)?

Conclusion

Using the information from this article, you can launch bootable disks on any computer or laptop - any LiveCD, installation disk with Windows or Linux, any bootable USB flash drive (if the BIOS supports booting from USB devices).

On modern computers, there are versions of BIOS (or UEFI) with support for a mouse, beautiful menus, and so on. Despite the different appearance, everything is configured according to the same principle as I gave above.

Don't forget after installation (or why else are you setting up the BIOS) to return the boot settings back so that the computer boots normally from the hard drive!