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Selecting to boot the operating system from a flash drive. Setting up the BIOS to boot from a flash drive

Previous articles described in detail how you can get into. But for what purpose is this needed? In most situations, entering the BIOS is required to change the default boot disk. This text discusses the method of booting from a disk or flash drive on several types of computers. The same principle applies to different devices. Moreover, its observance requires only a minimum of logic and care.

Two methods to boot from a disk or flash drive

In the first option it is proposed to put in SETUP(aka BIOS) the desired default boot device. In practice, it will look like this: whenever you turn on the computer, it will start with the specified equipment. If the device is inaccessible or not suitable for booting, the system will try to do so from the next one on the list, which can also be designated. If that doesn't work, the computer will move on to the third device, and so on.

The following method is supported by almost all modern laptops or desktop solutions. It is enough to turn on the menu to select the boot when starting the computer. In this way, the device is determined from which the system will start only once. This is a more convenient method in a situation where you need to boot the system from a flash drive one time.

When using the first method to select a boot device in the BIOS, you should go into it and see the available interface. If you are greeted by blue windows, then in front of you is Award, different in gray AMI, and the graphic design indicates UEFI. There are others. To decide, just study the screenshots and compare with your interface.

If you have an Award

Enter SETUP, go to " Advanced BIOS Features" As a standard, this item is placed second or third, starting from the top.


There are several options below. In one case, you need to find an item called something similar to “ Boot Seq & Floppy Setup».


In another situation, the required partitions can be seen immediately.


Now let's decide on the necessary items on the menu.


First Boot Device means the hardware from which the computer will first start.
Second Boot Device used by the system if the first device is not suitable for booting.
TO Third Boot Device the computer will switch if problems also arise with the second equipment on the list.

Any item like “X Boot Device” corresponds to a hard drive, flash drive, CD/DVD or other boot device.

If none of the options are suitable and Boot Other Device is set to Enabled, then the operating system will be searched for on other drives.

When you select next to any “X Boot Device” Hard Drive, i.e. hard drive, the Hard Disk Boot Priority item allows you to specify in more detail which specific drive to use. This point also applies to flash drives, since this type of boot device is defined by the computer as an external hard drive.

Therefore, to start from a DVD or CD, you need to assign “ATAPI CD” or “CDROM” in the “First Boot Device” item and not select anything else. However, to boot from a flash drive you need to not only click on “Hard Drive”, but also go to the “Hard Disk Boot Priority” section. There, using the “PageUp” and “PageDown” or “+” and “-” buttons, move the flash drive up to the very beginning of the list.


Please note! The flash drive is connected to the computer until it is rebooted or turned on. Otherwise, it is far from certain that the BIOS will see it.

The name of the flash drive may look different. Usually it starts with “USB...”, “Generic USB...”, and sometimes “External Device”. The results of all actions performed must be saved. Just press the " F10"(to clarify, look down the screen at the prompts: there should be the words "Save" and "Exit") or even return to the main menu and select " Save and Exit Setup" In the red window that appears, use the “Y” button to agree to “Yes” and press “Enter.”


The reboot will begin. When starting from a disk, the message “” may appear for a couple of seconds. Press any key to boot from CD or DVD…».


The literal translation of the phrase: “Press any key to load a CD or DVD...”. This means that you can press any button and the computer starts from the disks. If you do nothing, it will boot from the next equipment in the list.

Boot selection process in AMI BIOS

Such BIOSes have a completely different look compared to the Award version. First, go to SETUP and look for the section “ Boot» button to the right. There are two necessary points here, they can be clearly seen in the screenshot.


To boot from a hard drive or flash drive you need a tab Hard Disk Drives. Let's select it and put our flash drive (USB device) in the line “First Drive” (sometimes called “1st Drive”). After this, you should return to the previous section. Press the “ESC” button.


Then we go to Boot Device Priority. Select 1st Boot Device and again from the list - a flash drive.


Be careful, the selected devices must match! If in the first step you assign a hard drive, then you need to put it in the list not the flash drive, but it.

When you need to boot from a CD/DVD, you should select “CDROM” (sometimes “ATAPI CD-ROM”) in the same menu. Moreover, in this case, the “Hard Disk Drives” section is no longer needed. Save the settings with the " F10"or you can simply go to the "Exit" item and click " Exit Saving Changes».


A request appears, answer “OK”.

On different models of laptops and computers, everything is quite similar. For example, on a standard Lenovo laptop, the “Boot” section includes all the equipment at once, which is very convenient for users. No confusion with additional subsections and priority. To set the loading order of the equipment, you just need to use the “ F5/F6" Therefore, to start from a flash drive, simply move it to the very top.


Some users will find a detailed transcript useful.
  • USB HDD means an external hard drive or flash drive.
  • How ATAPI CD is defined is a CD or DVD-ROM.
  • HDD (sometimes ATA HDD) – hard drive.
  • USB FDD – external device for floppy disks.
  • USB CD – drive for external disks.
  • PCI LAN stands for Local Area Network Boot.
On Lenovo models belonging to the G500 line, press the OneKey Recovery button when the laptop is turned off.

Below you can clearly see the EFI BIOS (UEFI), which differs not only in its graphical interface, but also in its working mouse. If you have a computer with EFI, then when you enter the BIOS you will be greeted by this image.


There is a menu at the bottom of the screen Boot Priority. Here you can directly drag and drop the mouse to create the required loading order. In addition, by clicking the “Exit/Advanced mode” button located in the top right, you can go to the advanced version. To do this, select Advanced mode in the window that appears. Then find the “Boot” section and in the Boot Option Priorities tab, in the “Boot Option #1” field, put the required boot device: DVD-ROM, flash drive, hard drive or other available equipment.


But the computer owners Hewlett-Packard Usually the following picture awaits you when you go to the BIOS.


In the “Storage –> Boot order” menu section, find the required device and press “Enter”. Move it up and when it is at the beginning, also press “Enter”. To save the settings, select “File -> Save and Exit”.

Methods for booting from a disk or flash drive without entering the BIOS

It was already mentioned above that almost any modern laptops and computers are designed for one-time booting from the required device and for this there is no need to access the BIOS. You only need to press a certain button when you start your computer. For example, in this Award BIOS it is suggested to select “ F12"and call up the boot menu.


Usually something like “Press F12 Boot Menu” is written. This means: press "F12" to select boot hardware. We do this and see the image as in the screenshot below.


The list shows the found devices. Select a CD/DVD disk, flash drive or something else and press “Enter”. However, other options are possible in the AMI BIOS.


The inscription “Press F8 for BBS POPUP” requires pressing “F8” to display a menu with a choice. On laptops, you sometimes need the “F12” button to call it. The boot menu looks like the screenshot.


Just select what you need and wait for it to load from the CD or flash drive.

Possible difficulties when booting from USB devices

Problems sometimes arise and the computer does not boot. Let's look at common difficulties. First, make sure that the USB controller is not disabled in the BIOS. In Award, this information is checked in the “Integrated Peripherals” or “Advanced Chipset Features” item. You need to see the “USB Controller” and “USB Controller 2” functions; their status should be “Enabled”.


In the case of AMI, you need to find “USB 2.0 Controller” in the “Advanced” menu. The position should be “Enabled”. The "USB 2.0 Controller Mode" option requires the "HiSpeed" status.


In addition, the reason may lie in the sockets located on the front of the system unit panel. It's worth trying to connect a USB flash drive to the rear inputs of the computer.

If your SETUP resembles this photo, then in the “Startup” section, change the “UEFI/Legacy Boot” parameter to the “Legacy Only” position.


In addition, the problem may be with the disk or flash drive. Bootloaders are required! You can check this on another working computer.

For fairly old computers in general. If there is no newer BIOS version, then the PLOP solution may help. Download the latest version, unpack the archive. You will see the files, of which plpbt.iso is the image for the CD, and plpbt.img is for the floppy disk.

It is clear that if there is a floppy disk, then the corresponding image is written to it, and the image for the disk is placed on the CD-R/RW disk. You won’t be able to simply write the file to the media: there is special software for the image. This topic was described in the OS installation instructions. Then you start from a CD or floppy disk and select the device in the window. The method helps to boot from flash drives on the most ancient computers.

Summarize

You have studied a detailed guide to booting from a disk or flash drive in a variety of cases. If you need this just for once, then it is better to use a menu that does not require going to the BIOS. For constant downloads or if there is simply no such selection menu, then just fine-tune the BIOS. Don't forget to return everything later.

In order to follow the instructions below, you will need the bootable USB flash drive itself. The process of creating it is quite simple. You will need the flash device itself, software and data that you want to use when starting your personal computer.

The UltraISO program will be used during the preparation process.

Preparation steps:

  1. Download the program to your computer using any browser convenient for you.
  2. After the download is complete, start the installation process and follow the instructions provided by the Wizard window.

  3. Next, when the software installation is complete, you should open the program and insert your flash drive into the port of the system unit.

  4. In the program window, select the “File” tab, where using the “Open” item you open the data you need to record.

  5. In the “Boot” tab, left-click on the “Burn Hard Disk Image” item.

  6. In the window that appears, find the “Disk Drive” selection line, where the name of the flash device should be.
  7. To complete the procedure for creating a bootable USB flash drive, you need to left-click on the “Burn” button.

Working through the selection window

After you have created a bootable USB flash drive, connect it to a free port on the system unit and restart. When it starts, you need to methodically press the “F11” key; if nothing happens, then perhaps you have a different BIOS version, and you can try using the “F8”, “F10” or “F12” keys.

A window should appear to select how to boot an external device, where you will need to use the arrows on the keyboard to select the name of the flash drive.

Work throughBIOS

If you have problems with the previous method, then there is a reliable option - working through.

On a note! BIOS versions are different and each of them requires a special series of actions, but the principle of operation remains the same. In order to understand which version of BOIS you have on your PC, you must first call up the main menu and look at the similarities with the versions presented below.

To get started, you need to insert the flash drive into any free port in the system unit, restart the computer and frequently press the “Del” or “F2” key when the computer starts. If nothing happened and the operating system started up, then restart the computer and look at the prompts, which should contain the names of the keys, for example “Tab” or “F1”. This already depends on the BIOS version and manufacturer.

VersionAMI BIOS

If, after manipulating the keys, this image appears on your monitor, then, undoubtedly, the BIOS version is installed on your personal computer - AMI.

Important! Before setting launch priority, you need to verify the functionality of the two functions.


Now it’s time to set boot priorities:


VersionAWARD BIOS

Enter the BIOS using the steps described earlier. If this picture is on your screen, then follow the following plan:

  1. Go to the “Integrated Peripherals” line using the arrow keys on your keyboard. The “USB Controller” and “USB 2.0 Controller” functions must be set to “Enable”.

  2. Next, go back up a level by pressing the “Esc” button once and select “Advanced BIOS Features.”

  3. After entering the menu from the list of available functions, you will need the “Hard Disk Boot Priority” item, where you will set your flash memory as a priority for loading. This is done in a simple way. Using the arrows, select the name of the flash drive and by pressing the “+” key, raise this name to the first position.

  4. You need to press "Esc" to perform the last action. Find the “First Boot Device” item in the “Advanced BIOS Features” section, and change the previous value to “USB-HDD”.

  5. Then it remains to exit the BIOS, while saving the settings.

VersionPhoenix-Award Bios

After entering the BIOS, you should have the following picture if the BIOS version is Phoenix-Award.

The procedure is almost the same as in the previous version:


Video - How to set boot from a flash drive in BIOS

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 the 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 start 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

Quite often, owners or users of laptops have to boot into the BIOS from a flash drive. Especially if the device does not have a CD/DVD drive, but you need to install a new operating system (OS) or install fresh drivers and anti-virus software. Therefore, in this article we will tell you in detail how to set boot from a flash drive in the BIOS on laptops from a variety of manufacturers (HP, msi, sony, dell, acer, etc.).

So, to enable booting from a flash drive in the bios on a laptop, you need to:


Do not forget that in the BIOS we can navigate through sections, tabs and lines only using the buttons on the keyboard. The mouse won't help you.

However, BIOS versions are different for all laptop manufacturers and models. Therefore, the algorithm of actions listed above is not suitable for all devices. For example, if you go to the BIOS and see a similar interface, then you have Award Bios.

Then it’s best to launch a bootable USB flash drive like this:

  1. Go to the “Integrated Peripherals” section.
  2. Approximately in the middle of the screen, use the arrows on the keyboard to find the “USB Controller” item.
  3. Press Enter. In the window, select the “Enable” value.
  4. Please note that the “USB Controller 2.0” line also contains “Enable”.
  5. Press Esc. Let's leave this section. Then we go to “Advanced BIOS Features”. The name translates as additional or advanced settings. Here we need the “Hard Disk Boot Priority” item.
  6. Let's go in and see what's in first place. It must be a flash drive, not a hard drive. Therefore, select the USB card and use the “+” button to lift it up.
  7. Press Esc. Select the line “First Boot Device” and set the value to “USB-HDD” (or USB-FDD, if the first option fails to boot from a flash drive into the bios on the laptop).
  8. Click Esc again. Select “Save & Exit Setup”, then press the Y key.

There are also other BIOS versions. These are both Phoenix-Award BIOS and AMI Bios. True, all of them are found only on old laptops with not the most “fresh” motherboards. How to configure booting from a flash drive for such devices? All the same. Only the names of the sections and items in the BIOS menu differ. The algorithm of actions and settings is as similar as possible.

For reference! As we have already noted, in order to install booting from a flash drive in the BIOS, you need to “disable” the Secure Boot protocol. However, on many Lenovo laptops this is not enough. You may also need to enable compatibility mode. It is called differently. Therefore, look for CSM/CSM Boot, UEFI and Legacy OS, Legacy BIOS, Legacy Support, etc.

How to boot a laptop from a flash drive via UEFI?

Many modern computer devices (especially those with the latest versions of Windows) are equipped with a new boot interface. It's called UEFI. Working with this “option” of BIOS is a little easier. In addition, you can use the mouse here. However, despite the fact that the new interface is more intuitive, not all users know how to work with it. Therefore, we will briefly describe the entire procedure.

For example, to boot from a flash drive on an HP laptop to UEFI, you need to:

  1. When booting the device, press the ESC key several times. Then F10 to get into Bios Setup.
  2. Now at the very bottom of the window find the Boot Priority section.
  3. Just drag the icon in the form of a flash drive to the first place with your mouse.
  4. Another option is to click on “Exit/Advanced mode”, then confirm the transition to advanced mode by selecting Advanced Mode. Next, complete the setup.

However, there are also quite a few versions of UEFI. There are also Russified versions. As a rule, it’s even easier to set boot from a flash drive here:

  1. First you need to go to the “Download” section. Sometimes it is made in the form of a subsection. Then you should look for it in additional settings.
  2. Just select “Disk loading order”.
  3. In boot priority, put the flash drive first.
  4. Press F10. Save changes, .

We will also tell you how to boot from a flash drive on devices with Gigabyte motherboards (they are preferred by many popular manufacturers - Acer, Lenovo, Samsung, etc.), on which UEFI BIOS is quite common.

  1. Let's go to BIOS. You already know how this is done. The easiest way is to press “Delete”, “F2” or “Esc” at the initial boot stage.
  2. Next, visit the “BIOS Features” tab.
  3. At the very bottom of the window, click on “Hard Drive BBS Priorities”.
  4. In the line “Boot Option 1” you need to put our flash drive instead of the hard drive. Therefore, in “Boot Option 2” the hard drive – HDD – will have to appear.
  5. We save and exit.

How else can you boot from a flash drive on a laptop?

Through the computer's BIOS is not the only option. For example, it is possible to boot from a flash drive on an Asus, Toshiba, Samsung, etc. laptop and through a special boot menu. It's called the Boot Menu (by the way, it's also part of the BIOS). You can enter it during the initial loading phase. You just need to press Esc, F8, F11 or F12 quite often. Which key exactly depends on the manufacturer of the motherboard and the BIOS version used in it.

Once in the Boot Menu, you need to select and enable boot from a flash drive using the arrows on the keyboard. Then all you have to do is press Enter. Agree, it’s quite convenient and simple. However, it is not always possible to go to the boot menu. The fact is that on some laptop models the Boot Menu option is deactivated in the BIOS. Therefore, additional steps are required to enable it.

It is worth paying attention to one more point. The Boot Menu does not have a unified design. It can also be called differently: “MultiBoot Menu”, “BBS Popup”, “Boot Agent”, etc. However, any boot menu contains a list of devices from which booting can be done.

Possible problems

At first glance, booting a laptop from a flash drive is not difficult. However, some problems can always arise. Therefore, we decided to describe the most frequent of them. In addition, we will tell you how to eliminate them.


Please note that very old laptops may not be able to boot from USB flash drives at all. Then you need to either upgrade the device by installing a new motherboard and software, or think about purchasing a new computer.

Hello friends! Today I will talk about how to BIOS configure booting from a flash drive, and what to do if this same flash drive is not displayed in the BIOS settings. I already wrote an article about that, but today I want to write in more detail about that how to boot from a USB drive, having previously configured the BIOS.

What is it for? Well, if you are reading this, then I think you already know why you need it. Well, if not, then I’ll tell you a secret: you can create bootable flash drives and install operating systems from them or launch other bootable disk images, for example. This is very convenient; flash drives are more resistant to mechanical damage compared to disks, and they can have more memory.

Before you start writing the instructions, be sure to read the article, it says how to enter the BIOS.

So, you have already created a bootable USB flash drive and are ready to boot from it. First of all, we need to configure the system so that our flash drive comes first, and the system starts from it first. There is one joke here, through which questions arise such as the flash drive is not displayed in the BIOS settings.

Does BIOS not boot from a flash drive?

It's very simple, when the USB device is not connected to the computer, it will not appear in the boot options.

Setting boot from flash drive in BIOS

We do this: connect the flash drive, go to the BIOS (if you don’t know how, read the article above, usually these are the DELETE or F2 keys). And go to the page with setting the order of boot devices. I'll just show screenshots. Remember, everything may look different for you, and menu items may have different names. Look for the item with the word “Boot”.

If the flash drive is connected, we will see it in the list.

Now we need to install the flash drive in first place in the boot list. To do this, press “Enter” and select “” .

We save all our changes by pressing F10 and restart the computer. If everything is done correctly and the USB drive is created correctly, the USB drive will begin loading. It may indeed be that USB is not displayed in the settings, most likely because you have an old computer and it does not support this function.

After a boring story about setting up the BIOS, I would like to advise you to think about the security of your home or office, and video surveillance, in my opinion, is the best means of protection. Moreover, with new technologies you can install IP video cameras, which will give you many new and modern opportunities. For example, creating a network from several cameras and even broadcasting the video to the Internet.

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Updated: January 12, 2015 by: admin