Tag: BIOS

Changing the boot order of your computer’s bootable devices, such as your hard drive, USB flash drive, floppy drive, or optical drive, is straightforward.

Why Change the Boot Order?

You may need to change the boot order for various reasons, such as when using data destruction tools, launching bootable antivirus programs, or installing a new operating system.

The BIOS setup utility is where you change boot order settings.

How to Change the Boot Order

Follow these steps to change the boot order in your BIOS. Adjusting the boot sequence changes the order in which devices are booted.

Step 1: Turn on or Restart Your Computer

Turn on or restart your computer and look for a message during the Power-On Self-Test POST that indicates a specific key, usually Del or F2, to press to access the BIOS setup utility. Press this key promptly when you see the message.

Step 2: Enter the BIOS Setup Utility

Once you’ve pressed the correct key, you’ll enter the BIOS Setup Utility.

BIOS utilities vary in appearance, so yours may look different. However, they all consist of menus containing various settings for your computer’s hardware.

In this BIOS example, menu options appear horizontally at the top, hardware options are central, and navigation instructions are at the bottom.

Following your BIOS utility’s navigation instructions, locate the option to change the boot order. In this example, the option is within the Boot menu.

Step 3: Find the Boot Order Options in BIOS

Locate and navigate to the boot order options in BIOS.

In most BIOS setup utilities, the options may resemble the provided screenshot.

Any bootable hardware connected to your motherboard, such as your hard drive, floppy drive, USB ports, and optical drive, will be listed.

The listed order of devices is the sequence your computer follows to locate operating system information, known as the “boot order.”

With the example order, the BIOS will first attempt to boot from devices identified as “hard drives,” typically referring to the computer’s internal hard drive.

If no hard drives are bootable, the BIOS will then check for bootable media in the CD-ROM drive, followed by any attached media, such as a flash drive, and lastly, it will check the network.

To change the first boot device, follow the directions on your BIOS setup utility screen. In this example, use the + and – keys to adjust the boot order.

Remember, your BIOS may have different instructions!

Step 4: Make Changes to the Boot Order

Next, you’ll make changes to the boot order.

As shown, the boot order has been changed from Hard Drive to CD-ROM Drive for demonstration.

BIOS will now look for a bootable disc in the optical disc drive first, before trying to boot from the hard drive, and also before trying to boot from any removable media like a floppy drive or flash drive, or a network resource.

Make the necessary boot order changes, then move to the next step to save your settings.

Step 5: Save Your BIOS Changes

To apply your preferences, save the changes in BIOS. Follow your utility’s instructions to navigate to the Exit or Save and Exit menu.

In this example, select Exit Saving Changes.

Step 6: Confirm Your Changes

Confirm and exit BIOS. You’ll likely see a confirmation prompt; select Yes.

Your boot order changes, and any other changes you may have made while in BIOS, are now saved and your computer will restart automatically.

Step 7: Start the Computer

Start your computer with the new boot order. Upon restart, the BIOS will attempt to boot from the first specified device. If it’s not bootable, it will proceed to the next device.