Little by little, the discs are becoming obsolete. Increasingly, the question of loading operating system from a flash drive. Or such a need arises due to technical reasons. For example, in a portable PC, the drive is out of order. In this case, booting a laptop from a USB flash drive will help out. Thus, you can work with netbooks, in which the drive is simply not provided. However, it’s not enough just to put information on a USB flash drive, first you need to format it and turn it into a bootable one. Let's deal with everything in order.
What is download
If it’s quite simple, then downloading is sending programs or any data in general to a computer from a device connected to it. Why are we talking about loading the operating system every time the PC is turned on? Because in this context HDD(from which the OS is sent for direct work already in random access memory) acts as a connected device. Both the drive and the flash drive are perceived as the same connected device.
Therefore, in fact, it is absolutely indifferent for a computer or laptop where the necessary information comes from. Will it be booting from a flash drive or directly from the hard drive. It's all about BIOS settings.
How to boot from flash drive
BIOS is an abbreviation of English words that translate as basic input / output system. And she has a strict order of tasks. By default, your computer will first try to boot from a floppy (historically). Then he will turn to the drive. Then comes the turn of the hard drive. But booting from a USB flash drive in the BIOS is either in last place (which you can’t get to bypassing the hard drive), or it’s not provided at all. To correct this situation, you need to change the priority of the system. It's easy to do.
You can enter BIOS only when you start the computer until the download starts. The buttons for entering almost every manufacturer are individual. Ideally, it would be correct to look at the documentation for the motherboard. But, based on the fact that ideal situations in our lives are extremely rare, just try to ask Google (or Yandex - it’s more familiar to you) which key will allow your computer model to enter the BIOS. And in the most extreme case, you can use the "scientific poke" method. That is, successively try all possible combinations. There are not so many of them - these are the Esc, Del, F2, F8, F9, F10, F11, F12 keys.
For example, take an Asus laptop. Booting from a USB flash drive should be a priority for him. When starting the computer, continuously press the F2 key (if it does not work, try Del). This will take you to the BIOS. You can only use the keyboard to navigate here. Use the arrow keys and the Enter key.
Go to the tab that says Boot (it means "boot"). There you are interested in the line Boot Device Priority ("priority of boot devices"). After confirming the selection of this line by pressing the Enter key, you will see a numbered list. On the first line, the second column will say Floppy Drive (“floppy drive”) in square brackets. The second position is Hard Drive (“hard drive”), and the third one is Disabled (“disabled”).
When any line is selected, a window appears with a list of possible assignments. In addition to those described above, you can install a CDROM ("disk drive") or USB Device ("device connected via USB port"). This is exactly what is required in order for boot from a USB flash drive to be activated in the BIOS. After you set the new command priority, press the F10 key and confirm your choice by clicking on "Ok" in the window that appears. After these changes in BIOS, booting from a USB flash drive will be carried out automatically.
USB media preparation
However, if you just throw it on the program, nothing will work. In order for the computer to boot from a USB flash drive correctly, the flash drive must be bootable. This can be achieved either by using special programs, or by writing the necessary tasks on the command line. First, consider two popular programs. We will not dwell on the fact that to begin with the program must be installed on a computer. Let's go straight to work directly with her.
A few words about the ISO format
Don't just try to copy the files. Be sure to find in ISO format. The fact is that the creators of programs often use copy protection in some files. This will be enough to make the whole program not work. And the peculiarity of the disk image in ISO is that each byte is copied sequentially there. Conventionally, this can be illustrated by the difference between a picture painted by an artist and a digital photograph. They can display the same object, but the photo will still be more accurate. So, in order for the download from the USB flash drive to be successful, you need exactly the “photo” - the image ISO disc.
How to work with UltraISO
- The program must be opened using administrator rights, otherwise nothing will work. To do this, click on the icon right click mice. In the menu that opens, select "Run as administrator".
- After that, expand the "File" menu (the top line is the first position) and give the command "Open ...". Or, if you prefer using the keyboard, press Ctrl + O.
- At this point, the operating system in ISO format should already be in the computer's memory. Select it by pressing the left mouse button.
- Now go to the "Boot" menu. This is the third position on the top row.
- Give the command "Burn an image of the Hard disk ..." (next to the desired line is the icon of a four-color shield).
- Carefully check the information that will appear in the pop-up window. Special attention refer to "Writing Method". It should say: USB-HDD +.
- Click on the "Record" button (bottommost row).
- Do not be afraid of the warning that all information will be erased. Confirm that you wish to continue.
- After that, the recording process will begin, during which the window will indicate the data on what stage the recording is at. You will need to wait a few minutes.
- Soon the program will please you with the message "Recording completed!".
Do not be afraid of such a voluminous description. In practice, everything happens easier than it looks. It's just that this detailed explanation will save you time (and possibly nerves) when you first get acquainted with the program.
Windows7 USB/DVD Download Tool
Once you install the Windows7 USB/DVD Download Tool on your computer, there are only three steps to take. simple steps. Remember that the program must be opened with administrator rights.
- Step one: in the window that opens, the program will ask original file(source file). Click the Browse and Next buttons.
- Step two: Choose media type ("select media type"). You have a choice of USB device (flash drive) and DVD (disk). Choose the first type.
- Step three: specify the path to the flash drive and click Begin copying (“start copying”).
The program will do the rest on its own. You just have to wait until the end of the copying process.
Although, at first glance, this program seems easier to use, it would be useful to know that there were times when booting Windows 7 from a USB flash drive written by the above program simply did not start. This doesn't always happen. But if you run into a similar problem, just use UltraISO. Booting Windows from a flash drive written by this program always works correctly.
Using your own resources
However, perhaps without resorting to any additional programs. It will suffice to ask desired parameters on the command line.
Left-click on the "Start" button (the icon with the Windows logo in the lower left corner of the desktop). In the search bar, type the word "execute". In the list that opens, select the "Run" program. In most cases, it will be first on the list. In the field that appears, enter You called command line. And now we will describe how to act with it.
Working with the command line
We will work to ensure that on the laptop we have a boot from a USB flash drive. Acer Aspire will serve as a prototype. If you did everything correctly, the following line should appear: С:\Users\ACER>. In this line, enter (call a utility that manages partitions on a hard drive). The computer will provide the requested information. In the case of Acer Aspire, it looks like this:
- Microsoft DiskPart version 6.1.7601.
- Microsoft Corporation, 1999-2008.
- On the computer: Acer-V5_PC.
- DISKPART>.
Enter the following command: list disk (request a list of available disk drives). A table will appear with a list of disks whose numbering starts from zero. See what number is assigned to the removable media you have chosen (the size column will help determine). In our example, this will be "Disk 1". Type in the line: select disk 1 (“select disk 1”). Remember that the number may differ depending on what position your computer has determined for the flash drive. A confirmation should appear:
- Disk 1 selected.
- DISKPART>.
- create partition primary ("create a primary partition");
- select partition 1 ("select partition 1");
- active ("make active");
- format fs=NTFS ("format to NTFS system").
Wait until the process score reaches 100%. At this stage, if desired, you can assign an individual volume letter to the flash drive. Although this is not required. But if you decide to name it, enter: assign letter = T (“assign the letter T”). You can choose any letter. And the final touch is the Exit command.
What else needs to be done before installation
After all the preparatory work has been done, you can proceed directly to installing the operating system. Let's try to avoid all the pitfalls in this process.
So, first of all, let's remember that Windows download from the flash drive will be made to the C:\ drive. Therefore, it is necessary to important information save from there either to another disk or to removable media. All information on this disk will be lost.
The same goes for all software. However, it is better not just to move the programs to an adjacent disk, but to reinstall them again. This will allow you not to clog the system registry once again.
Pay special attention to drivers. In some cases, they are attached to a computer or laptop, but sometimes they need to be installed or updated. Be sure to save the drivers from the C:\ drive to any other drive. Otherwise, after the download from the USB flash drive has already been completed, you may regretfully find that, for example, the Internet connection is not supported due to the lack of the correct driver. Therefore, after installing the operating system, the first step is to re-equip your computer or laptop with all the drivers.
Booting Windows 7 from a flash drive
Installing an operating system is not such a terrible and complicated action as it might seem at first glance. Especially with this detailed step by step instructions you have nothing to fear at all. Just be careful and do not confirm the action if you do not understand why it is needed.
If you have already prioritized booting from a flash drive, just restart your computer (the flash drive, of course, must be connected). It should appear with an inscription at the bottom: Windows is loading files ... ("Windows is loading files"). This means that the process of copying data from the media has begun.
Soon the inscription Starting Windows will appear, after which you will see the installation window already on the usual colored background. The first thing you will be asked to choose is your preferred language, time format, and keyboard layout. Everything is selected without problems from the pop-up lists. Click the "Next" button. On the next window, you are only interested in the "Install" button (it is located in the middle of the screen). Press. Then accept the terms license agreement(Tick the box and click Next.)
The next step is to select the installation type. You need full installation(second option). Now the computer will offer you disks on which you can install the system. It is preferable to choose one that allows you to reserve at least 50 GB of space for Windows. Select it by clicking the left mouse button. Below you will see a list of actions that can be performed with this disk. Click "Create". IN this moment we make a partition that will store the operating system. You will see the size data (don't be alarmed by the huge number - it's megabytes). Click Apply.
The system will warn that, in addition to this section, it will create additional ones. This is fine. Agree ("Ok" button) - and click "Next". This is where the installation process really begins. It is quite long, it can take something like half an hour. During installation, the system will reboot itself several times. However, no action is required from you.
After the installation is complete, there will be only a couple of touches left. You will be prompted to enter a username and computer, set a password (you can skip this step) and enter an activation key (you can skip this too, but you still have to activate the program within 30 days). The last step is to set the time and date.
Congratulate Yourself - download from Windows flash drives was successful!
In order to follow the instructions below, you need the bootable USB flash drive itself. The process of creating it is quite simple. You will need the flash device itself, software and the data you want to use when starting up the personal computer.
In the process of preparation, the program "UltraISO" will be used.
Preparation steps:
- Download the program to your computer using any browser convenient for you.
- After the download is complete, start the installation process and follow the instructions that the "Wizard-window" provides.
- Next, when the software installation is completed, you should open the program and insert your flash drive into the port system block.
- In the program window, select the "File" tab, where using the "Open" item you open the data you need to record.
- In the "Boot" tab, left-click on the item "Burn Hard Disk Image".
- In the window that appears, find the "Disk Drive" selection line, where the name of the flash device should be.
- To complete the creation process bootable flash drive you need to left-click on the "Record" 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 starting it, you need to methodically press the "F11" key, if nothing happens, then you may have a different BIOS version, and you can try using the "F8", "F10" or "F12" keys.
A window should appear for selecting the boot of 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 - work 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 what version of BOIS you have on your PC, you must first call the main menu and see the similarity with the versions below.
To get started, you need to insert a flash drive into any free port in the system unit, restart the computer and, at the time the computer starts, often press the "Del" or "F2" key. If nothing happened, and the process of starting the operating system started, then restart the computer again and look at the prompts in which the names of the keys should be written, for example, “Tab” or “F1”. It already depends on the BIOS version and manufacturer.
VersionAMI BIOS
If, after the manipulations with the keys, this image appeared on your monitor, then, undoubtedly, on your personal computer The BIOS version is set to AMI.
Important! Before setting the launch priority, you need to check the performance of the two functions.
Now it's the turn 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:
- Go to the "Integrated Peripherals" line using the arrows on your keyboard. The "USB Controller" and "USB 2.0 Controller" functions must have "Enable" values.
- Next, go back up a level by pressing the "Esc" button once and select "Advanced BIOS Features".
- 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 booting. It's 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.
- You need to press "Esc" to execute last action. We find the item "First Boot Device" in the "Advanced BIOS Features" section, and change the previous value to "USB-HDD".
- 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 boot from a USB flash drive in BIOS
In past articles, it was described in detail how you can get into the BIOS on different models laptops and computers. But what is the purpose of this? In most situations, entering BIOS is required to change the default boot disk.
IN this text understands how to boot from a disk or flash drive on several computer options. On different devices the same principle applies. Moreover, its observance requires only a minimum of logic and attentiveness.
Two methods to boot from a disk or flash drive
In the first option, it is proposed to put in SETUP(aka BIOS) desired device to load by default. In practice, it will look like this: every time you turn on the computer, it will start from the specified hardware. In case the device is unavailable or not suitable for booting, the system will try to do it from the next one in 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 during the start of the computer to select the boot. Thus, 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 USB flash drive once.
When using the first method to select a boot device in BIOS, you should go into it and see the available interface. If you are met by blue windows, then in front of you - Award, differs 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". By default, this item is placed second or third, starting from the top.
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 start in the first place.
Second boot device used by the system in the event that the first device is not suitable for booting.
TO Third Boot Device the computer will pass if the second equipment in the list also has problems.
Any item from such "X Boot Device" corresponds to a hard drive, flash drive, CD / DVD disc or other device for booting.
If none of the options fit and the Boot Other Device is set to Enabled, then the operating system will be searched for on other drives.
When you select opposite any "X Boot Device" Hard Drive, i.e. hard drive, the Hard Disk Boot Priority item allows you to specify in more detail which particular disk to use. This point also applies to flash drives, since this type of boot device is defined by the computer as an external type of hard drive.
Therefore, to start with DVD disc or CD is required in the "First Boot Device" item to assign "ATAPI CD" or "CDROM" and do not select anything else. However, to boot from a USB 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 connects 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 result of all actions performed must be saved. All you have to do is press the " F10" (for clarification, 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 with "Yes" and press "Enter".
The literal translation of the phrase: "Press any key to load CD or DVD ...". This means that you can press any button and the computer starts from disks. If nothing is done, 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 option. To begin with, we get into 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 put a boot from a hard disk or flash drive, you need a tab Hard Disk Drives. We select it and in the line “First Drive” (sometimes called “1st Drive”) we put our flash drive (USB device). After that, you should return to the previous section. Let's press the "ESC" button.
Then we move on to Boot Device Priority. We select 1st Boot Device and again from the list - a USB flash drive.
Be careful, the selected devices must match! If a hard disk is assigned in the first step, then you need to put it in the list not a 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. And in this case, the “Hard Disk Drives” section is no longer needed. Save the settings with the " F10" or you can just go to the "Exit" item and press " Exit Saving Changes».
A prompt will appear, answer "OK".
On different models of laptops and computers, everything is quite similar. For example, on standard laptop from Lenovo, the "Boot" section includes all the equipment at once, which is very convenient for users. Eliminated confusion with additional subsections and priority. To set the boot order of the equipment, you just need to use the keys " F5/F6". Therefore, to start from a flash drive, simply advance it to the very top.
Some users will need a detailed transcript.
- USB HDD means external hard disk or flash drive.
- How ATAPI CD is defined is CD or DVD-ROM.
- HDD (sometimes ATA HDD) is a hard drive.
- USB FDD - external device for diskettes.
- USB CD is an external drive.
- PCI LAN stands for LAN Boot.
On models from Lenovo belonging to the G500 line, you must press the OneKey Recovery button when the laptop is turned off.
Below you can clearly see the BIOS EFI (UEFI), which differs not only GUI, but also a working mouse. If you have a computer with EFI, then when you enter the BIOS, you will be greeted by such an image.
Menu at the bottom of the screen Boot Priority. Here you can directly drag and drop the mouse to make the required boot order. In addition, by pressing the "Exit/Advanced mode" button located in the upper 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 owners of computers Hewlett Packard usually waiting for the next picture when going to the BIOS.
In the menu section “Storage –> Boot order” find the required device and press “Enter”. Move it up and when it is at the beginning, press "Enter" too. To save the settings, select "File -> Save and Exit".
Ways to boot from a disk or flash drive without entering BIOS
It has already been mentioned above that almost any modern laptops and computers are designed for a one-time boot from the required device and for this you do not need to go to BIOS. You only need to press a certain button when you start your computer. For example, in this BIOS Award it is proposed to select " F12» and bring up the boot menu.
Usually written something like "Press F12 boot menu". This means: press "F12" to select boot hardware. We do this and see the image, as in the screenshot below.
The list contains the found devices. Select a CD / DVD drive, USB 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" for a menu with a choice to appear. On laptops, sometimes you need the F12 button to call it. The boot menu looks like in the screenshot.
It is enough to select the required one and wait for the download from a CD or USB flash drive.
Possible difficulties when booting from USB devices
Problems sometimes arise and the computer does not boot. Let's take a look at the common problems. First, make sure that USB controller not disabled in BIOS. In Award, this information is checked in the "Integrated Peripherals" or "Advanced Chipset Features" item. You need to see the function "USB Controller" and "USB Controller 2" 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 in front of the system unit panel. It is 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 in 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 more new version BIOS, then the PLOP solution can help. Download the latest version of Plop boot manager, unzip 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. Simply writing the file to media will not work: there is special software for the image. This topic was described in the instructions for installing the OS. Then you start from a CD or floppy disk, select the device in the window. The method helps to boot from flash drives on the most ancient computers.
Summarize
you studied detailed guide by loading from a disk or flash drive in a variety of cases. If you only need this once, then it is better to use a menu that does not require going to BIOS. At constant downloads or if there is simply no such selection menu, then just configure the BIOS well. Don't forget to return everything later.
Hi all! Today I'm going to tell you how to change the boot order of your computer/laptop devices so that you can boot from an autoboot USB flash drive, CD/DVD, or external hard disk.
Without the knowledge that you will master after reading this article, there is nothing to do in software repair of a computer. - the first step in operations such as Windows installation, hardware diagnostics, data recovery, etc.
So, let's begin.
I think this article on the site would be incomplete if I didn’t tell you first how to get into this very BIOS and what it is, in short.
talking in simple terms, BIOS- this is a program "hardwired" into a special microcircuit of the motherboard, which controls the initial boot of the computer and all hardware devices ("hardware"). After pressing the power button, it does a test of all the components of the computer, and only then, if everything is fine, passes the baton of loading into the hands of the operating system.
There are several types of bios that manufacturers put on their motherboards. The main ones are Award, Phoenix, AMI.
So we found out that bios is loaded on the computer in the first place before the OS is loaded. Accordingly, you need to try to get into it immediately after turning on the computer by pressing a certain key. You must press it before Windows boot, so if you saw the logo of your operating system on the screen, you didn’t have time (or pressed the wrong key). You need to shut down/restart your computer and try again.
You also need to enter different bios in different ways. Usually, when you turn it on, at the beginning of the computer boot, something like “ Press DEL to run Setup". But it often happens that instead of useful information just a splash screen with the manufacturer's label appears on the screen, and you have to blindly enter the BIOS, going through several options for the keys.
On motherboard desktop computers most often bios is called by pressing the keys DEL or F2 . On laptops, keys can be used to enter bios F1, F2, F10, DEL, ESC. Experiment.
Nuance, if you can’t go into bios: for some laptops (this is what Lenovo likes to do) - the F1-F12 keys are by default in the "functional" mode, and you need to press not just F2, but Fn+F2.
This is in short. More details about different types bios, their settings, and flashing the BIOS, I will definitely tell you in a separate article on the blog site.
How to configure BIOS to boot from external devices?
We are looking for BOOT MENU.
First you need to find BOOT menu. This menu looks different in different BIOSes. Looking for something like this:
Boot
Boot Settings Configuration
First/Second /Third Boot Device
Boot Device Priority
Boot Sequence
This menu can be called differently and be in different places, but the meaning does not change much.
How to change the boot order in the BOOT menu?
After you find the boot menu in your bios, you need to change the boot order so that the device you want to boot from (flash drive or CD-ROM) is at the top of the list.
There are several options here.
- Select the desired device and move it up by pressing the + or - keys on the keyboard.
- Use the F5, F6 buttons to move.
- Select the first line, press Enter, select the device to boot first.
- In new BIOSes (with mouse control), it is possible to select the boot order of devices by simply dragging and dropping the mouse.
If you speak English a little, you can usually see hints on the right or by pressing F1.
Calling the boot menu without changing the BIOS settings.
It happens that we are lucky, and it is possible to select a device for booting without digging into the BIOS settings. 
When loading, look for an inscription on the screen like:
Press
change boot order
Press F11 to Enter Boot menu
F9 - Boot Device Option
Feel free to press the indicated button and choose where you want to download from - it will save you time!
Sometimes you can enable download via F12 in the bios by changing the value of the parameter
on Enabled.
This option is often found in Phoenix bios, in the Main or Boot tabs.
How to put boot from CD/DVD in BIOS?
There should be no difficulties at this point, just put the CDROM in the topmost line of the boot-menu (specify it as First Boot Device):
How to boot from a flash drive or external hard drive?
With USB flash drives, everything is a little more complicated. The fact is that, in fact, an autoloading USB flash drive is no different from hard drive our computer. Accordingly, we need to change not the boot order of computer devices, but hard drive boot order.
To do this, you need to find the item in the boot menu " Hard Disk Boot Priority" or " Hard Disk Drives". Having entered this item, you should see your hard drive and your flash drive. Swap them so that the flash drive is on top.
Then take a look device boot order- the first place should be downloading from the Hard Drive (which your flash drive has now become).
In the photo below, I show how to put a boot from a Kingston flash drive into AMI bios (ASUS laptop eee pc 1215b): 
In some BIOSes (mainly on old computers and laptops), you need to put in the first place in the boot list exactly usb device, it can be something like External Device, USB-HDD, USB-Drive, etc. Try different options and you will succeed!
Do not forget to save our settings before exiting the BIOS by finding the menu item " Save & Exit Setup", or by pressing the F10, Y, Enter keys.
If, after completing the manipulations with the boot device, the operating system stops loading, just return the boot from the internal hard drive of your computer to the first place 😉 You already know how to do this!
So, in this article of the blog site, we have learned, how to set boot from CD / DVD disk, USB flash drive, external HDD, and from any other device.
If you do not understand something - ask questions in the comments, I will be happy to answer them!
How to download from a flash drive old computer, which does not have an option to boot from USB devices in the BIOS settings? Today all modern computer devices this possibility is provided, because they are modern, but if not in the homes of users, then at least in budget institutions there are still old builds of PCs that can only boot from CD / DVDs, floppy disks or over the network. To deal with such limitations, free program Plop Boot Manager. This is a bootloader with its own menu, which, in particular, provides for the ability to boot from USB media.
The program can be installed in boot record MBR of the hard disk, and the bootable media selection menu will appear every time the computer is booted. Another way to use Plop Boot Manager is to burn its disk image to a blank and use it only in cases where it becomes necessary to boot from a USB flash drive. Once recorded, such a disc will serve as a bridge connecting the computer and USB devices for their interaction. Boot from a flash drive - be it installation disk operating system, be it a resuscitation or anti-virus Live-Disk - it will be possible by selecting it among the boot options for the Plop Boot Manager environment. Whereas the latter will appear on the screen after setting the computer to boot from a CD / DVD.
To create a CD / DVD with the Plop Boot Manager boot menu, we need to download its distribution kit for writing to a blank disc. We go to the official website of the program and download the archive from latest version Plop Boot Manager.
Unpack the archive.
Of the files in the archive, we only need an ISO disk image. The rest of the contents of the archive with the installation files of Plop Boot Manager in the boot record of the hard disk in our case is not needed.
The next step is to write the disk image to a disc. For these purposes, a lot of different software is provided, you can also use standard Windows tools.
A regular CD / DVD burner will require a minimum of effort.
We boot the computer from the recorded disk, setting the boot priority from the drive in the BIOS.
An important point: the USB flash drive must be inserted into the USB port before the Plop Boot Manager menu is loaded.
The Plop Boot Manager menu is primitive and minimalist. Navigation in the bootloader environment is carried out with the navigation keys "" "↓", and the choice of boot option is carried out with the Enter key.
Among the possible actions we will see:
- Setup- bootloader setup;
- About- information about the version of Plop Boot Manager;
- shutdown- shutdown the computer;
- HDA Partition#— loading from this or that partition of the disk;
- USB- booting from a USB flash drive, in fact, is what we need.
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