Most often, we remember about the BIOS (Basic Input / Output System) only when we need to reinstall the operating system and need to somehow set it to boot from a disk or flash drive. I often wrote about this in articles such as:, and others. Now I want to gather together and refer only to this article when necessary. This article will be useful for all BIOS versions and for different companies. A sort of single guide
The first thing you need to know is that the BIOS is divided by manufacturer and version.
To change boot method in BIOS- you need to enter it first.
You can, of course, find out what version and manufacturer of your BIOS is from the manual that comes with your computer.
You can also find out by looking at the line at the top on the black screen during boot (the manufacturer will be indicated there).
Well, then enter the BIOS, knowing what it is for you.
In some BIOS versions there is no such screen showing lines. There is just a logo there and something like "Press F2 to enter SETUP" is written below, which means we press F2. If there is just a logo and there are no inscriptions - press ESC, and then del or f2
Here is a small list of manufacturers and keyboard shortcuts for entering BIOS:
Also, at the bottom of the black screen, keys are written to enter the BIOS and to display a list that contains available devices for booting and so that you can boot from it. But about him at the end of the article.
As you can see - most often you need to press the key F2 or Del.
Now you need to put a USB flash drive or disk into the boot.
Let's look at several examples that differ from the BIOS manufacturer.
Configuring Award Bios to boot from a USB flash drive or disk:
The main window is like this, in which we need the second item:
Further depends on the firmware version. In one case, you will need to go to an item similar to "Boot Seq & Floppy Setup"
in another case, you don’t need to go anywhere - everything will be in front of your eyes anyway
clicks on First boot device(First boot device), click Enter and this window will appear
in which you need to select a disk or flash drive that will be launched first. You can specify the Second boot device, for example, but usually the BIOS itself fills in this data.
On a note:
If you choose a flash drive, then, among other things, you also need to go to the "Hard Disk Boot Priority" item and move our flash drive to the very top using the "+" and "-" or "PageUp" and "PageDown" buttons:
It is also worth remembering that in order for the BIOS to see the USB flash drive, you need to connect it before turning it on or before rebooting
Then press "F10" (see the exact key in the prompt at the bottom of the screen with the name "Save", "Exit") or go to the main BIOS menu and select the "Save and Exit Setup" item. In the red box, select "Yes" with the "Y" button on the keyboard and press "Enter"
The computer will restart and when booting from the Windows installation disk, such a request may appear for a few seconds “Press any key to boot from CD or DVD…”
Which translates to "Press any button to boot from CD or DVD."
This means that if at this moment you do not press any button on the keyboard, the computer will continue to boot from the next device in the list.
Another variation of this bios:
I only met this on old computers ten years ago until 2003. The main menu looks like this:
To set the boot order, you need to go to the menu BIOS FEATURES SETUP:
At this point, we just select with the PageUp and PageDown buttons (or Enter and arrows) what to set first - a CDROM or a USB flash drive. DO NOT forget about the second and third device
And further:
How to choose what to boot from in AMI BIOS
If, upon entering BIOS, you see such a screen, then you have AMI BIOS:
Using the right arrow key on the keyboard, move to the Boot tab:
We go to "Hard Disk Drives" and in the line "1st Drive" (may be called "First Drive") select a disk or flash drive:
Next, go to "Boot Device Priority", go to "1st Boot Device" and select from the list what you chose in the previous tab (i.e. if you chose a USB flash drive in Hard Disk Drives, then you need to specify it here. This is important! )
To boot from a CD/DVD disc, you need to select "ATAPI CD-ROM" (or simply "CDROM") in this menu, and there is no need to go to the previous menu "Hard Disk Drives".
Now we save the results with the "F10" button or go to the "Exit" BIOS section and select "Exit Saving Changes".
Another AMI BIOS, but here everything is clear:
Setting up Phoenix-Award Bios to boot from a USB flash drive
If, upon entering BIOS, you see such a screen, then you have a Phoenix-Award BIOS:
Go to the “Advanced” tab and opposite “First Boot Device” set what you need (flash drive or disk):
Save with F10
Configuring EFI (UEFI) Bios with a GUI to boot from a flash drive
Now this is no surprise to anyone. Almost all new computers are supplied with a similar shell. You can read more about it in the article.
When loading, at the bottom of the screen there is a "Boot Priority" section, where you can use the mouse (drag and drop) to set the desired boot order.
You can also click on the "Exit/Advanced mode" button in the upper right corner and select Advanced mode in the window that appears.
Next, go to the "Boot" tab and in the section Boot Option Priorities in the "Boot Option # 1" field, set the USB flash drive, DVD-ROM, hard drive, or other available device as the default boot device.
How to boot from a USB flash drive or from a disk without entering BIOS
This is what I wrote about almost at the very beginning of the article.
This is when you need to press the key once and a window will appear with a choice of download. This method does not change the BIOS settings.
Usually Award BIOS offers to press "F9" to call the boot menu, and AMI asks to press "F8". On laptops, this may be the "F12" key.
In general - look at the bottom line and look for items like "Press F8 for BBS POPUP" or "Press F9 to Select Booting Device after POST".
Why can't I boot from a USB flash drive into the BIOS?
Possible reasons: 
On ancient computers, there is generally no way to boot from USB flash drives. If there is no newer BIOS, then the project can help.
1) Download the latest version of "Plop Boot Manager" from the link above and unpack it.
2) The archive contains files: plpbt.img is an image for a floppy disk, and plpbt.iso is an image for a CD.
3) Write the image to disk and boot from it (or from a floppy disk).
4) A menu will appear in which we select our USB flash drive and boot from it.
Little decoding of disk designations when choosing:
Do not forget after you have done what you wanted (namely, why did you change the boot in the BIOS) - return the boot settings back so that the computer boots from the hard drive.
You have a bootable DVD or flash drive, now you need to make sure that the computer can boot from them.
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 device selection in the boot menu
- Older computers (motherboards) do not have this function. 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 - you do not need to return the boot from the HDD after the first reboot.
Features of changing the priority in the BIOS
- Works on both new and old computers.
- The priority change is permanent, i.e. valid until the next change, and not one download as is the case with the menu. This is not very convenient when installing Windows from a USB flash drive, you have to return the boot 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 for entering the BIOS. It all depends on the manufacturer of the computer (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.
There is only one time when you need to press these keys - during self-testing 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 (appearance of the logo or OS selection menu). The POST pass looks something like this:
The screen prompts: Press DEL to run Setup which means click DEL to enter BIOS Setup. DEL is the most common key, but there are many others - more on that below.
During POST, a graphical splash screen with the name of the manufacturer of the computer or motherboard may be displayed.
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 like this:
You just have to 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 for entering the BIOS and brief instructions for changing the 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:
Acer (Aspire, Altos, Extensa, Ferrari, Power, Veriton, TravelMate): | F2 or Del |
Acer (old models): | F1 or ctrl+alt+Esc |
F2 or Del |
|
Compaq (Deskpro, Portable, Presario, Prolinea, Systempro): | |
Compaq (old models): | F1, F2, F10, or Del |
Dell (Dimension, Inspiron, Latitude, OptiPlex, Precision, Vostro, XPS): | |
Dell (old and rare models): | ctrl+alt+Enter or fn+Esc or fn+F1 or Del or reset twice |
ECS (Elitegroup) | Del or F1 |
eMachines (eMonster, eTower, eOne, S-Series, T-Series): | Tab or Del |
eMachines (some older models): | |
Fujitsu (Amilo, DeskPower, Esprimo, LifeBook, Tablet): | |
Hewlett-Parkard (HP Alternative, Tablet PC): | F2 or Esc or F10 or F12 |
Hewlett-Parkard (OmniBook, Pavilion, Tablet, TouchSmart, Vectra): | |
Lenovo (3000 Series, IdeaPad, ThinkCentre, ThinkPad, ThinkStation): | F1 or F2 |
Lenovo (old models): | ctrl+alt+F3, ctrl+alt+Ins or fn+F1 |
MSI (Micro Star) | |
F2, F10 or Del |
|
Sony (VAIO, PCG-Series, VGN-Series): | F1, F2 or F3 |
Toshiba (Portege, Satellite, Tecra): | F1 or Esc |
You will find less common hotkeys for entering the BIOS.
In addition to the fact that there are several major BIOS manufacturers (AMI, Phoenix - Award), computer (motherboard) manufacturers also modify the BIOS for a specific model. As a result, it is impossible to create a universal instruction even for changing one function (boot priority), there will be differences on each computer. You can only roughly show how this is done, and look for exact instructions in the documentation for your computer (motherboard).
Use the arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate through the BIOS and change settings. Enter And + \- .
AMI
Move arrows to the tab Boot, go to Boot Device Priority:
In the following figure, we see that the boot is sequentially performed: 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. Arrows switch to the first device ( 1st boot device), press Enter and select from the menu that appears CDROM. It's the same with a flash drive.
Click F10 and confirm the exit with saving (Save and Exit) by choosing .
Phoenix Award
Entering 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.
Arrows switch to the first device ( First boot device), change to CDROM. It's the same with a flash drive.
Click F10 and confirm the exit with saving (Save and Exit).
Know other keys or want to clarify? Comments are open!
Happy using!
Hello! Today I rested all day, Sunday. But towards the evening I thought that I needed, I needed to write something useful on the blog. I began to think what I had not written yet, and what could be useful to you in the process of solving various computer breakdowns, and then the thought came that I had already written about that, and how I also wrote in it, but there is still a way that when you turn on computer can select device to download without having to go into the BIOS. I will write about this, I am sure that this advice will be useful to many.
You often have to choose from which device you want to start the computer. For example, you want to, or just boot your computer from a boot disk, to scan your computer for viruses. And for this you have to go into the BIOS, look for where this item is located in which the boot order is set, and also on different computers this is all done differently, and many at this stage abandon the idea of \u200b\u200bfixing the computer on their own.
If, for example, you need to boot from a CD / DVD disk or flash drive once, then you can do without changing the settings in the BIOS. And now I will tell you how to do it.Choose a boot device when you turn on the computer
We insert the disk into the drive, or connect the USB flash drive. We restart the computer and as soon as it starts to boot, press the key F11.
A window will appear “Please select boot device:”, in which, using the up and down arrows, select the device we need from which we want to boot, and confirm our choice by pressing “Enter”. As you can see, I have the opportunity to boot from the drive, flash drive and of course the hard drive.
Which device you choose, from this the download will go. As you can see, everything is much easier than digging into the BIOS settings. If nothing happens when you press F11, then there are at least two options:
- You have a USB keyboard, and the BIOS settings have disabled support for such keyboards at computer startup. You need to connect a regular keyboard, and use it to enter the BIOS and in the Integrated Peripherals item, find USB Keybord support and set the Enable value. After that, your USB keyboard should work.
- And the second case, it's just that you have another key set to call the boot device selection menu when you turn on the computer, or simply this function is disabled in the same BIOS. For example, in Acer laptops in BIOS there is an item “F12 select boot device” (or something like that), which you need to enable by setting Enable . After that, the menu will be called up by pressing the F12 key.
It seems to have written everything, there will be questions, ask. Good luck!
CD-ROM. Insert the boot disk into your CD-ROM optical drive. Restart your computer. At the beginning of the download, immediately press the Delete key, or F2 in the case of a laptop. The BIOS main menu will open. The mouse does not work in it, all actions are performed with the arrow keys, Enter and Escape. Use the arrows to select the Boot menu and press Enter. Then select Boot Device Priority. A submenu with the boot list will open, select the CD-ROM item in the 1st Boot Device line using the arrows and press Enter. To save the settings and exit the BIOS, press the F10 key and confirm the exit by pressing Enter.
2 step
Flash drive. If you need to select a USB flash drive as a boot device, then do the following. Go to BIOS, select the Hard Disc Drives menu item, install the USB flash drive in first place. In some cases, the flash drive is detected by the BIOS as a hard drive. If you have this option, then open the Boot Device Priority menu and set the hard drive (with the name of your flash drive) as the first boot device.
3 step
Fast way. There is another way to select bootable media. While turning on the computer, press (hold) the F8 key. As a result, a small window with a list of boot devices will pop up, select the desired one with the arrows and press Enter. You must press F8 until the Windows boot screen appears, otherwise you will be taken to the OS boot options menu.
Each computer\laptop has its own firmware (BIOS) and its appearance and functionality depends on the manufacturer, model and software version of the device (year of manufacture). The boot menu is part of the BIOS and may look different. The method of calling the boot menu also depends on the device model, but usually it is a constant (so as not to miss) pressing a certain button immediately after turning on the computer.
Consider the most common boot menu keys for various manufacturers of laptops and motherboards:
| Motherboard | Key |
| AsRock | F11 |
| Asus | F8 |
| Intel | Esc |
| gigabyte | F12 |
| MSI | F11 |
| A laptop | |
| Acer | F12 |
| Asus | Esc |
| Dell | F12 |
| HP | Esc > F9 |
| Lenovo | F12 |
| Packard Bell | F12 |
| Samsung | Esc |
| Sony Vaio | F11 |
| Sony Vaio | Assist |
| Toshiba | F12 |
As I said earlier, the boot menu looks different for everyone, but the logic is always simple:
Usually, the choice from which to boot is made with the "up" and "down" keys, and the final choice is "Enter". On new computers and laptops, the new Windows 8 OS is installed, and with it, hardware manufacturers have found a BIOS replacement - UEFI. A more sophisticated firmware that has an interface that can rightfully be called graphical, and sometimes even pretty. By default, "fast boot" is enabled on such computers, which in most cases does not allow you to get into the boot menu in the usual way, and indeed into the BIOS settings themselves.
The easiest option is to solve the issue from the operating system: you need to hold down the "Shift" button and send the machine to reboot. The Windows 8 service menu should appear.
By the way: sometimes the function of calling the boot menu is disabled by default in the BIOS. Sony Vaio laptops are an excellent example: to boot from a USB flash drive, you need to enable a special option in the BIOS - "External Device Boot". Also, when booting from a regular flash drive, sometimes it is defined as a hard drive - this is the norm
