BIOS Boot

BIOS (Basic Input Output Subsystem) is a programmable chip that controls how information is being passed to various devices in the computer system. A typical method to access the BIOS settings screen is to press a designated key during the boot sequence, immediately after powering on the computer. The specific key varies depending on the computer manufacturer and model. The following table provides a reference for the most common manufacturers:

Table 1. BIOS Access Key

Manufacturer	BIOS Access Key
Dell	F2 or F12
HP (Hewlett-Packard)	F10 or Esc
Lenovo	F1 or F2
ASUS	F2 or Del
Acer	F2 or Del
MSI	Del
Gigabyte	F2 or Del
ASRock	F2 or Del
Toshiba	F2 or Esc
Samsung	F2
Sony VAIO	F2 or Assist button
Apple (Boot Camp)	Option key

BIOS settings allow you to run a boot sequence from a removable disk, a hard drive, a CD-ROM drive or an external device. You can configure the order that your computer searches these physical devices for the boot sequence. The first device in the order list has the first boot priority. For example, to boot from a USB drive instead of a hard drive, place the USB drive ahead of it in the priority list.

Before you set boot priority for a USB device, plug the device into a USB port.

To specify the boot sequence:

1. Start the computer and press BIOS Access Key during the initial startup screen. Depending on the BIOS manufacturer, a menu may appear.
2. Choose to enter BIOS setup. The BIOS setup utility page will open up.
3. Use the arrow keys to select the BOOT tab. System devices will appear in order of priority.
4. To give a CD or DVD drive boot sequence priority over the hard drive, move it to the first position in the list.
5. To give a USB device boot sequence priority over the hard drive, do the following:
   1. Move the hard drive device to the top of the boot sequence list;
   2. Expand the hard drive device to display all hard drives;
   3. Move the USB device to the top of the list of hard drives.
6. Save and exit the BIOS setup utility.

The computer will restart with the changed settings.

Some computer manufacturers allow you to select the device that contains the boot sequence from a special device selection menu. The example below uses a Dell system board.

To set boot priority using a device selection menu:

1. When the computer starts to boot up, after the manufacturer's ID screen, press F12 several times. The device selection menu will open.
2. Use the up and down arrows to select bootable storage media.
3. To boot from the selected device, press ENTER.