BIOS Boot

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 may configure the order 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 CD-ROM drive instead of a hard drive, place the CD-ROM drive ahead of the hard drive in priority.

Hence, to set boot priority for a USB device:

  1. Plug the device into a USB port
  2. Start the computer and press Delete / Esc / F1 / F2 / F8 or F10 keys during the initial start-up screen. Depending on the BIOS manufacturer, a menu may appear. Here is a short list of keys and their combos:
    Brand / Manufacturer Key
    Acer (Aspire, Altos, Extensa, Ferrari, Power, Veriton, TravelMate) F2 / Delete
    Acer (older models) F1 / Ctrl + Alt + Esc
    ASRock F2 / Delete
    Asus Delete
    Biostar Delete
    Chaintech Delete
    Compaq (Deskpro, Portable, Presario, Prolinea, Systempro) F10
    Compaq (older models) F1 / F2 / F10 / Delete
    Dell (Dimension, Inspiron, Latitude, OptiPlex, Precision, Vostro, XPS) F2
    Dell (older or other models) Ctrl + Alt + Enter / Fn + Esc / Fn + F1 / Delete / Reset twice
    eMachines (eMonster, eTower, eOne, S-Series, T-Series) Tab / Delete
    eMachines (older models) F2
    Foxconn Delete
    Fujitsu F2
    Gigabyte Delete
    HP (Alternative, Tablet PC) Esc / F2 / F10 / F12
    HP (OmniBook, Pavilion, Tablet, TouchSmart, Vectra) F1
    Intel F2
    Lenovo (3000 Series, IdeaPad, ThinkCentre, ThinkPad, ThinkStation) F1 / F2
    Lenovo (older models) Ctrl + Alt + F3 / Ctrl + Alt + Ins / Fn + F1
    MSI Delete
    Pegatron F2 / F10 / Delete
    Samsung F2
    Sony F1 / F2 / F3
    Toshiba F1 / Esc
  3. Depending on the BIOS manufacturer, a menu may appear. Choose to enter BIOS setup. The BIOS setup utility page appears
  4. Use the arrow keys to select the BOOT tab. System devices appear in order of priority
  5. To give a CD or DVD drive a boot sequence priority over the hard drive, move it to the first position in the list
  6. To give a USB device a boot sequence priority over the hard drive, do the following:
    • Move the hard drive device to the top of the boot sequence list
    • Expand the hard drive device to display all hard drives
    • Move the USB device to the top of the list of hard drives
  7. 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 appears
  2. Use the up and down arrows to select CD-ROM or an USB Flash Drive
  3. To boot from the selected device, press ENTER
Attention: Using an incorrect BIOS setting can cause a system malfunction. Please follow the BIOS guide provided with your computer motherboard. If you read these instructions and you are not sure how to change a setting, it is better to leave it as the default setting.

Active@ Boot Disk is able to boot both legacy BIOS or UEFI secure boot systems. However, if for some reason, BIOS mode does not boot the machine (computer hangs up, crashes etc.), try UEFI Secure Boot mode.