How to boot from a DVD or USB Flash (flash drive). Calling the boot menu on different motherboards How to enter the bot menu on a laptop
Greetings!
Boot menu (boot menu) is available on almost every computer or laptop, but often users either do not know anything about it, or have very basic information, and some confuse it with a menu that selects to boot one of several operating systems installed on the computer . So what, in fact, is the boot menu and what is its purpose? In this article, I will try to answer this question.
Where is the boot menu located and what is it used for
This menu is located in the BIOS on the motherboard, and it serves to select the physical device from which you want to boot.
It can be either a CD or DVD disc or Flash media. For a better understanding, we can give an example - using the boot menu, you can boot from any media (for example, Flash-ki) in the absence of the hard drive itself on the PC.
Why does this menu need a regular user? Undoubtedly, often the computer already has an installed operating system, which is loaded by default when it is enabled.
However, if you want to connect a second HDD, on which the operating system is also installed, then it will be necessary to select the device from which the boot should be performed.
Even if you do not connect additional hard drives, in case of problems with the PC, you can use the boot menu to boot from other media and carry out: high-level diagnostics of PC components, you can try to recover data from a hard drive damaged by malware, reset the password to enter the system etc.
Or maybe you just decided to reinstall the system, as they say, "from scratch", and for this you will need to boot from a DVD or USB flash drive. By the way, about how to create bootable flash drive you can read in the material.
As you can see, there are quite a few reasons for downloading from third-party media.
How to call (get) the boot menu
It must be remembered that the boot menu is part of the BIOS, and therefore, by entering BIOS Setup, you can also assign the boot order from media connected to the computer there.
If you happen to encounter a very old computer (until 2006), then you may not find a separately called boot menu on such a rare PC - in this case, all settings are made exclusively in the BIOS itself.
As a rule, a list of bootable media is set in a section called Boot. The corresponding priority is set there, that is, having arranged the devices in a certain order, the system will one by one search for the boot area of the operating system (or the boot record of the LiveCD, diagnostic flash drive, etc.) on each of them.
But let's assume such an option that for one reason or another you cannot enter the BIOS or simply do not want to waste your time on it. In this case, the boot menu comes to your aid, which quickly allows you to select the device from which you want to make the appropriate boot.
Entering the Boot Menu is not difficult - while turning on the computer, you need to press a certain key several times. This is done when the computer is turned on, similar to pressing a key to enter BIOS Setup.
There is no single standard, and therefore manufacturers are free to choose the key that would call the corresponding menu. The boot menu can be called by pressing the key F8, F11, F12 or even Esc. It depends on the developer of the motherboard and the BIOS used in it. Therefore, the most correct solution would be to refer to the documentation for the motherboard. If the documentation is lost, then the brand and name of the motherboard can be found out, and then underline the necessary manual on the Internet.
Or, at the moment of turning on the computer or laptop, underline the necessary key, which is sometimes displayed with other technical information on the display.
However, this method is not always effective on laptops. there, technical information is displayed either very quickly, or not displayed at all, and immediately upon switching on, the operating system is loaded.
In this situation, you can try pressing the key F12, which is quite common among laptop manufacturers. If it does not help, then use the manual (manual) for your laptop.
Take into account one more thing, the Boot Menu also does not have a single design, as well as the title that is displayed in the menu item or window title - it can be called “MultiBoot Menu”, “BBS Popup”, “Boot Agent”, etc. .
Below is a list of typical keys that motherboard and laptop manufacturers use to call the boot menu:
motherboard/laptop manufacturer (BIOS developer) – key
Summary
After reading this material, you now know what the Boot Menu is, how it differs from the menu in the BIOS, where the boot priority is set and there is no way to quickly select bootable media.
Naturally, the Boot Menu is not a replacement for the menu that appears when there are multiple operating systems installed on the computer. This menu serves several other purposes, which were described in the material.
If you have any questions, you can ask them in the comments.
Sometimes there is a need to call the boot menu when starting the computer - the boot menu. This is necessary in cases where it is necessary to boot the PC from any media (CD, flash drive, internal or external hard drive etc.), for example, to install or reinstall the operating system. In this manual, you will learn how to enter the Boot Menu from a desktop computer or from a laptop.
I want to note right away that in old computers with antediluvian motherboards, the Boot Menu is not provided. In this case, in order to boot from any other device, you need to go into the BIOS of the computer (usually the Del or F2 key is responsible for this, rarely F1) and set the desired device boot order in the Boot section.
(banner_google1)
On different motherboards this is done in different ways, but the name of such a section will necessarily contain the word Boot.
To call the boot menu, you need to almost immediately after turning it on also press a special key on the keyboard. Usually these are the Esc keys or F11, F12. But there are exceptions depending on the manufacturer of the motherboard of a personal desktop computer or laptop. When you turn on the PC on the screen below, you can see which key is responsible for calling the BIOS, Boot Menu, etc.
How to Enter the Boot Menu on Windows 8 and 10 Systems
If you have a laptop and a system up to and including Windows 7 is installed on it, then getting into the Boot Menu will not be difficult at all. As I said already, this can be done with the Esc, F11 or F12 keys. However, if you have installed Windows system 8, 8.1 or 10, then get into the boot menu fast way It does not always work. This is because, starting with Windows 8, shutdown or reboot is not complete. Such a shutdown is more like hibernation, therefore, pressing the hot keys responsible for calling the boot menu may be ineffective. To turn off the computer completely in new operating systems, you can use one of the following methods:1. When turning off the computer, press the Shift key.
2. You can disable fast startup in the "eighth" system like this: go to the Control Panel,
select the "Power" section,
On the left side of the window, click on "What the power buttons do".
We find the item "Enable fast startup" and deactivate it. By the way, the same actions can be done on mobile PCs (laptops, netbooks).
How to enter the Boot Menu on a Lenovo laptop
To get into the device boot menu on Lenovo laptops, you need to press the F12 button. Also on many computers from this manufacturer you can find a service button with an arrow, as shown in the image below.
This key is used to call the service boot options. Here you can go to BIOS, Boot Menu, perform emergency system recovery, and so on, it all depends on the brand of the device.
How to get into the boot menu on an Acer laptop
If you own an Acer laptop, then use the F12 key to open the Boot Menu. However, there is one point: on many laptops, the ability to call the boot menu in the BIOS settings is disabled. This can be fixed: when you turn on the laptop, press the F2 key in order to get into the BIOS. Let's go to the Main section and activate the item "F12 Boot Menu" (should be in Enabled mode).
After that, we save the settings by pressing the F10 key and confirming. Now, when you turn on the Acer laptop, press the F12 key and see the boot menu.
How to enter the Boot Menu on an Asus laptop
It just so happened that on older models, the F8 function key is used to call the boot menu. As for the new laptop models from Asus, you need to press the Esc key to call the Boot Menu. If you don’t know the old laptop or the new one, then try at startup, first, press F8, and then, if it doesn’t work, press Esc when you turn it on again.
If you need to enter BIOS on Asus laptops, press Del or F9.
If you own a laptop from another manufacturer, then see the table below, which lists popular laptop brands with call keys for both the Boot Menu and BIOS.
I think that now, after reading this manual, you can easily get into the boot menu on any desktop computer or laptop from any manufacturer. That's all, thanks for your attention.
detailed video:
Almost all laptop models produced today do not come with a built-in CD / DVD drive. Lenovo laptops are no exception. A bootable USB drive in this case is a useful tool for diagnosing and repairing the operating system or for installing a new OS.
There are several ways to boot Lenovo laptops from a bootable USB drive.
Booting from a USB flash drive via priority change is the best option when you need to unlock your PC using the Windows password recovery tool or fix a boot problem such as a blue screen, OS not starting, etc.
To download you need:
BIOS Boot
- When the BIOS menu appears, go to the "Boot" section with the left and right arrows on the keyboard.
- Using the up and down buttons, select the "USB HDD" drive and install it with the "F6" and "F5" buttons in the "Legacy" list above the "SATA HDD".
- In addition to "Legacy" booting, the BIOS may support "EFI" booting. If the MBR table is located on the HDD, you need to select "Boot Priority" with the arrows, press "Enter" and instead of "UEFI First" set the arrows to "Legacy First" by pressing "Enter".
Reference! If there is an MBR partition table on the hard disk (an old version of HDD layout that works with partitions of no more than 2 TB), then set to “Boot Priority” - “UEFI First” can lead to an error installing Widnows.
- Press the "Esc" button to exit the BIOS main menu, and press the "F10" button to save the BIOS exit options. After restarting the laptop, it will start booting from the USB drive.
Phoenix Award BIOS
If Phoenix - Award BIOS is installed on the laptop, after a standard BIOS entry, you must:
You don't have to do it through BIOS Setup to boot Lenovo from a USB drive. Lenovo laptops have a special boot menu called “Boot Menu” for this.
To enter the boot menu, you must:
If you can’t enter the Boot Manager boot menu with the F12 key, for this case, Lenovo laptops have a special arrow button next to the power button or on their side panel. This button is present on many Lenovo laptops and is called "Novo Button".
To activate the download using the "Novo Button" button, you need:
Sometimes the laptop boots up so quickly that the BIOS cannot be entered by pressing the F1, F2 + Fn, or F12 buttons. If the laptop does not have the Novo Button button, but it can normally boot the operating system from the hard drive, then you can enter the UEFI BIOS boot menu directly from Windows 8/8.1/10.
How to enter the UEFI menu
For Windows 8/8.1
- Move the mouse pointer to the upper or lower right corner of the display, and move the mouse up or down. The Charm panel will appear, where you need to click on Options (gear icon).
- In place of the Charm panel, the Settings panel will appear, at the bottom of which you need to select "Change PC settings."
- In the PC Settings window that appears, select Update and Recovery.
- In the next window, select "Recovery" - "Restart now".
For Windows 10
The last steps are the same for Windows 8/8.1 and 10:
As you can see, there are a lot of options for booting a Lenovo laptop from a USB drive, and each option offers its own solution that is most suitable for the user in a particular case.
Read more detailed information with instructions in our new article -
Notebook Lenovo IdeaPad Z580: home machine at the right price
If you're looking for a laptop that combines style and entertainment at an affordable price, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z580 is a great choice. Attractive appearance, good ergonomics, durable case, excellent performance - all these qualities have a laptop from Lenovo.
The build quality of the Z580 is also good, and despite the somewhat pliable plastic panels (the laptop comes in both aluminum and plastic cases), the chassis is quite solid. The laptop offers bold, glossy lines and is one of the most striking budget laptops on the market.
Under the attractive appearance of the IdeaPad Z580 hide:
- processor: Intel Core i3/i5/i7, 2200-2900 MHz;
- core: Ivy Bridge/Sandy Bridge;
- RAM: 2-8 GB RAM;
- HDD: 320-1000 Gb;
- video HD Graphics 4000 plus GeForce GT 630M–645M.
The glossy display from Lenovo is also impressive. With a screen diagonal of 15.6″, the resolution of the matrix is standard and is 1366 × 768 pixels. The brightness of the monitor is also average, but the contrast reaches an impressive 260:1, which, along with good color reproduction, provides vibrant colors and makes it one of the best best displays in its price range.
The laptop, not light, is 33mm thick and weighs about 2.5kg. Battery life - 5 hours.
Important! According to the results of tests in real games, this is one of the fastest budget laptops. If the customer is looking for a fast laptop for everyday tasks without spending too much money, the Lenovo IdeaPad Z580 will not disappoint.
Smartphone Lenovo S920, characteristics of fast IdeaPhone
Another interesting solution from Lenovo is the Lenovo IdeaPhone S920 smartphone.
Phone Specifications:
- screen: IPS 5.3 ″, 16 million colors, 1280 × 720, touch, capacitive, multi-touch;
- Processor: 4-core MTK 6589, 1.2GHz, PowerVR Series5XT video;
- memory: 1 GB RAM, 4 GB built-in + 32 GB microSDHC, microSD;
- phone type: monoblock, 159 g, 154 × 77.7 × 7.9 mm;
- phone charging connector: micro-USB;
- connection type: GSM 900/1800/1900, 3G;
- navigation: GPS, A-GPS;
- interfaces: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB;
- platform: Android 4.2 with ideaDesktop proprietary shell;
- battery: Li-Pol 2250 mAh, 25 h (GSM), 12 h temp. (WCDMA);
- camera: front 2 megapixel, rear 8 megapixel, flash, face and smile detector.
The IdeaPhone S920 boasts two SIM cards, but it is equipped with one radio module, which, for example, does not allow it to download a file on the Internet during a telephone conversation.
The image quality of the S920 is very good, but the ideaDesktop doesn't shine with its design. The battery allows the smartphone to work intensively for a day on a single charge, which is a very good indicator. The speaker of the phone is of high quality and loud.
The Lenovo IdeaPhone S920 isn't an absolute bestseller, but it's a good choice for an all-in-one purchase, as highlighted by its good camera, long battery life, and dual-SIM capability.
Video - How to boot from a USB flash drive or from a disk on a Lenovo laptop
Good day to all.
At Windows installation(for example), it is very often necessary to select bootable media other than the hard drive. You can do this in two ways:
1) Go into the BIOS and change the boot queue (i.e. put the flash drive in front of the HDD in the boot queue - this way the PC will first check the flash drive for boot records, and only then the hard drive);
2) Call the Boot Menu and select a specific media for booting at the moment. In my opinion, this option is even better than the first one: it's faster and you don't need to go back and forth in the BIOS to change the boot queue.
To enter the BIOS (call the Boot Menu) in most cases, the keys are used: F2, Del, Esc, F12 (depending on the device manufacturer). The button must be pressed immediately after turning on the computer (you can several times so as not to miss the right moment.
By the way, if you look closely at the first screen, which is visible immediately after turning on the computer, then a button is often written on it to enter the desired settings (calling the menu). Screenshot example below.
Rice. 1. Dual Bios. DEL button - enter the BIOS settings, F12 button - Call the Boot Menu.
Table number 1: keyboard shortcuts for computers
To use the table - you need to know what motherboard you have, BIOS version. There are several ways to find out, here are the fastest:
Simple free program, which will tell you quite a lot about your hardware. For example, you can find out information about: processor (CPU), RAM (Ram), motherboard (Motherboard), video card (Graphics), HDD drives, SSD (Storage), etc. In addition, you can find out and control online temperature main components: hard disk, video card, processor.
A screenshot of this utility is shown in Fig. 2.
Rice. 2. Speccy - getting information about the motherboard
Table #1
| Motherboard | BIOS version | hot key | Which menu will be open |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acer | Del | Enter Setup | |
| F12 | boot menu | ||
| ASRock | AMI | F2 or DEL | run Setup |
| F6 | Instant Flash | ||
| F11 | boot menu | ||
| TAB | switch screen | ||
| Asus | Phoenix Award | DEL | BIOS Setup |
| TAB | Display BIOS POST Message | ||
| F8 | boot menu | ||
| Alt+F2 | Asus EZ Flash 2 | ||
| F4 | Asus Core Unlocker | ||
| BioStar | Phoenix Award | F8 | Enable System Configuration |
| F9 | Select Booting Device after POST | ||
| DEL | Enter SETUP | ||
| Chaintech | Award | DEL | Enter SETUP |
| ALT+F2 | Enter AWDFLASH | ||
| ECS (Elite Grour) | AMI | DEL | Enter SETUP |
| F11 | BBS POPUP | ||
| FoxConn (WinFast) | TAB | POST Screen | |
| DEL | SETUP | ||
| ESC | boot menu | ||
| gigabyte | Award | ESC | Skip memory test |
| DEL | Enter SETUP/Q-Flash | ||
| F9 | Xpress Recovery Xpress Recovery 2 | ||
| F12 | boot menu | ||
| Intel | AMI | F2 | Enter SETUP |
Table number 2: hot keys (Bios / Boot Menu, etc.) for laptops
Note: on modern laptops, the key combination in Windows also works: hold down the SHIFT button + select the restart button with the mouse.
The Boot Menu is a small window in which, using the mouse (arrows on the keyboard), you can select the device from which to boot. An example of such a menu is shown in Fig. 3.
Depending on the manufacturer of your device, the menu may be slightly different, but the principle of operation is the same everywhere.
Table number 2
| Notebook manufacturer | BIOS version | hot key | Function / menu call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acer | Phoenix | F2 | Enter Setup |
| F12 | Boot Menu (Change Boot Device,Multi Boot Selection Menu) | ||
| Alt+F10 | D2D Recovery (disk-to-disk system recovery) | ||
| Asus | AMI | F2 | Enter Setup |
| ESC | popup menu | ||
| F4 | Easy Flash | ||
| Phoenix Award | DEL | BIOS Setup | |
| F8 | boot menu | ||
| Benq | Phoenix | F2 | BIOS Setup |
| Dell | Phoenix,Aptio | F2 | Setup |
| F12 | boot menu | ||
| eMachines (Acer) | Phoenix | F12 | boot menu |
| Fujitsu-Siemens | AMI | F2 | BIOS Setup |
| F12 | boot menu | ||
| Gateway (Acer) | Phoenix | Click mouse or Enter | Menu |
| F2 | BIOS Settings | ||
| F10 | boot menu | ||
| F12 | PXE Boot | ||
| HP (Hewlett-Packard)/ Compaq | Insyde | ESC | Startup Menu |
| F1 | System Information | ||
| F2 | System Diagnostics | ||
| F9 | Boot Device Options | ||
| F10 | BIOS Setup | ||
| F11 | System Recovery | ||
| Enter | Continue Startup | ||
| Next | F1 | Call Boot Menu | |
| F2 | BIOS setup | ||
| Lenovo (IBM) | Phoenix SecureCore Tiano | F2 | Setup |
| F12 | Multi Boot Menu | ||
| MSI (MicroStar) | *** | DEL | Setup |
| F11 | boot menu | ||
| TAB | Show POST screen | ||
| F3 | Recovery | ||
| Packard Bell (Acer) | Phoenix | F2 | Setup |
| F12 | boot menu | ||
| Toshiba | Phoenix | Esc,F1,F2 | Enter Setup |
| Toshiba Satellite A300 | F12 | bios |
Table number 3: recovery from a hidden partition (for laptops)
Most modern laptops have a special hidden partition built in with the ability to restore Windows using a "pair" of keys (there is no need to prepare a bootable flash drive, download ISO images from Windows, etc.).
As a rule, to start the recovery function, after turning on the laptop, just press one key (F9, for example, on Asus laptops). Next, a window will appear in which you need to follow the instructions of the recovery wizard.
Note: when restoring information, the system disk "C:\" is often formatted and all information is deleted from it. Make a copy of important data from it in advance.
Rice. 4. Notebook ACER- service recovery utility
Table #3
| Notebook manufacturer | Button combination | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Acer | Alt+F10 | First you need to enter the BIOS of the laptop, and enable the D2D Recovery function. In the recovery system, by default, the password is set: 000000 or AIM1R8. |
| Asus | F9 | |
| Dell Inspiron | Ctrl+F11 | |
| Fujitsu-Siemens | F8 | |
| HP | F10, F11 | |
| LG | F11 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad | F11 | |
| MSI | F3 | |
| Packard Bell | F10 | |
| RoverBook | alt | |
| Samsung | F4 | |
| Sony VAIO | F10 | |
| Toshiba | F8, F11 |
PS
The tables will be updated (over time). For additions on the topic of the article - a big merci in advance. Good luck to all!
What is boot menu
Probably everyone knows that in order to boot from a floppy drive or flash drive, you need to set the order of devices to boot in the BIOS. For example, to install Windows XP from a disk to a computer, you need to boot from this very disk first. To do this, you need to put the drive in the BIOS as the first device to boot.
However, you can not go into the BIOS and do not change anything there. It is enough immediately after turning on the computer to press the boot menu call key (boot menu) and in the list of devices that appears, select the one from which you want to boot. Selecting a boot device from the boot menu does not affect BIOS settings in any way. That is, this menu affects exactly the specific boot, and if you do not call it after, then the computer or laptop will boot as it is configured in the BIOS.
How to call the boot menu - keys to call the BIOS boot menu
So, we figured out what the boot menu in BIOS is. Now I'll tell you with the help of what hot keys it is called. There is no standard here. It all depends on the manufacturer of the PC or laptop motherboard and on the version of the BIOS installed there. So, for example, calling the boot menu asus is different from how to call the boot menu on an acer or sony vaio laptop.
In most cases, the key to call up the boot device selection menu is F12 , but some manufacturers use their own keyboard shortcuts. Particular attention can be focused on boot menu samsung and HP. To get into the boot menu of a Samsung laptop, you need to press Esc (just one time!). If you click on Esc at least twice, the boot menu will close before it opens. Therefore, you need to calculate and clearly get in time with pressing hot key calling boot menu . This can be quite difficult to do without some skill.
Calling the boot menu on HP laptops is also specific. To do this, first click Esc , after which the service menu of the laptop will appear. In it, we already select the desired item (by pressing a hot key). To call the boot menu HP, press F9 .
For some manufacturers, the device to be loaded in the menu is selected with the cursor keys, for others, it is necessary to press the key with a number indicating the serial number of the device in the list.
Below is a table that is easy to understand. This is a table of hotkeys for calling the boot device selection menu, motherboard manufacturer and BIOS.
Yes, one last clarification. In some cases, boot menu hotkeys are disabled by default in BIOS. To be able to use the boot menu, you need to enable it in the BIOS settings. This function is usually called F12 Boot Menu . To enable this feature, you must set its value to Enabled .
In addition to the boot menu call keys, the table shows the keys to enter the BIOS.
| Manufacturer / device | BIOS version | Boot menu key | Key to enter BIOS |
| Mat. MSI boards | AMI | F11 | Del |
| Mat. Gigabyte boards | Award | F12 | Del |
| Mat. asus boards | AMI | F8 | Del |
| Mat. Intel boards | Phoenix Award | Esc | Del |
| Mat. AsRock boards | AMI | F11 | Del |
| Asus laptops | Esc | F2 | |
| Acer laptops | Inside H2O | F12 | F2 |
| Acer laptops | Phoenix | F12 | F2 |
| Dell laptops | Dell | F12 | F2 |
| HP laptops | Esc -> F9 | Esc -> F10 | |
| Lenovo laptops | AMI | F12 | F2 |
| Packard Bell laptops | Phoenix Secure Core | F12 | F2 |
| samsung laptops | Phoenix Secure Core | Esc (once, when pressed again exits the menu) |
F2 |
| Sony Vaio laptops | Inside H2O | F11 | F2 |
| Toshiba laptops | Phoenix | F12 | F2 |
| Toshiba laptops | Inside H2O | F12 | F2 |
