BIOS update or how to flash BIOS. How to set boot from a flash drive in old and modern versions of the BIOS How to open a flash drive in the BIOS

Already created a bootable USB flash drive, but don’t know how to boot from a flash drive? There is nothing complicated here. Booting Windows from a flash drive is very simple, and to do this you just need to go into the BIOS and change one setting.

If you have not yet recorded a licensed digital copy of Windows, I recommend reading -?

How to configure booting from a flash drive?

If you simply connect the USB flash drive to your PC or laptop and reboot it, Windows installation won't start. After all, to do this you need to enable booting from a flash drive in the BIOS.

This is easy to do. But there is one nuance here. The fact is that loading Windows from a flash drive on PCs and laptops is carried out differently. Firstly, it depends on the BIOS manufacturers. And, secondly, from the laptop brand (Asus, Acer, Samsung, Lenovo, HP, etc.).

Yes, the BIOS menu will always be different, and this can cause difficulties. But below we will look at several examples so that you understand and can independently navigate the BIOS menu (in case you have another option).

So, let's begin. To enter the BIOS, you must immediately press a certain button on the keyboard when you turn on your computer or laptop. Which one? This can be found on the loading screen.

You can find out that you have entered the BIOS by seeing the corresponding menu in front of you. The following options are usually found:

If loading the BIOS failed, then wait until your PC or laptop turns on, reboot it and try again by pressing a different key.

In this case, the “Boot” item was selected, and then “Boot Device Priority” (i.e., device startup priority). As a result, a menu similar to this will open:

As you can see, they are different, but in each case there are the lines we need - First (1st), Second (2nd) and Third (3rd) Boot Device. It indicates which device boots first, which is second and third in turn. As a rule, the first one always goes HDD(HDD), and then the drive (CR-ROM).

When you connect the flash drive, the USB-HDD option will also appear. You need to select the option USB-HDD in the First Boot Device item. Example:

Next, you must save the changes, otherwise you will have to repeat everything all over again. Which save button? This information is written at the bottom of the screen. For example, in the screenshot above: F10 – “Save”, ESC – “Exit”. Save the changes and exit the BIOS. Congratulations, setting up the BIOS to boot from a flash drive is complete.

The computer (or laptop) will automatically reboot, after which the following line will appear:

Press any button and it starts Windows installation.

If you have a BIOS UEFI then everything is as easy as shelling pears

Go to BIOS and you will see something like this:

To configure booting a flash drive into UEFI, we are interested in the “Boot Priority” item. Drag the USB device icon to the top of the list (so that it is first) and exit (exit button in the upper right corner). When you exit, the system will ask you whether to save the changes. You agree, after which the PC or laptop will reboot.

By the way: it doesn’t matter at all what kind of image you have on a USB flash drive - Windows 7, 8, 10 or XP. This doesn't affect anything. The OS will start loading from the flash drive in any case (provided, of course, that it is recorded correctly).

And finally, one more very important point. When unpacking Windows files will be completed - the computer will reboot.

After this, you need to go into the BIOS again and return the previous device startup priority. That is, put the hard drive (HDD) in first place, and the USB flash drive in last place. There shouldn't be any problems with this.

In principle, you don't have to do this. In this case, when the black screen appears, NOTHING don't press.

Otherwise, the Windows installation will boot again and you will install the operating system again.

But when Windows is installed, you still need to go into the BIOS and return the previous device startup priority. Otherwise, the computer (or laptop) will always load data from the flash drive first (provided it is connected).

You have a bootable USB flash drive with a distribution of the operating system, and you want to do the installation yourself, but when you insert the USB drive into your computer, you discover that it does not boot. This indicates the need to make the appropriate settings in the BIOS, because this is where the hardware configuration of the computer begins. It makes sense to figure out how to properly configure the OS to boot from this particular storage device.

First, let's figure out how to enter the BIOS in general. As you know, the BIOS is located on the motherboard, and each computer has a different version and manufacturer. Therefore, there is no single key to enter. Most often used Delete, F2, F8 or F1. Read more about this in our article.

After going to the menu, all that remains is to make the appropriate settings. Its design differs in different versions, so let's take a closer look at a few examples from popular manufacturers.

Award

There is nothing complicated about setting up to boot from a flash drive in Award BIOS. You just need to carefully follow the simple instructions and everything will work out:

AMI

In AMI BIOS, the setup process is slightly different, but is still simple and does not require additional knowledge or skills from the user. You are required to do the following:

Other versions

The algorithm for working with BIOS for other versions of motherboards is similar:

Start the BIOS first.
Then find the menu with devices.
After this, enable the item on the USB controller "Enable";
In the order in which the devices are launched, select the name of your flash drive as the first item.

If the settings are completed, but booting from the media fails, the following reasons are possible:

The bootable flash drive is written incorrectly. When you turn on the computer, the drive is being accessed (the cursor blinks in the upper left part of the screen) or an error appears "NTLDR is missing".
Problems with the USB connector. In this case, connect your flash drive to a different slot.
The BIOS settings are incorrect. And the main reason is that the USB controller is disabled. In addition, older versions of BIOS do not allow booting from flash drives. In such a situation, you should update the firmware (version) of your BIOS.

For more information about what to do if the BIOS refuses to see removable media, read our lesson on this topic.

You may have configured the USB drive itself incorrectly to install the operating system. Just in case, check all your actions according to our instructions.

And these instructions will be useful to you if you are recording an image not from Windows, but from another OS.

And don’t forget to return the settings to their original state after you no longer need to log in from the bootable USB flash drive.

If you cannot configure the BIOS, it will be enough to simply go to « Boot Menu» . Almost all devices have different keys for this, so read the footnote at the bottom of the screen, it is usually indicated there. After the window opens, select the desired device to boot. In our case, this is USB with a specific name.

We hope that our article helped you understand all the intricacies of setting up the BIOS for booting from a flash drive. Today we looked in detail at performing all the necessary actions on the BIOSes of the two most popular manufacturers, and also left instructions for users who use computers with other BIOS versions installed on them.

Even though DOS is not an operating system that we widely use today, it may still be needed. For example, many BIOS update guides advise that all operations should be performed in this OS. So, here are instructions on how to do bootable USB flash drive DOS.

The process of creating a bootable DOS flash drive in WinToFlash is no more complicated than in the previous described case:

Run the program
Select the "Advanced Mode" tab
In the “Task” field, select “Create a drive with MS-DOS” and click the “Create” button

After this, you will be asked to select a USB drive that needs to be made bootable and, in less than a minute, you will receive a flash drive to boot your computer into MS DOS.

Another way

Well, the last method, for some reason the most common on Russian-language sites. Apparently, one instruction was distributed to everyone. One way or another, this method for creating a bootable MS-DOS flash drive does not seem optimal to me.

In this case, you will need to download this archive: http://files.fobosworld.ru/index.php?f=usb_and_dos.zip, which contains the folder with the operating system DOS and program for preparing a flash drive.

Run USB program Storage Tool (file HPUSBFW.exe), indicate that formatting should be done in FAT32, and also check the box that we intend to create a bootable USB flash drive specifically MS-DOS.
In the appropriate field, specify the path to the DOS OS files (dos folder in the archive). Start the process.

Using a bootable DOS flash drive

I dare say that you made a bootable USB flash drive with DOS OS in order to boot from it and run some program designed for DOS. In this case, I recommend that before restarting the computer, copy the program files to the same flash drive. After the reboot, set boot from a USB drive in the BIOS; how to do this is described in detail in the manual: . Then, when the computer boots into DOS, to launch the program you will only need to specify the path to it, for example: D:/program/program.exe.

It should be noted that booting into DOS is usually required only to launch those programs that require low-level access to the system and computer hardware - flashing the BIOS and other chips. If you want to run an old game or program that does not run in Windows, try using DOSBOX - this is a more optimal solution.

That's all for this topic. I hope you solve your problems.

CD/DVD discs are now outdated. They were replaced by USB drives.

The need to boot from a flash drive may arise when solving many problems:

installing a new operating system;
launch in Live CD mode;
to treat your computer from viruses and malware;
to correct errors that occur when loading the operating system;
preliminary installation of additional drivers;
scanning hard drive for the presence of problem sectors;
starting the operating system installed on the flash drive.

On many systems, the default is to boot from USB storage disabled. Because of this, a user who wants to use a bootable USB flash drive may have problems changing settings.

Features of booting from a flash drive

The order in which devices are selected for startup is determined by the Bios settings - built-in firmware designed to provide the operating system with access to the device API.

To boot the system from a flash drive, you need to go to Bios and change the startup order, or use a special boot menu. But this is not always easy to do, since firmware versions and types may differ on different motherboards.

If you need to boot from USB or any other storage device, you must follow these steps:

insert a disk or flash drive;
turn on the computer or restart it;
enter the Bios or Boot menu and select the USB device;
if there are several connected devices, the system will automatically offer you a list to select the one you need.

Most modern motherboards work through a technology called UEFI. This is not just a more convenient graphical shell for the Bios firmware, but a new software, which has wider capabilities and flexible settings.

Motherboards that work with uefi have received many new capabilities, for example:

control temperature different devices and in connection with this, increase or decrease the speed of the fans;
regulate the overclocking frequency of the central and graphic processor on those motherboards where this is provided by the developer;
work with many Bios settings from special software running the Windows operating system.

Video: select boot device in BIOS

Asrock H77M-ITX motherboard

The easiest way to boot the system from a flash drive is to use the Boot Menu. Every modern motherboard has this option. To find out what combination or key you can use to do this, most often it’s enough to read system messages. As a last resort, you need to refer to the board documentation.

Asrock H77M-ITX allows you to select the startup option using the “F11” button. On the first try, you may not be able to get to the menu, so you need to press the key several times. If unsuccessful, simply restart your computer and try again.

As a result, you should see a blue background with the words Asrock UEFI setup utility. In the “Please select boot device” menu you need to select the required device to boot.

To configure the startup order of devices in the BIOS of the Asrock H77M-ITX motherboard, you must perform the following steps:

After restarting your computer, you should see the flash drive start to launch.

ASUS P8H77-I motherboard

You can get into the BIOS on computers with an ASUS P8H77-I motherboard in the same way as described in the previous section, using the keys "Del" or "F2". You can get to the menu for selecting devices to boot using the “F8” button.

The firmware interface is very different from the previous version. But the names of the various settings menus are almost identical.

To simplify operations, there is an initial setup mode and an additional one. In the initial setup function, that is, in the main window that you get to when loading Bios, it is possible to select the launch priority. In the USB picture it is indicated as with uefi.

If, after restarting the system, booting from the flash drive does not start, you need to switch to “Advanced mode”. This can be done using the "Advanced" button or by pressing the "F7" key.

Photo: advanced setup mode UEFI Bios on ASUS P8H77-I

To set the priority, you must perform the following steps:

find the “USB support” item and assign it the “Full initialization” parameter;

Photo: enabling full initialization support for USB devices

go to change the priority by activating “Boot Option No. 1”, where you need to select a USB device;

if your device is not detected as bootable, then it may not be in the list. Then you need to find the “Boot Sequence” section hard drives"and change the launch priority from here;

Photo: “Hard drive boot order” menu

if you changed the order according to point 4, then you need to make sure that the priority has changed. If this is not the case, choose the device yourself;

Photo: rechecking priority after changes in hard drive boot lists

Now you need to save the parameters and exit, which can be done with the “F10” key.

The computer will reboot, after which startup from USB should begin. If this does not happen, try changing the port and repeating the operation.

How to boot from a bootable USB flash drive into Award Bios

New motherboards that work with uefi are much easier to configure. However, the need to boot from a flash drive may also arise on older systems. The settings for using a bootable USB drive may differ slightly, although the principle of operation discussed earlier is the same.

One of the most known versions Bios is Award. There is no way to call up a menu to select launch priority. Therefore, we immediately move on to setting up the BIOS.

In order to boot the system from a flash drive on a computer with a motherboard running Award, you need to perform the following steps:

If the launch from the required drive was not performed, you need to check one more parameter: the USB controller must be enabled in the “Integrated Peripherals” menu.

Photo: checking controller activation

AMI BIOS

This firmware management system is more modern, so there is already a menu for selecting the startup order. It is activated by the “F11” button. You can get into the BIOS settings using the “Del” or “F2” buttons.

To select the download priority:

Phoenix-Award Bios

Phoenix-Award Bios is quite rare, and its firmware is a bit unusual. There is support for displaying a menu for quickly selecting a boot drive; it is called up by pressing the “F11” key.

Interestingly, you won’t find a USB-HDD in the Phoenix-Award menu. But you can choose from other gadgets that can be connected in this way, for example Zip, CDROM and Floppy. To run from a flash drive, you need to select Hard Disk, and then the required USB-HDD will appear in the list.

As for managing priorities through Bios, this is done almost identically to AMI.

The difference is that in the “Boot” menu you need to select the following options:

Using the “+” and “-” keys we change the order. The first one should be the Removable Device;
by activating Removable Device and pressing the “Enter” button, select the flash drive from the drop-down list.

Photo: We make Removable Device first in the launch order list

Almost any Bios microsystem allows you to boot the system from a flash drive. Knowing the key combinations and the necessary menu items, you can quickly change startup priorities.

More modern motherboards with uefi give you much more control over your system. If necessary, you can run different operating systems from different flash drives to manage any software.

To solve many computer maintenance problems, it becomes necessary to create a bootable USB flash drive. This may be needed, for example, to flash an updated BIOS version or install an operating system.

There are many methods and different utilities for creating a bootable USB flash drive. But often these methods are complex and not user-friendly for a novice user (or require several different utilities).

But nevertheless there is also very simple ways. One of them is to use the rufus utility to create a bootable USB flash drive.

Rufus is a miniature, but very fast and functional program. With its help, you can very quickly make a bootable USB flash drive with the desired operating system for installation or maintenance.

Creating a bootable DOS flash drive using the RUFUS program

Let's consider the option of creating a bootable flash drive with a DOS system - to flash the latest version of BIOS on motherboard computer.

To do this you need to download the program itself

and insert the USB drive (flash drive) that needs to be made bootable. It is advisable to disconnect all other USB media for the duration of the firmware.

Then run it with Administrator rights (since the utility will perform formatting, it requires advanced rights)

The program settings should be set as follows:

On the "Device" tab, you need to select the desired USB drive from the drop-down list.
"Partition scheme and system interface type" must be set to "MBR for computers with BIOS and UEFI"
"File system" must be set to "FAT32"
on the “New volume label” tab, you can set your own name for the bootable flash drive (to make it easier to recognize it among other media in the future)
The checkboxes opposite the values must be checked " Quick formatting" and "Create a boot disk"
next to the item “Create a boot disk”, select FreeDOS from the drop-down list

To complete formatting, click the "Start" button