How to Change an Operating System Boot Order

The BIOS menu is saved on the motherboard of the computer instead of the hard drive.

The boot order of your computer dictates where the computer tries to boot from first. If the first item in the boot order is unavailable, the computer will keep going down its boot list until something is available. Changing the boot order of a PC is usually done to launch recovery software from a disc or an external drive.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Computer

1. Restart the computer and enter the Basic Input Output System (BIOS) menu. Restart your computer. As it restarts, the first screen that you will see should have a comment telling you how to enter the BIOS menu. It is usually in the form of "Press 'Key' to enter BIOS menu." The "Key" part is different for every computer but the most common ones are "F1," "F2," "Del" and "Esc."

2. Enter the boot setting in the BIOS menu. The BIOS menu cannot be navigated with a mouse; only a keyboard will work. Using your keyboard, find the tab that reads "Boot Order," "Boot Manager" or "Boot Menu." It can also be under a secondary menu such as: "Advanced BIOS Features." Select and enter the menu.

3. Change the boot order. In boot settings, there will be a current boot order of devices on the left side and instructions on the right side or the bottom explaining how to switch the order. The standard method for changing the boot order is pressing the "+" or "-" key. The "+" key moves the items on the list up and the "-" key moves them down. Your computer's BIOS keys may be different.

4. Save your settings and restart. On the bottom of the screen will be a menu with executable commands and their associated keys. Find the "Save & Exit" command and press the key that is associated with it. On most computers it will be the "F10" key. A window will ask you if you want to save and exit; select "Yes." This will restart your computer and it will now boot in the order that you specified.

Tips & Warnings

• The type of operating system(s) that you have on your computer makes no difference to the steps in the process of accessing the BIOS menu.

• You will only have a few seconds to press the required key, as your computer restarts, to access the BIOS menu.

• Be careful not to change any other setting in the BIOS menu because this can lead to your computer becoming inoperable.

References

• White Canyon: Changing Your Computers Boot Order
• Help Desk Geek: How to change the boot sequence in the BIOS