How to Change the OS Boot Order
Knowing how to change the order in which your computer boots up its system components can come in handy--especially if you need to retrieve lost passwords, recover data or change the boot order. When a computer is switched on, it runs a very basic software along with the main operating system the user usually sees. If you need to change the order in which your computer boots up, you can accomplish this from this software, called the Basic Input/Output System, or BIOS.
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Instructions
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Turn on your computer and watch the screen carefully. At some point early on in the procedure a piece of text will appear that will say something like "Press XX to enter BIOS menu" or "Press XX to enter setup menu" where XX is a given key depending on your manufacturer. Common keys used are the Function keys (F1, F2 etc) or the Escape key.
Press this button.
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Navigate to a menu using the arrow keys and the Enter key. The menu you seek will have a label such as "Boot" or "Startup Management." This exact label depends on the manufacturer of your computer.
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3
Use the arrow keys and the "Enter" key to navigate through this menu to rearrange the Boot order of your computer. You will be able to tell the computer to boot from different partitions of your hard drive, where different operating systems may be stored, or from external media, such as a flash drive or a CD.
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Press "Esc" or "F10" to exit the BIOS menu. If these two keys do not work on your computer, look to the bottom of the screen for a button labeled "Save & Exit" and press that key. Select "Save" when prompted to do so.
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5
Restart your computer to use the new launch sequence.
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