In the digital age, computers have become an indispensable tool in our daily lives and work. The USB flash drive, as a portable storage device, is also loved by the majority of users because of its small size, large capacity and plug-and-play characteristics. However, in some specific scenarios, such as system installation, troubleshooting, or data recovery, we may need to set the USB flash drive as the first boot item of the computer. So, how do you achieve this? This article will explain two common methods for you in detail.
Method 1: Use the BIOS to set the USB flash drive as the first boot item.
BIOS (Basic Input Output System) is a firmware program that exists in every computer and is responsible for hardware initialization and loading the operating system when the computer boots up. By setting up the BIOS, we can easily set the USB flash drive as the first boot item.
Press and hold F12 on power-on (Dell computers as an example).
Different brands of computers may have different keys to enter the BIOS when they are turned on. For Dell computers, you need to press and hold the F12 key while powered on. And for other brands of computers, it may be keys such as F2, del, esc, etc. Please operate according to the actual situation of your computer.
Navigate to the Startup tab.
Once you have successfully entered the BIOS interface, you will see an interface with multiple tabs. Using the arrow keys on your keyboard, move the cursor to the "Startup" tab and press Enter to enter.
Go to the boot option.
In the "Startup" tab, you'll see an option called "Boot". Use the arrow keys again to move the cursor to that option and press Enter to enter.
Set the USB flash drive as the first startup item.
In the "Boot" option, you will see a list of devices in boot order. Use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the "USB HDD" item (which means a USB flash drive), then press the "+" key to raise its priority to the first place. In this way, the computer will be loaded from the USB flash drive first when it boots up.
Save and exit the BIOS settings.
Once you have done the above, press the F10 key to save and exit the BIOS settings. In the pop-up option box, select "yes" to confirm the change. Then, the computer will automatically reboot and boot from the USB flash drive.
Method 2: Select Boot from USB flash drive through the boot menu.
In addition to setting the USB flash drive as the first boot item via the BIOS, you can also choose to boot from the USB flash drive every time you boot up via the boot menu. This method is suitable for those users who do not want to permanently change the boot order.
Press and hold F12 or Fn+F12 when powered on
Similar to entering the BIOS, different brands of computers may have different buttons to open the boot menu when they are turned on. For Dell computers, you need to press and hold the F12 key or the FN+F12 key combination while powered on. And for other brands of computers, it may be keys such as F8, F9, F10, etc. Please operate according to the actual situation of your computer.
Select Boot from USB stick.
Once you have successfully opened the boot menu, you will see a list with several boot options. Use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the option that represents the USB flash drive (usually "USB HDD" or similar), then press Enter to confirm the selection. In this way, the computer will boot from the USB flash drive.
It should be noted that choosing to boot from USB flash drive through the boot menu will only affect the boot process. If you want to boot from the USB flash drive the next time you boot up, you need to do the above again.
Summary: This article divides the method of setting the USB flash drive as the first boot item of the computer into two ways: through the BIOS settings and through the boot menu selection. The former is suitable for users who need to boot from a USB flash drive for a long time, while the latter is suitable for temporary needs. Whichever method you choose, you need to make sure that a bootable program (such as an operating system installer or startup disk) is present on the USB flash drive, otherwise the computer may not boot properly.
Hope this article can be helpful to you! If you encounter any problems during operation, please feel free to consult us.