Your PC boots from its internal hard disk or solid-state drive past default, merely that's not always ideal. Multiple instances—such as troubleshooting your Windows installation, setting up a unlike operating organisation, and checking the RAM for errors—may crave yous to boot from external media such equally a DVD or USB stick.

In this tutorial, you lot'll show yous how to change the boot social club in the BIOS or UEFI on your Microsoft Windows 10/11 PC. Only before you practice that, you may want to consider using the I-Time Boot Bill of fare instead.

How to Use the Ane-Time Boot Card

The all-time mode to change the boot gild in Windows is to use your PC's Old Boot Carte du jour for one-off instances. That involves pressing a specific cardinal—such as Esc or F12—immediately during the startup boot sequence.

Tip: You may encounter the Boot Menu key listed within the splash screen at calculator startup. If not, cheque your motherboard's user transmission or online documentation for the right key.

After loading the One-Time Kicking Menu, use the Up and Down directional arrow keys to select the device y'all want to kick from and press Enter.

However, if you lot want to boot from the aforementioned device multiple times or configure your PC to give preference to external media, it'south all-time to make a permanent change to the kick order via the BIOS or UEFI.

How to Access BIOS and Change Boot Order

BIOS stands for Basic Input/Output System. Information technology's depression-level software that verifies your calculator's hardware by performing a P.O.S.T. (Ability On Cocky Exam) at startup. If everything then appears okay, it loads Windows from internal storage. All the same, you can instruct your figurer'southward BIOS to wait elsewhere for bootable media, such as an optical disc or removable USB drive.

How to Access the BIOS Settings

To modify the boot order, you must instruct your PC to load the BIOS user interface by pressing the BIOS Setup key at estimator startup. It varies for each motherboard manufacturer, so hither's what yous tin do to enter BIOS:

  • Press the BIOS Setup fundamental listed within the splash screen at startup.
  • Experiment past pressing the most common keys—F2, F9, F10, F11, and DEL.
  • Check your PC or motherboard's user manual or online documentation.
  • Look for an option to Enter Setup inside the One-Fourth dimension Boot Bill of fare.

Tip: Press the BIOS Setup fundamental quickly multiple times during the boot sequence. If y'all meet the Windows logo, you lot must reboot your PC and try again.

If you're running a newer Windows 11/10 PC, then skip down to the UEFI department, which has a different method to access the BIOS.

How to Change Kicking Order in BIOS

Later on loading the BIOS setup utility, you can modify the kicking order after locating the list of bootable devices or the boot order. The exact method varies between motherboard manufacturers, but yous should get the general thought with the following steps.

1. Navigate to the tab or section—east.g., Boot or Advanced BIOS Features—that displays the list of boot devices or your reckoner'south boot order.

two. Highlight each device (Removable Devices, CD-ROM, Difficult Drive, etc.) and arrange them in the order you want. If the BIOS displays options such as the Showtime Kicking Device, Second Boot Device, Third Kick Device, and and so on, select each item and pick a device on the pop-upwards menu.

3. Salvage your changes and exit the BIOS.

BIOS requires the keyboard for navigation. You lot'll find a list of keys with their respective actions listed at the bottom and correct sides of the screen, such every bit:

  • Left, Right, Up, and Down directional arrows — Switch betwixt tabs or highlight items.
  • Enter — Select highlighted items.
  • Plus (+) or Folio Up — Motion highlighted items up a list.
  • Minus (–) or Folio Down — Move highlighted items downward a listing.
  • F10 — Save and leave.

How to Access UEFI and Change Boot Order

If you lot employ a new PC, the chances are that it uses UEFI (or Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). Information technology's faster and more than efficient than the BIOS, with support for larger storage drives. The procedure to change the boot order is essentially the same as the BIOS, if not easier.

Note: Despite using UEFI, your motherboard manufacturer may refer to it as the "UEFI BIOS" or merely "BIOS".

How to Access the UEFI

Depending on your PC's motherboard, you might exist able to load the UEFI Setup by pressing the relevant key at startup or past experimenting with the F2, F9, F10, F11, and DEL keys. You could besides bank check your motherboard's user transmission or online documentation for the exact cardinal.

However, it's possible to enter the UEFI on any PC via the Advanced Startup Options screen in WinRE (Windows Recovery Surroundings).

1. Boot into Windows 10/11.

2. Launch the Kickoff carte du jour and open Settings. Then, go to System/Update & Security > Recovery > Avant-garde Options.

iii. Select Restart now.

four. Wait until your PC reboots and loads WinRE.

5. Select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware Settings > Restart to load the UEFI.

Tip: If yous take trouble booting into the Windows desktop, difficult reset your PC at the Windows logo three times to enter the Windows Recovery Environment.

How to Change Kick Club in UEFI

Nigh UEFI interfaces support mouse and trackpad navigation. If yours don't, use the keyboard hotkeys at the bottom and right sides of the screen to interact with the menu options.

UEFI interfaces are likewise slightly different from each other. For example, the UEFI in ASUS laptops displays an EZ Mode that but shows a list of standard options. Look for a Kick Priority or Boot Sequence department to change the kick order. Or, yous tin can switch to Advanced Mode (you'll see the option listed somewhere on the screen) and go through the following steps.

one. Navigate to the Boot tab within the UEFI.

ii. Look for a list of bootable devices or a boot order (e.g., Kick Options #1).

3. Change the kick order equally needed—e.thousand., prepare a USB device as the first kicking device and Windows Boot Manager as the second.

4. Switch to the Salvage tab and save your changes.

Note: UEFI uses a feature called Secure Boot that prevents you from loading operating systems—such as Linux—from external storage devices. To disable the functionality, await for a Secure Kick option within the UEFI (normally located under the Security tab) and set information technology to Disabled.

How Your PC's New Kicking Order Works

Depending on how y'all alter the boot order, your PC volition check the first boot device for bootable media. If it fails to find whatever, it will await at the side by side device within the list and so on until it finds a setup or operating arrangement that it tin boot into. If you lot desire to change the boot order at a later time, re-enter the BIOS or UEFI and ready your difficult deejay drive or SSD as the outset kicking device.