Table of contents: 1. How to set boot priority in BIOS (UEFI) 2. What has to be done in case there is no Boot device priority in BIOS
How to set boot priority in BIOS (UEFI)
To set boot priority in BIOS, you need to use the Boot device priority menu. There are situations when this menu is called differently, which makes it difficult to find it. Below we will tell you what has to be done in such cases, but now let’s take a look at the standard use of the Boot device priority.
As you can see, the Boot device priority menu is located in BIOS (UEFI) settings. To get to those settings you need to press Del key when booting your computer (before starting the operating system). In some motherboard versions some other keys can be used to launch BIOS settings, for example, F2 or F4.
Once you are in the BIOS setup menu, you need to determine the controls. Most often, only the keyboard is used for control – the up, down, left, right, TAB, Enter, plus, minus, F1, F10 keys. Sometimes other keys will be used as well; the full list of those keys is usually displayed at the bottom of the BIOS settings screen. In UEFI, you can use mouse and keyboard both.
Having defined the controls, go to the BOOT menu. It contains the Boot device priority item, which allows you to set the startup boot priority information. To install an operating system from a bootable flash drive or disk, move the device to the priority boot location.
Please note: Sometimes there will be only 3 positions present in the Boot device priority menu, while more devices can actually be connected to the computer. This means that these three devices will be loaded one by one, depending on the priority (1, 2, 3), and after that all other devices will be loaded in the order that the system considers to be optimal.
If you cannot find the Boot or Boot device priority item in BIOS settings, try to find one of the following items:
- Boot priority;
- Boot Option Priority;
- Boot priority;
- Advanced BIOS Features – First Boot Device;
- Boot Priority Order.
All of the above options are analogous to the Boot device priority item. Depending on the different BIOS versions, names of this setting, as well as its location in sections, may vary.
What has to be done in case there is no boot device priority in BIOS
Those who rarely use BIOS or UEFI, may experience some difficulties finding a section responsible for the boot priority. It may seem that the Boot device priority item is simply not present in BIOS settings, but usually this is not the case and the item is simply hidden. If you cannot find it, you can try launching the boot priority setup menu right away, without going to all BIOS settings. Many motherboard and laptop manufacturers provide an option for launching this menu using a “hot key” at the start of a computer.
Depending on the motherboard (or laptop) model, the “hot key” for quick Boot device priority launch may vary. Here we present a summary table of the most frequently encountered hot keys for a quick transition to the priority settings menu for various motherboards and laptops:
| Acer | F9, F12 or ESC |
| Asrock | F11 |
| ASUS | F8 or ESC |
| Compaq | F9 or ESC |
| Dell | F12 |
| ESC | F11 |
| Fujitsu Siemens | F12 |
| Gigabyte | F12 |
| HP | F9 or ESC |
| Intel | F10 |
| Lenovo | F12 |
| MSI | F11 |
| Packard Bell | F8 |
| Samsung | ESC |
| Sony Vaio | F11 |
| Toshiba | F12 |
After launching the Boot device priority menu, you only have to set the boot priority as necessary, then save the settings and reboot the system.