Booting from
a CD, DVD, or BD is sometimes necessary to run advanced tools like memory
testing programs and password recovery tools. You'll also need to boot from a
disc if you're planning to reinstall Windows or run repair tools like a Startup
Repair or Recovery Console.
When you
boot from a disc, what you're actually doing is running your computer with a
small operating system that's installed on the CD, DVD, or BD. When you start
your computer normally, you're running with the operating system installed on
your hard drive - Windows, Linux, etc.
Follow these
easy steps to boot from a disc:
Here's
How:
1. Change
the boot order in BIOS so the CD, DVD, or BD drive is listed first. Some
computers are already configured this way but many are not.
If the optical
drive is not first in the boot order, your PC will start "normally"
(i.e. boot from your hard drive) without even looking at what might be in your
disc drive.
Note: After setting your optical drive as
the first boot device in BIOS, your computer will check that drive for a
bootable disc each time your computer starts. Leaving your PC configured this
way shouldn't cause problems unless you plan on leaving a disc in the drive all
the time.
2.
Insert
your bootable CD, DVD, or BD in your disc drive.
How do
you know if a disc is bootable? The easiest way to find out if a disc is bootable is to
insert it in your drive and follow the remainder of these instructions. Most
operating system setup CDs and DVDs are bootable, as are many advanced
diagnostic tools like the ones I discussed above.
3.
Restart
your computer.
4.
Watch
for a Press any key to boot from CD or DVD... message.
When booting
to a Windows setup disc, and some other bootable discs as well, you may be
prompted with a message to press a key to boot to the disc. To boot from the
disc, you'll need to press any key on your keyboard (like the space bar) within
the few seconds that the message is on the screen.
If you do
nothing, your computer will check for boot information on the next boot device
in the list in BIOS (see Step 1) which will probably be your hard drive.
Some
bootable discs do not prompt for a key press and will start immediately.
5.
Your
computer should now boot from the CD, DVD, or BD disc.
If you tried
the above steps but your computer did not boot from the disc properly, check
out some of the tips below.
Tips:
- Recheck the boot order in BIOS (Step 1). I've found that the number one reason a bootable disc won't boot is because BIOS is not configured to check the CD/DVD/BD drive first.
- Do you have more than one
optical drive?
Your computer probably only allows for one of your disc drives to be
booted from. Insert the bootable CD, DVD, or BD in the other drive and
restart your computer.
- Clean the disc. If the disc is old, as are many
Windows Setup CDs and DVDs by the time they're needed, clean it. A clean
disc could make all the difference.
- Burn a new CD/DVD/BD. If the disc is one you created
yourself, like from an ISO file, then burn it again. The disc may have
errors on it that re-burning could correct. I've had this happen to me
more than once.
