In this article, we'll look at how to configure your computer's BIOS so that you can boot from an installation (boot) CD, DVD, or Blu-ray disc. The following steps are discussed in other articles: , / and .
So, you have a boot disk with Windows, now you need to make sure that the computer can boot from it. To do this, you only need to change one parameter in the BIOS.
You can get there immediately after turning on the computer, when the message Press DEL to enter SETUP appears on the monitor, that is, to get into the BIOS you need to press the button while the message is displayed on the monitor Delete.
The inscriptions may be different, there may even be no inscriptions, this should not confuse you. In most cases, the following keys are most often used to get into the BIOS:
Desktops – Delete(In most cases), F1 or F4
Laptops – F1, F2, F3, Delete, Ctrl + Alt + Esc. In the case of laptops, keyboard shortcuts can be very diverse, depending on its model. You can find this information either online or by calling technical support.
Be careful, as the inscription on the screen disappears quite quickly, so after turning on the computer, you can immediately press the corresponding key several times (once is enough, but to accurately catch the right moment, pressing it multiple times will not hurt) If you cannot see it on the first try , then restart your computer using the button Reset and try again. When loading starts, a graphic image may appear on the screen that covers service labels. To remove it, press the Esc key. If everything is done correctly, a window with BIOS settings will appear.
There are different versions of BIOS. Select your option and follow the instructions provided.
1. AMI BIOS (BIOS SETUP UTILITY)
After entering the BIOS settings of this type, you will see the following window:
At the top, enter the section Boot and in the subsection Boot Device Priority in point 1st Boot Device select the option with CDROM.
All. Our BIOS is configured. Now you need to insert the Windows disk into the drive and exit the BIOS after saving the settings you made. To do this, press the F10 key, select Yes in the dialog box that appears and press Enter.
2. AWARD (PHOENIX) BIOS
Choose a section Boot(Sometimes Advanced). Find the parameter CD-ROM and move it to the very top. In this version of the BIOS to move CD-ROM To reach the top position, press the + key twice.
It should look like the picture:
Save your settings and exit the BIOS. To do this, go to the tab Exit and select Exit Saving Changes:
3. Another option AWARD (PHOENIX) BIOS
Here we are interested in the section Advanced BIOS Features.
We go to this section and look for the item First Boot Device. Then at this point we set the computer to boot from CDROM.
Once you have configured BIOS, you need to insert a boot disk with Windows into the drive and save the settings BIOS. To do this, press the F10 key, select Yes in the window that appears and press Enter.
4. UEFI (EFI) BIOS
The main UEFI BIOS window looks like the picture below. In the upper right corner of the window you can set the interface language - I selected “Russian”. Click the button once with the left mouse button Output/Additional.
In the window that appears, select “Additional mode” with the left mouse button.
A UEFI BIOS advanced mode window will appear, in which you need to select the “Boot” menu item, as shown in the picture below.
You will see the menu items shown below in the picture. Considering that Windows will be installed from a boot disk, left-click on the button opposite “Boot option #1”.
In the small window that appears, select your DVD-ROM. My DVD drive (disc reader) is named after the company that made it - Optiarc DVD RW. That's what you need to choose. The name of your DVD drive, of course, may be different.
This completes the BIOS settings required to install Windows from a disk. To save the set parameters, click on the “Exit” button. In the window that appears, you must select “Save changes and reset.”
REMEMBER! After installing Windows, you need to enter the BIOS again and return booting from the hard drive.
Windows 7 is a popular OS from Microsoft
Today, more and more people are well versed in computers. They actively use the Internet and social networks, navigate programs, can treat particularly annoying viruses and even disassemble and reassemble the system unit. And when they need to install Windows 7 via BIOS, they get confused. It would seem that what is so difficult about this? Just run the disk or flash drive, restart the computer and follow the step-by-step actions that the installer prompts. The principle is approximately the same as when installing any program, except that it is a little more complicated. And the difficulty lies in the fact that you need to know the correct sequence - what and how to do. More precisely, you need to know how to enter the BIOS and how to reinstall Windows through the BIOS.
Preparing a Windows 7 image
Before installing Windows 7, you need to write the installation image (installation files) to a disk or flash drive. After all, during installation, all files from the hard drive will be deleted, so the operating system will be installed from a flash drive.
It makes no difference what type of media you install Windows from. But today, when flash drives and netbooks that do not have an optical drive are becoming especially popular, Windows is most often installed from a flash drive.
Writing an image to a flash drive
So, after you have received the Windows 7 installation disk (or image), all these files need to be copied to a USB flash drive. This can be done using the UltraISO program.
To do this, you need to install it, simultaneously specifying all the necessary settings (installation path, etc.). The soft version has no meaning. The main thing is that at the last installation step you do not need to uncheck the last two items - “Associate an .iso file with this program” and “Install an ISO emulator”. After installation is complete, the program will offer to register the product, but you can select the “Trial period” option, which will allow you to use this software for 30 days. This is quite enough to have time to write a Windows 7 image to a USB flash drive.
Before recording the image, you must insert the USB flash drive into any free USB connector. Then you need to run the program and perform the following steps:
- Open the installation image of the operating system using the “File - Open” items.
- Go to “Boot - Write Disk Image”.
- Select the desired flash drive in the Disk Drive field (if more than one USB device is connected).
- Check in the “Image file” item whether you have selected the correct image.
- Select USB-HDD in the “Recording method” line.
- Click the “Record” button.
Before recording the image, the program will ask the user if he really wants to continue the process, since the flash drive will be formatted and all data will be deleted. Therefore, you need to view the contents of the flash drive in advance and save the data just in case. If there is nothing important on the flash drive, you can click the “Yes” button. The message “Burn successful” will inform the user that the image has been written to the flash drive.
Burning an image to disk
To burn a Windows 7 image to disk, you can use a fairly popular program called Nero Express. To do this, you need to launch the program, click on the “Image, Project, Copy” icon, and then select “Disk Image”. A new window will open in which you need to specify the path to the desired image. If for some reason the installation image of the OS is not displayed in the folder (and it was definitely there), then it is recommended that in the “File type” line select “All supported images and projects”. After the user specifies the path to the file, the following window will open in which you will need to click on the “Record” (or “Burn”) button. After some time, the disc will be written.
How to install Windows via BIOS
The image is recorded, now you can reinstall Windows. In order to reinstall Windows, you need to restart your computer (or laptop) and. Typically the Delete (Del) key is used for this. But it may be different on different models: F2, F8, etc. In any case, as soon as the computer turns on, the screen will indicate all the available keys, as well as the actions that they perform.
After you go to the BIOS, you will need to find the menu section that is responsible for. Depending on the motherboard and BIOS version, this section may be located in different places.
The user's task is to find a menu item called “Boot”, “Boot Device” or “First Boot Device”. And in the first place you need to install DVD-ROM (if installation is from a disk) or USB (if from a flash drive). For example, you found the “First Boot Device” item, in which the hard drive (Hard Disk) is selected, and below is the “Second Boot Device” item, in which the DVD-ROM drive is selected. That is, by default, when you turn on the computer, data is first loaded from the hard drive, and then from the drive. Everything is correct here. But to install Windows, you need to swap these 2 points so that the disk in the drive is loaded first, and then the hard drive. This can be done using the arrows and the Enter key. After this, you need to save all changes (using the F10 key) and exit the BIOS to install Windows. The computer will reboot and you will see the message “Press any key for load from CD”. That is, you need to press any button to start installing Windows.
Similar steps must be taken if the OS will be installed from a flash drive. Only instead of the “DVD-ROM” item you need to select a USB connector.
If after this the message “Windows loading files” appears on the screen, this means that the installation has begun. When this stage is completed, the Windows 7 installation window will appear, where you will need to select the language to install, time format and keyboard layout. As a rule, the default is Russian everywhere, so at this stage you don’t have to change anything. After clicking the “Next” button, a new window will appear where you can begin the process of reinstalling the OS. But before that, it is advisable to read “What you should know before installing” (especially for those who are doing this for the first time).
After clicking the “Install” button, you will need to accept the terms of the license agreement (check the box) and click the “Next” button again. After this, the program will ask the user how he wants to reinstall Windows. There are 2 options here:
- update;
- complete installation.
An upgrade is the installation of another OS on top of the existing one. And a complete installation is an installation from scratch. Naturally, it would be best to completely remove Windows via BIOS and install a new operating system. Therefore, you need to select “Full installation”.
At the next stage, a window will open where a list of hard drives will be presented. Here you can divide 1 partition into several: for example, into local drive C and local drive D. Windows is usually installed on drive C, so it is advisable to allocate at least 50 GB for it - approximately 20 GB will be occupied by the OS, the rest for the future. In addition, if the user is reinstalling the OS and there is already some data stored on the hard drive, they can be deleted here. How to delete? To do this, select the desired disk partition, click the “Disk Setup” button, and then select “Format”.
After all the necessary actions have been completed, you need to click on the local disk where you want to install the OS and click the “Next” button. The installation process will begin, and here you can monitor the progress of installed components and updates. As a rule, on good computers the whole process will take about 15-20 minutes.
After this, all that remains is to do a couple of steps - enter the user name, set a password (optional) and enter the activation key. If there is no key at the moment, you can simply click “Next” and enter the key later (or check the “Activate OS when connected to the Internet” checkbox). Then you will need to set the time and date, and also select your network type. After this, the desktop will load, and the installation of Windows 7 will be completed.
All that remains is to customize the computer for yourself - install drivers, select, install the programs necessary for operation, etc.
1 - First, as usual, you need to configure the BIOS to boot from a CD drive. To do this, turn on the computer and as soon as white text on a black background begins to appear on the screen, press the Delete or Del button on the keyboard (in some cases, for example on computers from ASUS, you need to press the F2 button instead of Delete). A blue (or gray) BIOS setup screen will appear on the monitor. Insert the Windows 7 installation disc into your CD drive.
1.1 - We need the line “Advanced BIOS features”. Select it and press Enter. We see the following: Find the line First Boot Device. Opposite this line is usually either Floppy or HDD (HDD-0). Our task is to install the CDROM there. To do this, use the arrows to highlight the line and press Enter. A list of boot devices will appear, among which you need to select CDROM with the down or up arrows and press Enter. In this way, we will tell the computer to boot when the computer is turned on not from the hard drive, but from the CD drive. Now press the F10 key from the keyboard, a window will appear asking for confirmation. Press the letter Y (Russian letter N) then Enter. The computer will restart.
1.2 - Now, if you have a gray BIOS. (Whoever has blue, skip this point). After turning on the computer and clicking Delete, you will see a gray BIOS. We move through the menu using arrows: , , , . Use the right arrow to select the "Boot" tab. And use the down arrow to select “Boot Device Priority”. Press the Enter button and select CD/DVD-ROM. Press F10 on the keyboard, then Enter. The computer will restart.
2 - So, after setting up the BIOS, the computer starts to reboot. Now we don’t yawn and follow the white inscriptions on the screen. As soon as the inscriptions on the screen begin to appear, wait for the inscription “PRESS ANY KEY TO BOOT FROM CD...” to appear at the bottom of the screen (Translation: press any key to boot from CD), it only appears for 3 seconds, so don’t sleep. As soon as it appears, press Enter. The disk will begin loading. If you overslept and did not have time to press Enter, turn off the computer and turn it on again, wait for the inscription, press Enter.
3 - After pressing Enter, Windows 7 installation begins loading from the disk. First, we will see the inscription on a black background “Windows is loading files...” and a scale. Then a beautiful interface will load, and for a few seconds we will see the inscription “Running the installation program...” on a blue background. During the process, when a window with disks appears, be sure to change it to drive C! Below there is “Settings”, there you format drive C.
Reinstallation process from flash drive
You need to format the flash drive and write a Windows file to it in ISO format. You can create this format in the program
To find out if your PC supports booting via USB, connect a bootable USB flash drive to it and go into the BIOS. Check it for the necessary options.
To go to the BIOS, use the same F2 or Delete key. When we get into the BIOS, we need to find the line Advanced BIOS Features (in some BIOS it may say BIOS Features Setup).
In the tab that opens, select the line First Boot Devise, then a window will open with a choice of disks.
We need to install Windows from a flash drive, so we select and save the BIOS settings by pressing the F10 key.
After saving the BIOS settings, the computer will begin to reboot and begin booting from our bootable flash card.
After we have done the above steps, the installation will begin from our bootable memory card.
At the very beginning of the installation, we need to select the language of the operating system to be installed. Choose the one you need. The default language is Russian, then click the “Next” button and select “Install”.
We accept the license agreement. Check the box and click on the “Next” button. Select the Windows installation type, here you select the installation you need (I recommend installing from scratch).
Select the disk on which we will install Windows. It is advisable to select a disk and format it, so as not to be confused in the future where everything is located. The drive you choose to install Windows will be formatted; save valuable information on some other media. Click "Next".
Windows installation begins on the specified computer disk, and we see the installation process on the computer screen.
Completed processes are marked with a tick. After successful installation of all items except the last one, “Complete installation,” the computer will reboot. You need to get into the BIOS settings again during this reboot, otherwise the installation process will start over again. We configure it as it was before the change, change to and save. After this, the computer will restart and the final Windows installation process will continue.
After installing Windows, I advise you to set the BIOS to start from the hard drive first to speed up loading of the OS.
Do you have a laptop, personal computer or tablet - in a word, a device on which you want to install Windows via a USB flash drive? Do you have to reinstall the OS often and don't want to use fragile and bulky disks?
If yes, then this guide is for you. Read the instructions below carefully and you will definitely succeed!
We can also say that a disk image is the same CD/DVD disk that does not have its own material shell.
Step 1. If you own an official copy of Windows, you can create a bootable USB drive from the Windows installer that comes on the DVD, or you can use the official ISO file that you can download from the company's website. You can also purchase an ISO distribution from other sources (download from any torrent tracker). In the last two cases, skip the following paragraphs in this section.
Step 2.. There are many free solutions available on the Internet, one of which is ImgBurn, one of the most popular utilities.
Step 3. Insert the operating system disc into the DVD drive. Open the program and click on the “Copy to Image” or “Create Image” tab (the inscription may differ in different versions of the program). When prompted, select the DVD drive as the source.
Step 4. Save the ISO file. Choose an easy-to-remember file name and location. Make sure you have enough free space to save the file. An ISO file is essentially an exact copy of the boot DVD.
Part 2: Creating a bootable USB flash drive
Step 1. Insert your flash drive into the appropriate slot on your computer. To successfully copy a disk image (ISO) file, the media size must be at least 4 GB.
Note! When created, all original data will be erased - create a backup copy if you have important information.
Step 2. Download Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool from the official Windows website. Despite the name, the utility also works with other versions of the OS.
Step 3. Specify the path to the ISO file - the location where you saved it at the last stage of creation.
Step 4. Click on the "USB Device" button. The program can also create a boot disk; to do this, click on the “Disc” button.
Step 5. Wait until the download completes. The program will prepare the drive, then download the ISO file to it. Depending on the speed of your device, the copying process takes up to 15 minutes.
Part 3. Preparing the system
- Insert the USB drive into your computer. Press the power button or restart your computer. During the reboot, click on the so-called “Setup key” - a key combination that is shown on the first screens of the system boot. Typically, this combination is located on the same screen on which the manufacturer’s logo is displayed. The key varies from computer to computer, but in any case it will be on the screen. Once clicked, you will be taken to the BIOS menu.
Table of dependence of hot keys on the PC model at the time of booting
- Click on the "Boot Menu" tab. Each BIOS is different, but they all have this tab. You will see the order in which the computer searches for a bootable operating system. Typically, computers do this from the hard drive first, so the OS boots automatically.
- Once you go to the "Boot Menu", you will need to switch the order so that your USB drive is at the very top of the list. Again, exactly what this list looks like will vary depending on the make and model of the device. You may see the name of your drive, or perhaps just the words “Removable Device” or “USB”. To change the order, use the “+” and “-” keys - up and down, respectively.
- Afterwards, save the changes and exit the BIOS. The key to this action is usually the F10 key. The computer will reboot from the USB drive.
Part 4: Installing Windows
Step 1. To begin initializing the installer, press any key. If you do nothing, the computer will automatically start loading the already installed operating system and you will have to reboot the system again.
Step 2. After pressing the key, the system will begin downloading data to install the operating system. On slow devices, this process may take up to several minutes.
Step 3. Follow the installer's instructions. Once the installation is complete, the system will reboot.
Congratulations! You have installed Windows! Now you have a flash drive with which you can . Most new computers support installation from flash drives, use the special BIOS boot option as shown above.
Video - How to reinstall Windows from a flash drive via BIOS
There will inevitably come a time when the operating system will need to be reinstalled. For most users, this situation is not a very favorable moment. Some people treat the problem calmly, while others, on the contrary, are horrified because they do not know how to reinstall Windows via BIOS. As a rule, the unlucky person settles on the option that saves the situation: “Hello, is this a computer help service?” As a result, he loses time, patience and money. From now on everything will be different. Right now you will learn the “great secret” that Windows OS installs itself. The user only needs attention and a few confident presses on the appropriate buttons. Are you interested? Then go ahead!
Meet the chief PC manager - Mr. Bios!
Incredibly, the Bios firmware, the abbreviation of which stands for “basic input/output system,” is primarily responsible for the functionality of the computer. If any of you, dear reader, thought that Windows was responsible for the “omnipotence” of the PC, then you were mistaken. Accept the paragraph title as an important fact of reality. You will soon understand that resolving the question of how to install Windows will first of all require turning to a certain Bios program preinstalled by the motherboard manufacturer. Moreover, you should know that the base system may have different versions, since competing companies in the IT industry each have their own idea of the beauty, convenience and efficiency of the ROM (read only read only memory) chip, the “micromonster” Bios. Yet, despite the individuality of the graphical shell of each separately existing program for controlling the hardware of a computer, the functioning of embedded “hardware” systems becomes intuitive when directly entering their environment, since they all use the same notation in the form of standard terminology.
How to reinstall Windows via BIOS: thumbs up!
We won’t rush, because you know that “rush is only needed when fishing...”. Before you get into the PC, that is, when the Bios interface opens in front of you, know: carelessness in actions, which is expressed in mindlessly pressing keys and changing “incomprehensible” parameters, is critical, and in poetic language it’s even like death!
However, you still have to do some “editing” yourself.
The only correct choice: one among many
You can activate the BIOS firmware when you turn on or restart your computer. In order to do this, you need to press the corresponding button on the keyboard several times at short intervals. As a rule, this is the “Delete” or “F2” key. If it doesn’t work, the user will always be able to see the name of the “responsible” button on the initial loading screen (lower part of the display or upper left corner).
Why “boot”?
The most common method of installing an OS is a practical solution to the question: “How to install Windows from disk?” However, the method of implementing the system via a flash drive is becoming increasingly popular, but more on that later.
- Depending on the Bios version, the tab responsible for boot priority may have different names. However, the English word "Boot" will mean that you are on the right track.
- Having opened the above menu or activated the “Advanced BIOS Features” item, pay attention to the “Boot Device Priority” item. Or lines that indicate the order in which devices are loaded. Typically these are Floppy, HDD and CDROM (DVD R/RW).
- Set the boot priority to your disk drive (drive).
- You can save the changes by pressing the F10 hotkey or simply agree: “Yes” (if you used the “Esc” button).
We reboot and proceed to the next stage of the project “How to reinstall Windows via BIOS.”
Where does Windows come from?
Perhaps some of you will feel that this point should have been placed at the beginning of the process being described. Meanwhile, this “discrepancy” in the presentation of the material does not in any way disrupt the sequence of actions; moreover, it is the most acceptable option to learn how to do everything according to the rules. Now insert the Windows distribution disk. If you are using licensed software, and the disk with the system image you purchased is original, then you have nothing to worry about. When you have free Windows, downloaded from a dubious Internet resource, the chances of long-term and fruitful “cooperation” with the OS are negligible.
However, there are exceptions. Perhaps you will be one of the lucky ones, and the “cracked” system will turn out to be quite suitable for work. But do not forget that the final result—the success of the OS installation—depends on the correctness of the changes made to the BIOS settings. It is the microprogram that monitors the “fairness of the game” of the user. Therefore, installation of a system distribution kit from a Windows environment is often fraught with software failures and, as a rule, does not proceed correctly. As a result of using a “treacherous” method when solving the question: “How to reinstall Windows XP?” the efforts of an uninitiated user simply become wasted time. Moral: install Windows from DOS, that is, through BIOS!
When the disc “whispers” - the user is drinking coffee
Once you've designated the drive as boot device #1, then inserted the Windows disc and restarted the computer using the Alt+Ctrl+Delete key combination, it's time to observe. As promised, the system will “become” automatically.
- When the message “Press any key...” appears, press any button.
- After the initialization process, a window will open in which you need to assign the OS installation directory.
Attention: do not mindlessly press “Enter” on a non-functional Windows OS, which usually takes up space in the system partition of the HDD and is designated by the letter “C”. “How to reinstall Windows XP?”, you ask, if the required disk area is occupied by an old copy? Easily! To do this, simply format the partition, first erasing the old data.
- On the highlighted OS, press “D”, which means delete.
- Then use the "L" button to confirm your intentions.
- After the unallocated area appears, press “Enter” and format the created partition to the NTFS file system.
You don’t have to do anything else, except at the end of the installation to make some adjustments regarding the system language for using the operating system, as well as user data. As you have probably already seen, everything is quite simple and transparent, and the solution to the question “How to install Windows through BIOS?” - not a labor-intensive process at all.
Spectacular Windows 7 and royal flush download
Now the time has come to enlighten the attentive reader about the method of installing the operating system using a flash drive. The promised installation method is something more practical, since it does not require participation. However, the feasibility of this method greatly prevails over the traditionally used boot from a CD or DVD. Especially today, in our age of compactness, when modern electronics take on ultra-thin features, and technology gets rid of devices that unnecessarily “devour” time and energy.
Modern solution to the problem: via BIOS?
First of all, it is necessary. This is not difficult to do; it is worth considering that the capacity of the compact storage medium must be at least 4 GB. "Why?" - you ask. The thing is that the standard distribution kit of the seventh OS “weighs” almost 3 GB, so the minimum size of the flash drive must correspond to the above value.
From words to deeds
- Format the Flash media using standard Windows tools. The file system should be NTFS.
- Then you need to prepare the system distribution for recording. That is, if the installation files are on an optical disk, insert it into the drive; when the data is in the form of an image, download it to a virtual device.
- The next step is to use the “WinSetupFromUSB” program. This software is freely distributed on the Internet, you should not have any difficulties downloading it. After installing and launching the specified program, you will be literally two steps away from the moment when you can consider yourself a professional in solving the question: “How to install Windows?”
- In the top checkbox, select the flash drive installed on your PC.
- Check the corresponding box (Windows 7) and, by clicking the button, specify the path to the OS distribution next to it.
- After activating the “GO” toolbox, all you have to do is wait a few minutes. Upon completion of the process, the program will display a corresponding message.
It's time to start a practical solution to how to install Windows through BIOS!
Flash start!
Setting up boot parameters is done in almost the same way as in the case described at the beginning of the article. The only difference is the choice of media. With this installation method, your choice is a USB Drive, that is, a flash drive. There is another way to boot from the desired data source, bypassing the main thing. This scenario of action is possible when the user presses “F8” to call up the Boot menu, so to speak, a hot version of the base system. Of course, on different PCs this option can be activated using a different key.
After reboot, follow the instructions:
You must now understand that the previously described method of installing Windows from a disk is somewhat outdated. Flash drives are an incredibly convenient invention of mankind!
Finally
The article described the two main methods of the Windows family. It's up to you to decide which one is optimal. However, there are a lot of programs that allow you to make backup copies of working systems, that is, if the operating system crashes, the user has the opportunity to restore a clean copy (duplicate) of the OS with working programs and previously made settings in a matter of minutes. Incredible convenience, since the user does not need to reinstall the software and remember forgotten passwords. However, a new question will arise: “How can I launch Windows through BIOS?”, which, in principle, can be solved just as easily as in the case when reinstallation is necessary. But this is a topic for another article. Don't learn from your own mistakes...
