Boot Order

First, can someone remind me how to change the boot order?


OK-- what is the best boot order to have in case of a disaster.

Assume I have a B/U image file on an external USB drive. I also have
TrueImage 10 which can boot via its CD.

So, does it make more sense to have CD drive as first in the boot order with
"C" drive 2nd and USB thirds??

I'm thinking that if it boots from the C drive first and something bad
happens, it may never be able to boot from the CD drive (and I might not be
able to change the boot order)

Mel

"MZB" <> wrote in message
news:8cAih.16$...
> First, can someone remind me how to change the boot order?
>
>
> OK-- what is the best boot order to have in case of a disaster.
>
> Assume I have a B/U image file on an external USB drive. I also have
> TrueImage 10 which can boot via its CD.
>
> So, does it make more sense to have CD drive as first in the boot order
> with "C" drive 2nd and USB thirds??
>
> I'm thinking that if it boots from the C drive first and something bad
> happens, it may never be able to boot from the CD drive (and I might not
> be able to change the boot order)
>
> Mel
>

I always have the hard drive first as I don't want to wait while it looks.
When I need to boot from CD, I press F12 at the Dell logo and it lets me
choose.

"MZB" <> wrote in message
news:8cAih.16$...
> First, can someone remind me how to change the boot order?

It's done from the BIOS.

Tom's way is fine but I tend to leave the computer while it's rebooting and
miss the F12. I use this order: floppy, CD, USB, hard drive.

"MZB" <> wrote in message
news:8cAih.16$...
> First, can someone remind me how to change the boot order?
>
>
> OK-- what is the best boot order to have in case of a disaster.
>
> Assume I have a B/U image file on an external USB drive. I also have
> TrueImage 10 which can boot via its CD.
>
> So, does it make more sense to have CD drive as first in the boot order
> with "C" drive 2nd and USB thirds??
>
> I'm thinking that if it boots from the C drive first and something bad
> happens, it may never be able to boot from the CD drive (and I might not
> be able to change the boot order)
>

Changing the boot order is done in BIOS setup and since BIOS setup occurs
before boot, you should always be able to change the boot order before it
starts to load the OS. It is perfectly OK to boot from C first and only
change the order if you need to boot from somewhere else (for example to try
out knoppix or dsl from a CD , or to reinstall an OS from CD).

>
> Tom's way is fine but I tend to leave the computer while it's rebooting and
> miss the F12. I use this order: floppy, CD, USB, hard drive.

Man, that F12 key is a *lifesaver*! Booting from a CD (or other
device) occurs maybe 5% of the time for me, and probably less for most
users. If you are booting from floppy/CD, chances are that you are
doing PC maintenance of some sort. Given the effort involved in such a
task, hitting F12 to select a boot device is pretty trivial.

I used to hate having floppy drives as my #1 boot device, due to the
extra few seconds it took to scan the floppy. I'm sure there's a delay
associated with CD-boot as well. That is why I prefer using the HD as
primary boot device.

MZB wrote:
> First, can someone remind me how to change the boot order?

This can be done in the system BIOS. For most Dell systems since 2001,
this means pressing the "F2" key when your computer starts up (although
I have seen systems use "F1", "DEL", or possibly some other key to
access the BIOS). Navigating the BIOS is fairly straightforward; you
might not understand all options but you should be able to find a
section for boot devices.

>
> OK-- what is the best boot order to have in case of a disaster.

Technically, it shouldn't matter what the boot order is (with respect
to a "disaster"). Your BIOS must be processed before Windows (or any
other operating system) will start. As long as your BIOS is intact,
you can access it and change the boot sequence.

If, on the other hand, your BIOS is corrupt/damaged...that's another
type of disaster entirely. Boot order *still* doesn't matter, because
with no BIOS you can't boot any devices! There are some exceptions to
this rule (I can give a personal example), but they would apply to
about 0.0001% of the population.

>
> Assume I have a B/U image file on an external USB drive. I also have
> TrueImage 10 which can boot via its CD.
>

Good for you. A disk imager is a great tool to have.

> So, does it make more sense to have CD drive as first in the boot order with
> "C" drive 2nd and USB thirds??

This is how I *used* to arrange my boot sequence...before I got a
computer that would allow selecting a boot device on the fly (i.e. F12
on newer Dell systems). With the F12 functionality, I just set my HD
as primary boot device so no time is wasted on startup.

> I used to hate having floppy drives as my #1 boot device, due to the
> extra few seconds it took to scan the floppy. I'm sure there's a delay
> associated with CD-boot as well. That is why I prefer using the HD as
> primary boot device.

I'm just the opposite. I only do a planned reboot a occasionally
so the extra few seconds don't bother me. When I have an emergency,
though, I'd rather not have to go through the reboot, change the BIOS and
reboot again until I can get the floppy or CD to start. That's why I leave
my machine in Floppy / CD / HD boot order.

Tom Lake