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Boot Menu: Operating System Post

The document discusses the boot process and boot devices. It begins by explaining that booting is the process of powering on a computer and loading the operating system. It describes how the computer performs self-diagnostics and loads necessary drivers during boot. It then discusses the boot menu, which allows selecting different boot devices like hard drives or CDs/DVDs. Finally, it covers common boot devices like hard drives and removable media, and issues that can occur like "no bootable device" errors if no valid boot devices are found.

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james paul
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76 views4 pages

Boot Menu: Operating System Post

The document discusses the boot process and boot devices. It begins by explaining that booting is the process of powering on a computer and loading the operating system. It describes how the computer performs self-diagnostics and loads necessary drivers during boot. It then discusses the boot menu, which allows selecting different boot devices like hard drives or CDs/DVDs. Finally, it covers common boot devices like hard drives and removable media, and issues that can occur like "no bootable device" errors if no valid boot devices are found.

Uploaded by

james paul
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Alternatively referred to as boot up, booting is the process of powering on a computer and

getting into the operating system. During the boot process, the computer will perform a self-
diagnostic, also known as a POST and load necessary drivers and programs that help the
computer and devices communicate. As your computer is booting, you may see a screen similar
to the example picture below.

In the above example, this screen is displaying the BIOS information, the type of computer,
CPU, and memory for the computer and a prompt to enter BIOS setup.

If the computer cannot boot, you may receive a boot failure error, which indicates that the
computer is not passing POST or a device in the computer such as the hard drive has failed.

Boot menu
Updated: 04/26/2017 by Computer Hope

The boot menu is a menu accessible when a computer


is first starting up. It can contain a number of different device options to boot to, including CD,
DVD, Flash or hard drives, and a LAN (network). The boot menu allows a user to load up other
operating systems or applications, even if the computer itself already has an operating system on
it. It is also useful when trying to install a new operating system on a computer, and the user
needs to load the installation application from a CD or DVD.

How to enter the Boot Menu


When a computer is starting up, the user can access the boot menu by pressing one of several
keyboard keys. Common keys for accessing the boot menu are Esc, F2, F10 or F12, depending
on the manufacturer of the computer or motherboard. The specific key to press is usually
specified on the computer's startup screen. The boot menu allows a user to select what device to
load an operating system or application from as the computer is booting.

If desired, the order of the devices listed in the boot menu, also called the boot sequence, can be
changed, so that the computer always tries to boot to the hard drive or to a CD/DVD drive.

Boot device
Updated: 04/26/2017 by Computer Hope

A boot device is any piece of hardware that can read or contains the files required for a computer
to start. For example, a floppy disk drive, CD-ROM drive, DVD drive, and USB jump drive are
all considered bootable devices. However, unless the necessary boot files are stored on the drive,
diskette, or disc the computer will not be able to boot from that device.

Additional information
The most commonly used boot device or boot drive is the hard drive. When an operating system
such as Microsoft Windows installed onto the hard drive it copies the boot files and drivers
required to load Windows on the computer. When installing a new operating system,
troubleshooting the computer, or booting from another drive such as the CD-ROM drive, a
bootable disc or setup disc is inserted into the drive. If the boot sequence is setup properly in
CMOS setup and the bootable disc is inserted the computer it will load from the disc instead of
the hard drive.

 How to make a bootable CD.


 How to make a bootable USB drive.
 How to make a bootable disk.

No boot devices available


If the computer hard drive is not working, has not yet been setup, or there are no other bootable
devices you will receive an error when the computer boots. Common errors in this situation are
"no bootable device" or "no boot devices available". This error is an indication that the computer
looked at all available devices, but did not see any drive with boot files. If the computer was
working before getting this error message and no any new hardware has been added, it's very
likely that your hard drive has failed.

However, before assuming the hard drive has failed make sure no cables (especially USB cables)
are connected to the computer and that all diskettes, CD's, and any other USB devices are
disconnected from the computer. In some situations, the computer may be trying to boot from a
non-bootable device.

If there are no other disks, discs, or USB drives connected to the computer and you have recently
moved the computer you may also want to open the computer and verify that the cables are
properly connected to the hard drive.

If none of the above steps help resolve the problem unfortunately it is likely a bad hard drive.

 Replacing hard disk drive.

Inaccessible boot device


If the computer has detected a boot device that is not bootable an error such as "inaccessible boot
device" is shown as the computer boots. When this error occurs it is an indication of a corrupt
boot device or a diskette, disc, or USB drive attached to the computer is not bootable. Remove
any diskettes and discs from the computer and disconnect any USB drives, MP3 players, or
cameras connected to the computer.

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