When your PC boots up, the first thing that loads up is the UEFI Firmware or the BIOS. It does a lot of things which also includes the option to which hardware to use to boot the Windows. If you want to boot from a USB drive or an external drive, you need to change the boot order on Windows 11/10. The usual default is set to the first hard drive connected to the PC.
Prior to Windows 11/10, it was possible only by rebooting your PC and then press a unique key like F2 or DEL on your keyboard to get into BIOS. In Windows 10, Microsoft has inbuilt a recovery system that allows you to do many things. One of the options is to boot into BIOS making it a lot easier in case you always miss pressing the key.
In this guide, we will show how you can boot into Windows 11/10 firmware settings (UEFI/BIOS), and change the boot order easily.
Change Boot Order in Windows 11/10
Windows 11/10 Recovery System allows you to get into your UEFI/BIOS settings from the OS and change your boot order. You can choose to boot from a USB drive or DVD Drive. This comes in handy during fresh installation or upgrading using an ISO.
Windows 11 users need to press Win+I to open Settings > System Recovery and click on Restart now button against Advanced Startup.
Windows 10 users, open Settings > Update & Security > Recovery Advanced Startup and click on Restart now.
This feature lets you:
- Boot Windows from a device or disk (such as a USB drive or DVD).
- Change your PC’s Firmware Settings.
- Configure Windows Startup Settings.
- Restore Windows from a System Image.
When you click on Restart Now, it will reboot your PC, and offer you all these Advanced Options. Click, and wait till you get these options. Select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options. This screen offers further options which include System Restore, Startup repair, Go back to the previous version, Command Prompt, System Image Recovery, and UEFI Firmware Settings.
Select UEFI Firmware Settings, and it will let you restart your PC. Once the computer boots up, it will take you to the Firmware settings.
- Switch to Boot Tab.
- Here you will see Boot Priority which will list connected hard drive, CD/DVD ROM and USB drive if any.
- You can use the arrow keys or + & – on your keyboard to change the order.
- Save and Exit.
Now when you boot it will follow the sequence which you have set in your BIOS or UEFI Firmware Settings.
See: How to change Boot Menu Timeout in Windows
This comes in very handy when you want to boot from a DVD drive that has Windows 11/10 Installation files or if you have another Windows installed on a secondary hard disk.
Read: How to change default operating system in Windows
Note: It seems if you have a Bluetooth keyboard, it will not work here. You will need a hard-wired keyboard to navigate and change the options. Also, the touch doesn’t work either.
Read: Change Time to display the list of operating systems & Recovery Options in Windows.
