How to boot from a USB flash drive
by Alan Pfahler on October 11, 2021In order for your computer to boot from a USB flash drive, you need to make sure that the USB flash drive is bootable, and you can set your computer to boot from USB flash drive by the following ways.
Boot computer from USB drive with Boot Menu
Step 1: Insert USB flash drive to computer, remove all other drives, memory cards, printers etc.
Step 2: Power on or restart computer. When vendor logo appears on screen, press Boot Option Key repeatedly until Boot Option Menu appears. You can find the Boot Option Key for your computer from the following table.
Motherboard
| Brand | Boot Option Keys |
|---|---|
| Asus | F8 |
| Gigabyte | F12 |
| MSI | F11 |
| ASRock | F11, F8 |
| Intel | F10 |
| Acer | F12 |
| EVGA | F7 |
| Dell | F12 |
| Supermicro | F11 |
| HP | Esc, F9 |
| Biostar | F9 |
| Foxconn | Esc, F12 |
| Colorful | Esc, F11 |
| Soyo | Esc, F12 |
| Onda | F11 |
| UNIKA | Esc |
| Topstar | F12, F11 |
| Yeston | F8 |
| Jetway | Esc |
| Elite | Esc, F11 |
| Maxsun | Esc |
Laptop
| Brand | Boot Option Keys | Tips |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo | F12, F10, Novo button, Fn + F11 | On computer models with the Novo button, try pressing the Novo button. Other key combinations: Fn + F11. |
| Acer | Esc, F12, F9 | The "F12 Boot Menu" must be enabled in BIOS. It is disabled by default. |
| Asus | Esc, F8 | Disable "Fast Boot" and "Secure Boot Control" in order to boot from MBR formatted media. |
| HP | Esc, F9 | Press Esc, then F9 for Boot Menu. Select "Patriot Memory" on the Boot Option Menu. |
| Thinkpad | F12 | First disable "Secure Boot", and choose "UEFI Only" and set CSM as "Yes" in "UEFI/Legacy Boot". |
| Dell | F12 | First disable "Secure Boot" and change "Boot List Option" as "Legacy", enable "Load Legacy Option Rom". |
| Samsung | Esc, F12, F2 | Must first disable fast boot in BIOS/UEFI to boot from USB drive or use F2 boot menu. |
| Toshiba | Esc, F12 | |
| IBM | F12 | |
| Gateway | F12 | |
| Gigabyte | F12 | |
| Benq | F9 | |
| Sony | F2, F11 | |
| Fujitsu | F12 | The "F12" must be enabled is BIOS. |
| MSI | F11 | |
| eMachines | F12 | |
| Hasee | F12 | |
| Tsinghua Tongfang | F12 | |
| Founder | F12 | |
| Haier | F12 | |
| Compad | Esc, F9 |
Desktop Computer
| Brand | Boot Option Keys |
|---|---|
| Lenovo | F12, F10, F8 |
| HP | Esc, F12 |
| Acer | F12 |
| Dell | F12 |
| Asus | F8 |
| Benq | F8 |
| Tsinghua Tongfang | F12 |
| Founder | F12 |
| Hasee | F12 |
| Haier | F12 |
| Compad | Esc, F9 |
| Fujitsu | F12 |