MultiBoot User Guide
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Product notice This user guide describes features that are common to most models. Some features may not be available on your computer.
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Table of contents 1 About the boot device order 2 Enabling boot devices in Computer Setup 3 Considering boot order changes 4 Choosing MultiBoot preferences Setting a new boot order in Computer Setup ....................................................................................... 5 Dynamically choosing a boot device using the F9 prompt ................................................................... 6 Setting a MultiBoot Express prompt ..............................................................
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1 About the boot device order As the computer starts, the system attempts to boot from enabled boot devices. The MultiBoot utility, which is enabled at the factory, controls the order in which the system selects a boot device. Boot devices can include optical drives, diskette drives, a network interface card (NIC), hard drives, and USB devices. Boot devices contain bootable media or files that the computer needs to start and operate properly.
2 Enabling boot devices in Computer Setup The computer will boot to a USB device or a NIC device only if the device has first been enabled in Computer Setup. To start Computer Setup and enable a USB device or a NIC device as a boot device, follow these steps: 1. Turn on or restart the computer, and then press esc while the “Press the ESC key for Startup Menu” message is displayed at the bottom of the screen. 2. Press f10 to enter BIOS Setup. 3.
3 Considering boot order changes Before changing the boot order, note the following considerations: ● When the computer restarts after the boot order has been changed, the computer attempts to start using the new boot order. ● If there is more than one type of boot device, the computer attempts to boot using the first of each type of boot device (except for optical devices).
4 Choosing MultiBoot preferences You can use MultiBoot in the following ways: 4 ● To set a new boot order that the computer uses each time it is turned on, by changing the boot order in Computer Setup. ● To dynamically choose the boot device, by pressing esc while the “Press the ESC key for Startup Menu” message is displayed at the bottom of the screen, and then pressing f9 to enter the Boot Device Options menu. ● To use MultiBoot Express to set variable boot orders.
Setting a new boot order in Computer Setup To start Computer Setup and set a boot device order that the computer uses each time it is turned on or restarted, follow these steps: 1. Turn on or restart the computer, and then press esc while the “Press the ESC key for Startup Menu” message is displayed at the bottom of the screen. 2. Press f10 to enter BIOS Setup. 3. Use a pointing device or the arrow keys to select a device in the list. 4.
Dynamically choosing a boot device using the F9 prompt To dynamically choose a boot device for the current startup sequence, follow these steps: 1. Open the Select Boot Device menu by turning on or restarting the computer, and then pressing esc while the “Press the ESC key for Startup Menu” message is displayed at the bottom of the screen. 2. Press f9. 3. Use a pointing device or the arrow keys to select a boot device, and then press enter. Your changes go into effect immediately.
Setting a MultiBoot Express prompt To start Computer Setup and set the computer to display the MultiBoot startup location menu each time the computer is started or restarted, follow these steps: 1. Turn on or restart the computer, and then press esc while the “Press the ESC key for Startup Menu” message is displayed at the bottom of the screen. 2. Press f10 to enter BIOS Setup. 3. Use a pointing device or the arrow keys to select System Configuration > Boot Options, and then press enter. 4.
Entering MultiBoot Express preferences When the Express Boot menu displays during startup, you have the following choices: 8 ● To specify a boot device from the Express Boot menu, select your preference within the allotted time, and then press enter. ● To prevent the computer from defaulting to the current MultiBoot setting, press any key before the allotted time expires. The computer will not start until you select a boot device and press enter.
Index B boot devices, enabling boot order 1 2 C changing boot order 3, 5 Computer Setup enabling bootable devices 2 setting boot order 5 setting MultiBoot Express prompt 7 D drives, boot order 1 L logical drive designations 3 M MultiBoot Express 1, 7 MultiBoot preferences 4 N Network Service Boot 2 NIC boot device 1, 2 P PXE server 2 Index 9
