How to boot from your CD/DVD drive.

To reinstall Windows or access repair tools on your Windows DVD, you'll need to boot from your CD/DVD Drive.

As you turn on the computer wait for the manufactures Logo screen to appear as in the picture above and below.
At this point of time you have a few options to choose from.
A wireless keyboard may become a problem at this stage. If possible use a wired keyboard.

There are 2 methods to Boot from the CD/DVD. You can change the First Boot Device in the BIOS to the CD/DVD or you can activate the BOOT MENU.

1) To activate the BOOT MENU:
Start your computer and when you see the Logo screen press F11 (Asrock) or F12 (Gigabyte).
If you have been successful then a small dialog box similar to the 2 examples below will appear. Just simply select the CD/DVD and press enter.

 

 

2) To change the FIRST BOOT DEVICE in the BIOS
Start your computer and when you see the Logo screen press either the F2 Key or more commonly the DEL key.
So when you see the Logo screen as below, press the DEL key several times in succession.
If you have been successful then the system will enter the BIOS and you will be presented with a screen similar to the below.

Use your cursor keys to get to the BOOT Menu as above

 

Use your cursor keys to highlight the 1st BOOT DEVICE and press ENTER. Choose the DVD from the Menu (in this case it is the HL-DT-ST DVDRAM) and then press ENTER.

 

Now press F10 to Save and exit as above.

Don't forget to put your Windows disk in the CD/DVD drive. If successful you should now be able to boot from your Windows Disk.

 

 

For ASRock motherboards and most other motherboards your BIOS will look very similar to the below. While each motherboard is different the steps are very similar.

Go to the BOOT MENU

 

To check and place your Hard Drives in correct order scroll down to HARD DRIVE BBS PRIORITIES and press enter.

 

Here you can change the order of your hard drives. Press ESC key to get back to the previous Menu.

 

In the above screenshot you can see that the Boot Option #1 is the OCZ Agility SSD and that the Boot Option #2 is TTSTCorp (Samsung DVD Drive)

 

We want to swap this around. To do this simply highlight Boot Option #1 and press Enter.

Select the CD/DVD (in the above case it is the TSSTcorp CDDVDH) and then press Enter.

 

Now press F10 to Save and Exit as above.

 

Don't forget to put your Windows disk in the CD/DVD drive. If successful you should now be able to boot from your Windows Disk.

With your Windows Disk in the CD/DVD drive, you should see the above message. Just press any key to Boot from the CD/DVD. Remember a wireless keyboard may become a problem at this stage. If possible use a wired keyboard.