How to Insert Boot Media

Co-authored by Matt Ham

Last Updated: May 24, 2021

Boot media usually takes the form of a CD/DVD, USB drive, or an external hard drive. Boot media can be used to start your computer into a new operating system, troubleshoot problems with your current operating system, or make changes to your computer's firmware, among other reasons.^{[1]
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Research source} When you buy a new computer, you may receive boot media related to your operating system for use with troubleshooting your computer. You can force your computer to use boot media once, or you can change your computer's settings to always use the boot media. This article assumes you already have boot media in the form of a CD, USB drive, or external hard drive.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:
Using Boot Media on Windows

1
With your computer turned on, insert the boot media into the appropriate drive. Boot media usually comes in CD form, but you may alternately need to connect a USB drive or connect and turn on the external hard drive you want to use as boot media.
2
Restart your computer.
3
When the computer reboots, press F2, F10, F12, or Del to enter your computer BIOS menu. The BIOS menu lets you change your computer's settings. BIOS is software that's separate from the computer's operating system software.^{[2]
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Expert Source

Matt Ham
Computer Repair Specialist
Expert Interview. 14 May 2021.}
- On your computer's boot screen, you may see a message telling you what key to press to open the BIOS menu. On HP computers, for example, that key you need to press to enter the BIOS setup screen is F10.
4
In the BIOS menu, use the UP and DOWN arrow keys to go to the Boot submenu. The boot submenu looks like [this].
5
Once you've found the boot submenu, then press ENTER to select it.
6
On the boot device screen, use the arrow keys to select what your computer should use for the boot. Choose the device that matches the format of your boot media, whether it's CD/DVD, USB drive, or external drive.
7
Follow the on-screen instructions to save and exit the BIOS menu. For example, on HP computers, pressing the F10 key will save your new settings and exit the BIOS menu.
8
Restart your computer (if necessary). When you exit the BIOS menu, you may need to restart your computer again to boot using your boot media.
9
If you want to reset your boot settings, go to the BIOS menu, and follow the on-screen instructions to reset the BIOS to its default settings. For example, on HP computers, pressing F9 in the BIOS menu will revert the settings to their default state.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:
Using Boot Media on Mac OS X

1
With your computer turned on, insert the boot CD, connect the USB drive, or connect and turn on the external hard drive you want to use as boot media.
2
Restart your computer.
3
While the computer reboots, press and hold the option key to start up in the Start Manager.
4
In the Start Manager window, click the boot media you'd like to use at start, and then press return.^{[3]
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Research source}

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:
Setting the Default Boot Media on Mac OS X

1
With your computer turned on, insert the boot CD, connect the USB drive, or connect and turn on the external hard drive you want to use as boot media.
2
Click the apple menu, and then click System Preferences.
3
In the System Preferences window, click Startup Disk.
4
On the Startup Disk screen, click the boot media you'd like to use when the computer restarts.
5
The next time you restart you computer, it will use the boot media you chose.
- If you change the default startup disk, you'll need to make sure the CD/DVD, USB drive, or external drive are always connected when you restart the computer.

Community Q&A

Question

What does it mean to insert boot media?

Matt Ham
Computer Repair Specialist
Matt Ham is a Computer Repair Specialist and the CEO and President of Computer Repair Doctor. With over a decade of experience, Matt specializes in Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, and Smartphone repairs and upgrades. Matt holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University. Matt has expanded Computer Repair Doctor to seven different locations. He is also a Co-Owner of Repair Life, a full-scale marketing agency specializing in driving both online and offline leads to cell phone and computer repair shops and device retailers.

Matt Ham

Computer Repair Specialist

Expert Answer

It means that your computer can't find the hard drive it needs to load the operating system. That's basically the short of it.
Question

Why would my computer keep asking me to insert boot media?

Matt Ham
Computer Repair Specialist
Matt Ham is a Computer Repair Specialist and the CEO and President of Computer Repair Doctor. With over a decade of experience, Matt specializes in Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, and Smartphone repairs and upgrades. Matt holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from North Carolina State University and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University. Matt has expanded Computer Repair Doctor to seven different locations. He is also a Co-Owner of Repair Life, a full-scale marketing agency specializing in driving both online and offline leads to cell phone and computer repair shops and device retailers.

Matt Ham

Computer Repair Specialist

Expert Answer

There could be any number of reasons for this. It can really depend on the setup of the machine and the BIOS settings. It could also be that your machine has been set up to not boot from the hard drive anymore, but that's a pretty rare case. More often than not, this happens when the hard drive is physically damaged.