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3.8
Boot Options
In the BIOS Setup program, the user can choose to boot from a hard drive, optical
drive, removable drive, or the network. The default setting is for the optical drive to
be the first boot device, the hard drive second, removable drive third, and the network
fourth.
3.8.1
Optical Drive Boot
Booting from the optical drive is supported in compliance to the El Torito bootable
CD-ROM format specification. Under the Boot menu in the BIOS Setup program, the
optical drive is listed as a boot device. Boot devices are defined in priority order.
Accordingly, if there is not a bootable CD in the optical drive, the system will attempt
to boot from the next defined drive.
3.8.2
Network Boot
The network can be selected as a boot device. This selection allows booting from the
onboard LAN or a network add-in card with a remote boot ROM installed.
Pressing the <F12> key during POST automatically forces booting from the LAN. To
use this key during POST, the User Access Level in the BIOS Setup program's Security
menu must be set to Full.
3.8.3
Booting Without Attached Devices
For use in embedded applications, the BIOS has been designed so that after passing
the POST, the operating system loader is invoked even if the following devices are not
present:
•
Video adapter
•
Keyboard
•
Mouse
3.8.4
Changing the Default Boot Device During POST
Pressing the <F10> key during POST causes a boot device menu to be displayed. This
menu displays the list of available boot devices (as set in the BIOS setup program's
Boot Device Priority Submenu). Table 34 lists the boot device menu options.
Table 34. Boot Device Menu Options
Boot Device Menu Function Keys
<↑> or <↓>
<Enter>
<Esc>
Description
Selects a default boot device
Exits the menu, saves changes, and boots from the selected
device
Exits the menu without saving changes
Overview of BIOS Features
67
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