15 MultiBoot
About the boot order device
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.
NOTE:
Some boot devices must be enabled in Computer Setup before they can be included in the
boot order.
The factory setting is for the computer to select the boot device by searching enabled boot devices
and drive bay locations in the following order:
NOTE:
Some of the boot devices and drive bay locations listed may not be supported on your
computer.
●
Optical drive
●
USB floppy
●
USB CD-ROM
●
USB SuperDisk
●
Flash drive
●
USB hard drive
●
Network controller
You can change the order in which the computer searches for a boot device by changing the boot
order in Computer Setup. You can also manually choose the device to boot from by pressing
the system is first powered-on and the HP logo is displayed. The message is displayed in the lower-
middle corner of the screen when the computer starts up. Pressing
current boot devices and allows you to select a boot device. Or, you can use MultiBoot Express to set
the computer to prompt you for a boot location each time the computer turns on or restarts.
The NIC does not have an assigned drive letter.
NOTE:
An optical drive (such as a CD-ROM drive) can boot either as drive A or drive C, depending
on the format of the boot CD.
Enabling boot devices in Computer Setup
The computer will boot from a USB device or a NIC device only if the device has first been enabled in
Computer Setup.
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Chapter 15 MultiBoot
f9
displays a menu that shows the
f9
when