Booting with USB Flash Drive (Generic Computers)

Back up your data if possible on the computer or device on which you are planning to boot with the USB, install Linux or do anything at all, as if you accidentally corrupt/erase the hard drive - your data/files will be gone permanently!

Insert the USB Thumb Drive into a USB or USB-C slot on your computer.

 Turn On/Restart the computer and immediately start tapping the Boot Media Key (If it continues to boot into the operating system – turn off/restart the computer and try again.)

Boot Media Key: On different computer brands, there will be a different key for triggering the boot menu: Usually it's "F1," F2," F10," "Del" or "Esc.", here is the list of common brands and the corresponding boot menu keys:

  • ACER: Esc, F9, F12
  • Apple: [Intel CPU ONLY]: Turn on the computer and immediately hold Option/Alt key
    • If mac continues to boot with no boot menu appearing: Boot into "Startup Security Utility" settings by restarting the mac and immediately holding Command+R, then switch "Secure Boot" to "No Security" and "Allowed Boot Media" to "Allow booting from external or removable media":
  • ASUS: Esc, F8
  • COMPAQ: Esc, F9
  • DELL: F12
  • EMACHINES: F12
  • GATEWAY: F10 or ESC, then F10 (To get into BIOS: ESC > Del)
  • HP: Esc, F9
  • IBM LENOVO: F12 (or Fn+F12), F10, F8
  • INTEL: F10
  • NEC: F5
  • PACKARD BELL: F8
  • SAMSUNG: Esc, F12
  • SONY: F10, F11
  • TOSHIBA: F12

Once the boot menu comes up, select the USB option and press Enter.

Typical boot menu will look something like this.

   

BOOTING TROUBLESHOOTING

  * Immediately if it shows: “Press any key to boot from USB” during which you have several seconds to press any key to continue - please observe the computer screen if it happens, if it continues to boot into your current operating system (Windows most likely) - restart the computer and try again.

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* If it gets stuck with a blinking cursor, that means the boot is being directed to a non-bootable medium, either the USB Flash Drive is corrupted somehow or it is  trying to boot off the internal hard drive instead of the USB Flash Drive and the internal hard drive has corrupted Operating System. In such case - please make sure you determine the Boot Media Key - trigger the boot menu and ensure you are booting from the actual USB Flash Drive.

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* If there is no USB option in the Boot Menu - turn off the computer, then try to unplug the USB Flash Drive and plug it into a different USB port if one is available, if not - just unplug and plug it back in. If still nothing - check if USB Booting is completely turned off in BIOS and if so - turn it on:

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* If you are getting "Verification failed: (0x1A) Security Violation": Press OK, Press any key to perform MOK management - Enroll key from disk - YUMI - ENROLL_THIS_KEY_IN_MOKMANAGER.cer - Continue - Yes - Reboot and try again. If it still gives the same error - try disabling "Secure Boot" (see instructions below).

* If you receive strange security errors, such as: "Verifying shim SBAT data failed: Security Policy Violation. 
Something has gone seriously wrong: SBAT self-check failed - security policy violation." - try disabling "Secure Boot" (see instructions below).

Disabling "Secure Boot" if such setting is present in BIOS (see below on how to boot into BIOS).

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* Enable "Legacy Boot Mode" if such setting is present in BIOS (see below on how to boot into BIOS).

Here is it is typically named in settings and need to be turned on to enable Legacy Mode:

  • Legacy Support: "On" or "Enabled"
  • Legacy CSM: "On" or "Enabled"
  • UEFI/Legacy Boot: "Both" or "Legacy Only"
  • Boot Mode: "Legacy Support"
  • Boot Option Filter: "UEFI and Legacy" or "Legacy Only"

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HOW TO BOOT INTO BIOS

Boot into BIOS/UEFI: Turning On/Restart the computer and immediately start tapping the BIOS Setup Key

BIOS Setup Key: Similar to Boot Media Key, BIOS Setup Key is different depending on the computer brand. Usually, you will see which key it is during the

BIOS splash screen (on the bottom or top of the screen), which is the very first thing that will appear on the monitor when computer is turned on/restarted.
If it is not displayed, usually it's: F1, F2, F8, F12 or Del key, here is the list of common brands and the corresponding BIOS Setup keys:

  • ACER: F2, Del
  • ASUS: F2, Del
  • COMPAQ: F1, F2, F10, DEL
  • DELL: F2, F12
  • EMACHINES: F10
  • GATEWAY: F1, F2, ESC > Del
  • HP: Esc, F10
  • IBM LENOVO: F2 (or Fn+F2), F1
  • INTEL: F2
  • NEC: F2
  • PACKARD BELL: F2
  • SAMSUNG: F2
  • SONY: F2
  • TOSHIBA: F2

Once inside the BIOS/UEFI setup and configuration section, you’ll be presented with a number of options and parameters that can be configured for the firmware environment. The option you’re looking for has many names, depending on the make and model of the PC or laptop and the EFI firmware.

 When exiting BIOS/UEFI, make sure configuration options are saved.


 Once successfully booted with the USB - you should see a menu where you can navigate with Arrow Keys/Enter to select and boot with the desired Operating System or Utility:

* If it takes too long (10+ minutes) to boot an OS or a Utility - try a different USB port, if possible, if there is only 1 USB port - please give it some time. If still having the issue: try booting via "Boot without persistence" mode.