Cannot Change Boot Order

  • Thread starter Thread starter jvminnick
  • Start date Start date
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jvminnick

I bought a new HP with Windows Vista. I added a second internal hard
drive (for data storage only). The new computer's hard drive (C:) is
a SATA and the add-on drive (F:) is a PATA with a ribbon cable. The
problem is that the computer defaults to the add-on (F:) drive on
start-up. On start-up, I go into the boot-order menu and select the
boot drive (C:) . . . everything goes fine, except that the selection
isn't saved, so every time I boot the computer I have to go thru the
same procedure. There's no option to change the drive order or
anything like that -- just scroll through the options and hit enter is
all you can do. Is there any way to get the computer to recognize C:
drive as the boot drive all the time? Thanks.
 
Hi, jvminnick.

This depends entirely on your computer's BIOS, not on Vista or any other
Windows or even any other operating system (Linux?), since this choice is
made at the very beginning of the start-up process, long before the
operating system even begins to load.

I've never owned an HP computer, so I don't know how to change the settings
in your BIOS, but I'm sure there are many users here who can tell you. The
boot-order menu you see is a fairly new feature in modern BIOSes (mine has
one, too) that allows us to change the boot order for the current boot only;
the setting then reverts back to the permanent designation in the BIOS
before the next boot. You need to go into the BIOS and set that permanent
designation - and each BIOS is different so the way I do it probably won't
work on your computer.

The older PATA (Parallel ATA, also known as IDE) has been a standard in PCs
for so long that most BIOSes default to that drive, even if drives with
newer interfaces also are installed. The only way around this is the change
settings in the BIOS.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)
 
I bought a new HP with Windows Vista. I added a second internal hard
drive (for data storage only). The new computer's hard drive (C:) is
a SATA and the add-on drive (F:) is a PATA with a ribbon cable. The
problem is that the computer defaults to the add-on (F:) drive on
start-up. On start-up, I go into the boot-order menu and select the
boot drive (C:) . . . everything goes fine, except that the selection
isn't saved, so every time I boot the computer I have to go thru the
same procedure. There's no option to change the drive order or
anything like that -- just scroll through the options and hit enter is
all you can do. Is there any way to get the computer to recognize C:
drive as the boot drive all the time? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Might check your BIOS for the boot order. Make sure C: is selected for
booting before F:.

Cajunswabbie
U.S. Navy Retired
 
Open the BIOS when the computer first starts up. One of the
options you will find will be to change the boot order of
the drives. Select 'c:' as the first boot drive, and then
when you exit the BIOS, select the option to save any
changes made. The computer should the restart and boot from
c: with no further input needed from you.

Hobo
 
Hi, jvminnick.

This depends entirely on your computer's BIOS, not on Vista or any other
Windows or even any other operating system (Linux?), since this choice is
made at the very beginning of the start-up process, long before the
operating system even begins to load.

I've never owned an HP computer, so I don't know how to change the settings
in your BIOS, but I'm sure there are many users here who can tell you.  The
boot-order menu you see is a fairly new feature in modern BIOSes (mine has
one, too) that allows us to change the boot order for the current boot only;
the setting then reverts back to the permanent designation in the BIOS
before the next boot.  You need to go into the BIOS and set that permanent
designation - and each BIOS is different so the way I do it probably won't
work on your computer.

The older PATA (Parallel ATA, also known as IDE) has been a standard in PCs
for so long that most BIOSes default to that drive, even if drives with
newer interfaces also are installed.  The only way around this is the change
settings in the BIOS.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)






- Show quoted text -
Click to expand...

Thanks. I figured it was not really a Vista issue but wasn't sure if
that had any influence on my problem. Thanks for the reply.
 
Open the BIOS when the computer first starts up. One of the
options you will find will be to change the boot order of
the drives. Select 'c:' as the first boot drive, and then
when you exit the BIOS, select the option to save any
changes made. The computer should the restart and boot from
c: with no further input needed from you.

Hobo





- Show quoted text -
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. The computer doesn't give me the option. What
happens is that I am given a list of all the drives and have the
opportunity to scroll through them to select the drive to boot from.
As soon as I hit enter, it continues the boot up process and gives me
no opportunity to save the setting.
 
Hi, jvminnick.

As I said earlier, I never had an HP and I'm not familiar with their BIOS.
(I don't have an owner's manual to read.)

But I think you are looking at a "feature" of the BIOS, rather than looking
into the BIOS "NVRAM" (Non-Volatile Random Access Memory" settings - what we
used to call the CMOS. These are the semi-permanent settings that we make
to guide the permanent settings burned into the computer's ROM (Read-only
memory) at the factory. For most computers, we press some special key (Del
for my motherboard; many use F10 or some other key) very early in the boot
process, the POST (Power-On Self Test) while the computer is checking itself
to see how much RAM it has, how many hard drives - and what kinds, etc. -
before it starts to load the operating system.

HOW to do this varies from one computer to the next, but when you find out
how, you should be able make some semi-permanent changes in the low-level
settings for your computer. Which drive is the boot device is only one of
those many possible settings (such as RAM speed, USB settings, display
settings...and others). Once you change the boot device here, it will not
change on subsequent reboots - until you go through this process again.

There are hundreds (thousands?) of HP models out there and they are not all
the same. If you post your exact model number, someone here should
recognize it and know how to access its BIOS-setting utility.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)
 
Thanks for the reply. The computer doesn't give me the option. What
happens is that I am given a list of all the drives and have the
opportunity to scroll through them to select the drive to boot from.
As soon as I hit enter, it continues the boot up process and gives me
no opportunity to save the setting.
Click to expand...

From your description of what is happening it does not
sound like you are getting into the BIOS. When your computer
first starts to boot there is a display screen showing the
system tests, etc., and while this screen is on there is
usually a message displayed on it somewhere saying "hit DEL
(or CTRL, ESC, or some other key, or combination of keys)
to enter the BIOS". To get into the BIOS you must hit the
correct key(s) during the initial boot sequence. After
hitting the appropriate key(s), the BIOS screen will open up
giving you a number of tabs with options that can be
performed. You may have to hunt for the 'Boot Options', and
once you find it you will be able to change the boot
sequence of your drives. When you have set it so that 'c:'
is the first boot drive you then have to use the ESC key to
back out and one of the options eventually displayed will be
to "Save Changes and Exit". Hit the Return key with that
option selected and the BIOS will close and the computer
will reboot.

If you uncomfortable doing this, or are unsure how to do it,
try and find someone who is familiar with computers and ask
them to guide you through it. Making changes in the BIOS is
not something to take lightly and inappropriate changes can
cause many other problems.

Good luck.

Hobo
 
 From your description of what is happening it does not
sound like you are getting into the BIOS. When your computer
first starts to boot there is a display screen showing the
system tests, etc., and while this screen is on there is
usually a message displayed on it somewhere saying "hit DEL
(or CTRL,  ESC, or some other key, or combination of keys)
to enter the BIOS". To get into the BIOS you must hit the
correct key(s) during the initial boot sequence. After
hitting the appropriate key(s), the BIOS screen will open up
giving you a number of tabs with options that can be
performed. You may have to hunt for the 'Boot Options', and
once you find it you will be able to change the boot
sequence of your drives. When you have set it so that 'c:'
is the first boot drive you then have to use the ESC key to
back out and one of the options eventually displayed will be
to "Save Changes and Exit". Hit the Return key with that
option selected and the BIOS will close and the computer
will reboot.

If you uncomfortable doing this, or are unsure how to do it,
try and find someone who is familiar with computers and ask
them to guide you through it. Making changes in the BIOS is
not something to take lightly and inappropriate changes can
cause many other problems.

Good luck.

Hobo- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -
Click to expand...

RC and Hobo -- You're right. I figured out my own problem last
night. It gives me the option on startup to go into the "boot order"
menu. But I cannot make permanent changes there -- instead, I went
into the "setup" menu and was able to permanently change the boot
order. Thanks for the help.
 
Hi, jvminnick.

So THAT's what HP calls it: The "setup" menu!

I suppose that makes sense, but the term "setup" is used to mean so many
things in different contexts that it's easy to mistake it for some other
function, especially since we don't need to "go into the BIOS" very often.

Congratulations! And thanks for the feedback. Now, if we can only remember
that, we'll be better able to help the next poster with a similar problem.
But please hang around here; we may need your help. That's how newsgroups
work, you know. We all help each other. One day we ask the question, the
next day we relay the answer. ;<)

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
(e-mail address removed)
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)
 
RC and Hobo -- You're right. I figured out my own problem last
night. It gives me the option on startup to go into the "boot order"
menu. But I cannot make permanent changes there -- instead, I went
into the "setup" menu and was able to permanently change the boot
order. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

Good to hear that you managed to get it figured out.
Sometimes these simple things can be a a pain due to
terminology. Now that you've done it once, it will be simple
to do should you run across the same thing again. Thanks for
the feedback.

Hobo
 
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