Linux Commands

How to Boot Your Computer From a USB Thumb Drive

To boot your computer from a USB thumb drive, you need to access the boot override menu on your motherboard. The way you access it depends on the motherboard you’re using.

In this article, I will demonstrate how to boot your computer from a bootable USB thumb drive so that you can use it to install a certain operating system on your computer.

Booting from a USB Thumb Drive on ASUS Motherboards

To access the boot override menu of your ASUS motherboard, repeatedly press <F8> immediately after pressing the power button on your computer. Shortly, you will see a list of disks and USB thumb drives that are installed or connected to your computer. Use the <Up> and <Down> arrow keys on your keyboard to select the USB thumb drive that you want to boot from, and then press <Enter>. Your computer should boot from your desired USB thumb drive, and you will access the boot menu of the operating system you intend to install on your computer.

Booting from a USB Thumb Drive on ASRock Motherboards

To access the boot override menu of your ASRock motherboard, repeatedly press <F11> immediately after pressing the power button on your computer. Shortly, you will see a list of disks and USB thumb drives that are installed or connected to your computer. Use the <Up> and <Down> arrow keys on your keyboard to select the USB thumb drive that you want to boot from, and then press <Enter>. Your computer should boot from your desired USB thumb drive, and you will access the boot menu of the operating system you intend to install on your computer.

Booting from a USB Thumb Drive on Gigabyte Motherboards

To access the boot override menu of your Gigabyte motherboard, repeatedly press <F12> immediately after pressing the power button on your computer. Shortly, you will see a list of disks and USB thumb drives that are installed or connected to your computer. Use the <Up> and <Down> arrow keys on your keyboard to select the USB thumb drive that you want to boot from, and then press <Enter>. Your computer should boot from your desired USB thumb drive, and you will access the boot menu of the operating system that you intend to install on your computer.

Booting from a USB Thumb Drive on MSI Motherboards

To access the boot override menu of your MSI motherboard, repeatedly press <F11> immediately after pressing the power button on your computer. Shortly, you will see a list of disks and USB thumb drives that are installed connected to your computer. Use the <Up> and <Down> arrow keys on your keyboard to select the USB thumb drive that you want to boot from, and then press <Enter>. Your computer should boot from your desired USB thumb drive, and you will access the boot menu of the operating system that you intend to install on your computer.

Conclusion

I have shown you how to boot your computer from a bootable USB thumb drive (if you’re using an ASUS, ASRock, Gigabyte, or MSI motherboard on your computer) so that you can use it to install a certain operating system on your computer.

About the author

Shahriar Shovon

Freelancer & Linux System Administrator. Also loves Web API development with Node.js and JavaScript. I was born in Bangladesh. I am currently studying Electronics and Communication Engineering at Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (KUET), one of the demanding public engineering universities of Bangladesh.