Changing boot sequence - EASY question

[Alias]

W8, ver 6.3
Trying to set my PC so it boots from CD. To me, it LOOKS like it should boot. I've attached a screenshot showing, I think, boot from CD/DVD first. It doesn't - boots straight to W8.
Should it boot from CD first? If not, what did I do wrong?

 

[Alias]

W8, ver 6.3
Trying to set my PC so it boots from CD. To me, it LOOKS like it should boot. I've attached a screenshot showing, I think, boot from CD/DVD first. It doesn't - boots straight to W8.
Should it boot from CD first? If not, what did I do wrong?

Let me provide some more data. I've created a boot CD containing DBAN. I say "I think," because I selected the files, right-clicked, and chose 'Burn to Disk.' I received no indication of success or failure, but the files are on the disk. How can I confirm the files have been burned properly and the CD is bootable?

 

[MGhee]

Do you have secure boot and/or fast boot enabled, if so I would disable them. The screenshot seems to show what looks like a Lenovo machine, if so, do you have a NOVO button? If you have disable both boot options mentioned, with the machine off press the NOVO button and select boot options and then the optical drive - does this help.

 

[Alias]

Sorry for the slow reply. I have no idea what secure boot and/or fast boot are. How do I find out? I suspect the NOVO button is on the keyboard? Nope. This may not be a W8 question, but is there a way to tell if the DBAN disk actually burned?

 

[MGhee]

Not a problem, I don't live in forums either, got other things to do

Secure Boot is found in your BIOS (if an option), and in most cases always needs to be disabled when performing some task or booting to something other than the system disk -- DVD, USB, tech utility, memory tester. I would consult the dev of the tool you're wanting to run and see (docs, forum) if UEFI, Secure Boot, etc need to be disabled, or put another way (the proper method to boot into the utility), otherwise simply boot to the device - optical , USB. I generally disable Secure Boot, not always UEFI, and then use my Novo button to pull up the boot menu, select my device (it needs to be in the slot or tray before you activate the boot menu), then I click go see pic.

Fast Boot (IIRC) is found within Control Panel - Power Options. I would start with Secure Boot.

My Novo button is on the left side of my laptop near the display and power (very small button). I've seen the button on the top of the bezel too. I don't know if you even have one, the documentation provided by your OEM on their support site should spell this out - I would get all the docs. IIRC, the system needs to be off, press the Novo button and the menu appears.

BTW, I'll ask again cuz I'm confused, the pic seems to have Lenovo across the top but your My Computer info shows HP? It helps to provide the full model info about the system we're dealing with just to squelch any confusion.

One way or another, you'll get your utility loaded, hang in there.

BTW, that's a strange boot order you have in your pic. I rarely see a nic as #1, the system disk #3.

 

[MGhee]

Here's a pretty good walk thru of DBAN, including creating bootable media and booting DBAN.

-->> How to Erase a Hard Drive Using DBAN

 

[Alias]

Not a problem, I don't live in forums either, got other things to do

Secure Boot is found in your BIOS (if an option), and in most cases always needs to be disabled when performing some task or booting to something other than the system disk -- DVD, USB, tech utility, memory tester. I would consult the dev of the tool you're wanting to run and see (docs, forum) if UEFI, Secure Boot, etc need to be disabled, or put another way (the proper method to boot into the utility), otherwise simply boot to the device - optical , USB. I generally disable Secure Boot, not always UEFI, and then use my Novo button to pull up the boot menu, select my device (it needs to be in the slot or tray before you activate the boot menu), then I click go see pic.

Fast Boot (IIRC) is found within Control Panel - Power Options. I would start with Secure Boot.

My Novo button is on the left side of my laptop near the display and power (very small button). I've seen the button on the top of the bezel too. I don't know if you even have one, the documentation provided by your OEM on their support site should spell this out - I would get all the docs. IIRC, the system needs to be off, press the Novo button and the menu appears.

BTW, I'll ask again cuz I'm confused, the pic seems to have Lenovo across the top but your My Computer info shows HP? It helps to provide the full model info about the system we're dealing with just to squelch any confusion.

One way or another, you'll get your utility loaded, hang in there.

BTW, that's a strange boot order you have in your pic. I rarely see a nic as #1, the system disk #3.

First, I have a Lenovo PC, Samsung monitor, Logitec keyboard, WB USB HD. I have no idea what the HP is.

Found and disabled Secure Boot. Still boots straight to W8. I see no Novo button.

 

[Alias]

Here's a pretty good walk thru of DBAN, including creating bootable media and booting DBAN.

-->> How to Erase a Hard Drive Using DBAN

Thanks. That's the article I went by to burn the disc. Went over it again and, I THINK, I did it right. Just curious, is there a disc I can put in my drive that would run or produce an error on boot up? If so, I'll boot up with that and see if the problem is the DBAN CD or a W8 setting.

 

[MGhee]

First, I have a Lenovo PC, Samsung monitor, Logitec keyboard, WB USB HD. I have no idea what the HP is.

HP is in your "My Computer" specs, that's why I wasn't sure.

Found and disabled Secure Boot. Still boots straight to W8. I see no Novo button.

You probably created a data disk and not bootable media.

 

[Alias]

HP is in your "My Computer" specs, that's why I wasn't sure.


You probably created a data disk and not bootable media.

You may well be right. Put a blank DVD in the drive. Right-click the DBAN iso file, and select Burn to Disk. After a few seconds, the DVD pops out. That's burned, right?

 

[MGhee]

Thanks. That's the article I went by to burn the disc. Went over it again and, I THINK, I did it right. Just curious, is there a disc I can put in my drive that would run or produce an error on boot up? If so, I'll boot up with that and see if the problem is the DBAN CD or a W8 setting.

Some disks will boot while in Windows, others need to boot into their own environment which is the reason for editing the BIOS a bit. I have no idea what disks you might have on hand, anything else will be an image (iso) file you download from the internet and need to burn, or a set of files and a utility that creates bootable media for you.

Have you ever created any bootable media... flash drive, cd, dvd?

Again, it's either your disk isn't bootable or your BIOS isn't ready to boot to something other than the system drive?

 

[MGhee]

You may well be right. Put a blank DVD in the drive. Right-click the DBAN iso file, and select Burn to Disk. After a few seconds, the DVD pops out. That's burned, right?

If you verified the dban download and it was good (not corrupted), and the burned iso finished and verified as a good burn, I'm guessing it's a setting in your bios.

Have you consulted the Lenovo support page for your specific system to at least get that out of the way? I would start there, then you can check that off as the problem. The docs for your system will spell it out exactly - how to boot to (fill in the blank)???

Have you ever successfully created bootable media in the past on this system, were you successful? If you're having a hard time with the built in tool there's free tools that will do the job, here's one - ImgBurn - The Portable Freeware Collection

 

[Alias]

If you verified the dban download and it was good (not corrupted), and the burned iso finished and verified as a good burn, I'm guessing it's a setting in your bios.

Have you consulted the Lenovo support page for your specific system to at least get that out of the way? I would start there, then you can check that off as the problem. The docs for your system will spell it out exactly - how to boot to (fill in the blank)???

Have you ever successfully created bootable media in the past on this system, were you successful? If you're having a hard time with the built in tool there's free tools that will do the job, here's one - ImgBurn - The Portable Freeware Collection

Thanks for the reply. Went to user guide for the M79. If I'm reading right, the instructions are . . .

Selecting or changing the startup device sequence To view or permanently change the configured startup device sequence, do the following: 1. Start the Setup Utility program. See “Starting the Setup Utility program” on page 37. 2. From the Setup Utility program main menu, select Startup. 3. Select the devices for the Primary Startup Sequence, the Automatic Startup Sequence, and the Error Startup Sequence. Read the information displayed on the right side of the screen. 4. Press F10 to save changes and exit the Setup Utility program. See “Exiting the Setup Utility program” on page 42.

I've done that. Checked it many times. Still, boots to W8.

I've booted to BIOS in the old days. Not in the last 10-12 days.

 

[Alias]

Thanks for the reply. Went to user guide for the M79. If I'm reading right, the instructions are . . .

Selecting or changing the startup device sequence To view or permanently change the configured startup device sequence, do the following: 1. Start the Setup Utility program. See “Starting the Setup Utility program” on page 37. 2. From the Setup Utility program main menu, select Startup. 3. Select the devices for the Primary Startup Sequence, the Automatic Startup Sequence, and the Error Startup Sequence. Read the information displayed on the right side of the screen. 4. Press F10 to save changes and exit the Setup Utility program. See “Exiting the Setup Utility program” on page 42.

I've done that. Checked it many times. Still, boots to W8.

I've booted to BIOS in the old days. Not in the last 10-12 days.

Make that 10-12 YEARS.

But, I have an update. I DLd/burned DBAN on 3 different PCs (OK, 2 PCs, 1 laptop), verifying each time. Set all 3 to boot first from DVD. None of them boot from DVD (one PC is W10). 1 PC and the laptop give an error, something similar to 'disc is not bootable.' Have I learned anything?

 

[MGhee]

You likely created a data disk, a collection (on disk) of files & folders versus a bootable disk (same set of files & folders, but also contains instructions to bootup when accessed). I have no idea what's going on at your end. Today is the 3rd of June and it's finally revealed you have an M79, without Google no one would know what an M79 is - thus making it difficult to troubleshoot & solve technical problems.

Strange, why you need to boot to such a dangerous utility - dangerous if you don't know what you're doing! Be Careful.

Darik's Boot and Nuke ("DBAN") is a self-contained boot image that securely wipes the hard disks of most computers. DBAN is appropriate for bulk or emergency data destruction.

I'm supposing it's not a BIOS issue, you know how to set it up to boot to CD/DVD/USB. I figure you need to use something other than what ever it is you're using to successfully create a bootable source disk... if I was doing it I would prefer USB over Optical, much faster to boot to - with DBAN it may not matter as much. The page I linked to above is a source of free portable tools that can burn and verify bootable media, ImgBurn is one, AnyBurn, InfraRecorder, cdrtfe... all should work with DBAN. The link in post #12 to ImgBurn has links to these others as well, including how to download and use as portable tools.

 

[Alias]

You likely created a data disk, a collection (on disk) of files & folders versus a bootable disk (same set of files & folders, but also contains instructions to bootup when accessed). I have no idea what's going on at your end. Today is the 3rd of June and it's finally revealed you have an M79, without Google no one would know what an M79 is - thus making it difficult to troubleshoot & solve technical problems.

Strange, why you need to boot to such a dangerous utility - dangerous if you don't know what you're doing! Be Careful.


I'm supposing it's not a BIOS issue, you know how to set it up to boot to CD/DVD/USB. I figure you need to use something other than what ever it is you're using to successfully create a bootable source disk... if I was doing it I would prefer USB over Optical, much faster to boot to - with DBAN it may not matter as much. The page I linked to above is a source of free portable tools that can burn and verify bootable media, ImgBurn is one, AnyBurn, InfraRecorder, cdrtfe... all should work with DBAN. The link in post #12 to ImgBurn has links to these others as well, including how to download and use as portable tools.

Yeah, after posting that a neighbor suggested KillDisk. Worked fine. I went with DBan because it's overwhelmingly considered the best. But, after several days of failures, I didn't want to spend several more days. Thanks for the help anyway.

 

[MGhee]

Yeah, after posting that a neighbor suggested KillDisk. Worked fine. I went with DBan because it's overwhelmingly considered the best. But, after several days of failures, I didn't want to spend several more days. Thanks for the help anyway.

I'm glad you got it sorted out, sorry I wasn't more help