How to change boot order

Use this tutorial if your computer starts Windows when rebooting with the WipeDrive CD (or Floppy) already in the computer. It will show you how to change the boot order of your computer to boot from the CD first rather than booting from the hard drive which is sometimes the default.

WipeDrive and WipeDrive Small Business are wipe programs that run before your operating system starts (Windows, Linux, etc.) When your computer first boots up it needs to know where to start (i.e. Hard Drive, CD-ROM, Floppy), this is called the boot order.

The boot order must be set to start from either the CD-ROM drive or the Floppy depending on whether you have a WipeDrive CD or Floppy. The boot order is a setting found in the computer's BIOS. The BIOS is a small hidden program run by all computers when first powered on.

Step 1

The exact process of how to change the boot order differs slightly based on how your computer accesses the BIOS (setup). The BIOS is essentially a configuration tool allowing you to determine how your computer boots.

Turn on your computer and then look on the screen for some text that says something similar to "Press 'X' to Enter Startup", where X is generally the F2 key or the DEL key.

Press this key repeatedly as soon as the computer has been turned on. If you see the Windows Logo appear, then you are too late; restart the computer and try again.

If you are using a USB Keyboard and cannot get into the BIOS, you will need to use a standard PS/2 Keyboard.

Step 2

The first BIOS screen will show many computer settings. The mouse will not work in this screen. Navigate the menus using the arrow keys on the keyboard. Typically, the bottom of the screen will show the keys for navigation, and changing the settings.

Step 3

Look for a setting that says Boot Order, Boot Sequence, First Boot Device, Boot Management, or something similar and select it. In the BIOS example, the option for 'Boot' can be found at the top right of the screen.

Step 4

The screen will show a list of devices that your computer can boot from. You need to change the order of these devices so WipeDrive will run. Change this setting to have either the CD-ROM or Floppy drive as first in the list, depending on whether you are using a WipeDrive CD or Floppy.

Note: Some computers have a feature that can enable and disable the boot devices in this boot order list. Be careful not to disable either the hard drive (C: Drive), the CD-ROM (or Floppy) drive that you intend to use to run WipeDrive or WipeDrive Small Business.

Step 5

Once the Boot Order has been changed, save and exit the BIOS screen. Most computers will use either the F10 key or the ESC key. When asked to save the changes and exit select 'Yes'

Step 6

Once you have saved and exited out of the BIOS, insert your WipeDrive or WipeDrive Small Business CD or Floppy Diskette into the computer, and reboot. The program will start immediately and show an options menu; follow the on-screen instructions to wipe your computer clean.