Unable to boot from USB drive to reinstall Windows 11. Help with BIOS settings

TomCarson
TomCarson Member Posts: 11

Tinkerer

edited January 6 in Windows 11

Aloha,

I need to reinstall Windows 11. To do that, I need to boot from a USB Drive. However, I do not see that in the boot menu. There is the option of "Removable Drive" that did not work. Anyone have experience with this version of BIOS?

Mahalo,

Answers

  • Puraw
    Puraw ACE, Member Posts: 14,461 Trailblazer

    Hi, enable F12 key in BIOS and make the bootable flash drive with RUFUS, if your PC is older chose FAT32 format and use a 9GB USB2.0 stick. Boot to BIOS while pressing F12 and the USB drive should show in the Boot devices list, move it to the top and save changes on exit BIOS.

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,912 Trailblazer

    Needless to say, if your PC is old enough to require a FAT32 format it's too old to run Windows 11… The key is turning on the boot menu in the BIOS. It is disabled by default. Once it's on then an F12 at boot time will give you a list of bootable devices and you can choose the Windows install flash drive. Depending on your system, you might also need to download the IRST drivers and have them extracted and available for the Windows installer to see your drive.

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  • TomCarson
    TomCarson Member Posts: 11

    Tinkerer

    Thanks for your reply. There is no Windows Flash Drive Listed in BIOS. How do I download and install the IRST drivers? My computer will not boot.

    Aloha,

  • Alejandro_AC
    Alejandro_AC ACE Posts: 13,812 Trailblazer

    You can download the Intel RST from the Acer website. What is your exact model?

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  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,912 Trailblazer

    The flash drive won't be listed in the BIOS, only in the boot menu. Extract the zip file for the IRST drivers downloaded from the Acer support site for your model. There is likely a zip file contained in there that has the drivers themselves, though sometimes they all extract from the main file. When you start the computer up, press F12 to get the boot menu and select the USB flash drive from that list. When the install gets to the 'where do you want to install' prompt, just load those drivers and your drive will appear. If your drive is already there, then you don't need to load the drivers. :)

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  • Axxo
    Axxo Member, Ally Posts: 963

    Your system BIOS can't find the bootable USB drive because of a faulty port or cable. It may also happen if the USB drive is corrupt or damaged. If the USB drive is too old, Windows 11 might not recognize it. For example, USB 1.0 or 2.0 is not compatible in this situation.

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