A lot of users are faced with the problem of buying new drives, whether it be external hard drives or drives for optical media. It would seem that I connected them, and the matter is with the end. But for some reason, the system categorically refuses to recognize them automatically. What to do? Here, knowledge about how to include any type of drive in BIOS will come to the rescue. In most cases, this is the most relevant solution.
BIOS does not see the drive: what needs to be done initially?
Although the problems of why this or that proposed solution does not work, and it is customary to write in conclusion of the topic, it is better to immediately see what problems may appear initially.
As many experts believe, the very problem of the fact that in the device section a newly connected drive is not displayed is that it does not supply power or there is simply not enough voltage. Therefore, you should initially check these parameters.
Rules for connecting any drives
On the other hand, the problem may also lie in the incorrect connection of the drive. Typically, most computer systems have a Master / Slave connection rule.
In this case, the loop connector, designated as Master, is connected to the main hard drive, and Slave - to any other. Similarly, you cannot plug Master into the Slave connector and vice versa. In the best case, you can only achieve that the drive will be detected, but loading the operating system will become impossible.
How to include an optical drive in BIOS
So, for starters, consider optical drives. The simplest solution to the question of how to turn on a drive in BIOS is to enter the BIOS using a standard key or a combination of keys (usually Del, F2, F12, Esc, their combinations or dedicated keys on laptop panels) and find there relevant section.
Depending on the BIOS version and manufacturer, this can be the main page (Main), the section for standard settings (Standard CMOS Setup), the menu for additional settings (Advanced or Advanced BIOS Features), etc. Here you should make sure that the drive is in the list, call up the menu by pressing the Enter key on it, and then set the value to Enabled.
If for some reason the user did not find his drive in the list, you should turn to the boot section (Boot Sequence, Boot Setup or just Boot), where in the boot devices scroll through available devices (for example, use the primary boot device 1-st Boot Device) . This is usually done using the PageUp and PageDown keys. If the device is detected, then everything is in order, and the user simply did not find it.
How to enable an external hard drive?
Now let's see how to open the drive in the BIOS settings as a plug-in external hard drive. There are subtleties here - it all depends on what standard it has.
So, for starters, as usual, we go into the settings of the primary input-output system, after which we look for the tab that corresponds to the parameters of the drives. Now you need to be very careful. Depending on the type of drive, you should find either SATA, IDE, or USB strings. As a rule, if the connection is made correctly, at least one of them will display this device, even if you do not know its standard. Next, look what is opposite the drive. If the Disabled parameter is set there, enter the additional menu and change it to Enabled.
Do not forget that the drive will not work without saving changes. We use the appropriate BIOS commands. In the standard version, in order not to rummage through the sections of the main menu, it is enough to press the F10 key, which corresponds to the Save & Exit Setup command, that is, save and exit the settings. After that, a confirmation window will appear with the choice of using the keys (Y - yes, N - no). Press Y and wait until the system reboots.
Priority start of system boot
How to open the drive in BIOS is already clear. Let's look at one more important point. Suppose you need to change the boot order and install an optical drive or an external hard drive as the first device. This approach can be used when installing the system, troubleshooting, or just to boot the OS from an external HDD.
As already clear, we go to the boot section and install the required drive (drive) as the first boot device, and then save the changes.
Instead of a total
As can be seen from all of the above, the problem of how to include a drive of any type in BIOS is solved quite simply. However, this technique may sometimes require additional action. So, for example, in some cases, you need to check the device in the appropriate dispatcher, which can be called from the "Control Panel" or by the devmgmt.msc command from the "Run" console. Perhaps it will need to be turned on (activated) here. For some non-standard devices that are not automatically detected by the system, you may need to install the “native” driver of the equipment manufacturer. However, the physical state of the drive or hard drive is also worth paying attention to. If the microcontroller fails, you won’t do anything - no matter how hard you try, the device will not work.