How to deal with computer not booting from a USB drive?

Here you will find out:

what to do if your computer won't boot from a USB drive

how to fix this error

how DiskInternals Partition Recovery can help you with USB drive partition recovery

Are you ready? Let's read!

If your computer won't boot from a USB drive

When a computer (laptop or desktop) doesn’t boot normally, you can boot it from an external (USB) drive or disk. However, some laptops do not have a disk drive, so your only option, then, is to try a bootable USB drive. But what if your computer is unable to boot from the USB drive: what should you do in such a situation? Read on to learn how to deal with your computer not booting from a USB drive.

How to fix this error

Method 1: Ensure your USB drive is bootable

First of all, check if the USB drive is configured as bootable media. If it’s not, it can't be used to boot a faulty computer. In that case, use Microsoft’s built-in tools to create a bootable USB drive and try again.

Method 2: Check if your computer supports booting from a USB drive

If the USB drive is configured as installation or bootable media and it still can’t boot your computer, then you should check if the computer supports booting from external devices.

Enter BIOS mode and navigate to “Boot Priority”.

Look for "USB boot" options.

If you see the USB boot options, check if they are enabled or disabled.

However, if you do not see the USB boot options, it means that your PC doesn’t support booting from a USB drive. Thus, you should find an alternative way to boot the PC.

Method 3: Try to use the USB drive in another computer

If the previous methods do not work out for you, try using the USB drive to boot another computer. This will help to determine if the USB drive is corrupted/damaged, or if it is working fine. You will know the USB is working fine if the other computer boots from it; otherwise, the USB drive is damaged in some way.

Method 4: Check if the problem is with your computer or your USB drive

If the USB drive was able to boot another computer, then the problem lies in your PC. Maybe your motherboard does not support USB drive booting. Also, you may need to use another bootable USB drive for booting your computer.

Recover files from the corrupted USB device

If you have explored all these troubleshooting options and concluded that your USB drive is corrupted, the best thing to do is recover the files saved on the USB drive. This can be done using DiskInternals Partition Recovery.

How to recover files from corrupted USB drives using DiskInternals Partition Recovery

DiskInternals Partition Recovery is an advanced software application designed for all PC users. It helps to recover lost partitions and lost data from storage drives. With this software, you can recover all the files saved on the corrupted USB drive and save them to another storage device.

Instructions: