How to boot from a portable hard drive: Detailed guide combined with hot topics
In today's digital age, mobile hard drives are not only data storage tools, but also serve as portable operating system boot disks. This article will introduce in detail the steps to boot from a mobile hard disk, and integrate hot topics on the Internet in the past 10 days to provide you with a practical reference.
Directory

1. Preparation
2. Make a bootable mobile hard drive
3. BIOS/UEFI settings
4. Solving common problems
5. Inventory of hot topics in the past 10 days
1. Preparation
Before you begin, make sure you have the following items ready:
| Items | request |
|---|---|
| Mobile hard drive | Capacity ≥32GB, USB3.0 and above recommended |
| operating system image | ISO or IMG format |
| Make tools | Rufus, Ventoy or Etcher |
| Backup computer | Used to create a boot disk |
2. Make a bootable mobile hard drive
Take the Rufus tool as an example:
| steps | Operating Instructions |
|---|---|
| 1 | Download and run Rufus (official website: rufus.ie) |
| 2 | Plug in the mobile hard drive and the software will automatically recognize it. |
| 3 | Select operating system image file |
| 4 | Select GPT (UEFI) or MBR (Legacy) as the partition type |
| 5 | Click the "Start" button and wait for completion |
3. BIOS/UEFI settings
Startup menu shortcut keys for different brands of computers:
| brand | Start menu key | BIOS setup key |
|---|---|---|
| Lenovo | F12 | F2 |
| Dell | F12 | F2 |
| HP | F9 | F10 |
| ASUS | F8 | Del |
After entering the BIOS, you need to complete the following settings:
1. Turn off Secure Boot (secure boot)
2. Enable USB Boot support
3. Adjust the startup sequence and put USB devices at the top
4. Solving common problems
| question | solution |
|---|---|
| Unable to recognize mobile hard drive | Try changing the USB interface or using a USB2.0 port |
| Black screen after startup | Check the integrity of the image and recreate the boot disk |
| Prompt "Missing operating system" | Repartition and set active partition |
| too slow | Use USB3.0 interface and high-speed mobile hard disk |
5. Inventory of hot topics in the past 10 days
Combined with the current hot topics on the Internet, the following topics have attracted much attention:
| Ranking | topic | heat index |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New features in Windows 11 24H2 | 9.8 |
| 2 | The era of AI PC is coming | 9.5 |
| 3 | Development of domestic operating systems | 9.2 |
| 4 | New data security regulations | 8.7 |
| 5 | Popularity of USB4 interface | 8.5 |
Technology Trend Watch:
1.AI integration:Microsoft Copilot will be deeply integrated into the Windows startup process
2.Security upgrade:TPM 2.0 becomes the new standard for startups
3.Cross-platform:Linux distribution's optimization of mobile hard disk startup has been significantly improved
Summary:
Booting from the mobile hard disk can not only achieve system maintenance, but also serve as a portable working environment. With the popularity of USB4 and Thunderbolt interfaces, the practical value of this technology will continue to increase. It is recommended that users choose new startup tools such as Ventoy, which can start multiple systems on a single disk and flexibly respond to the needs of different scenarios.
Note: Please back up important data before operation. Wrong settings may result in data loss. When encountering complex problems, it is recommended to consult professional technicians.
check the details
check the details