In the system BIOS you can tell the computer to "look at" a drive to boot from first . There you can select to boot from a removable drive, usually a floppy disk or USB flash drive(this option is found on most Linux systems). You can also choose to boot from a CDROM drive or Hard Disc(you hard drives).
This is what all my system say and the ones I repair:
1. Removable Drive -- Usually a floppy drive (an emergency boot disk) is what it is talking about here.
2. CD-ROM Drive -- I have this set at two so I can special disks before I get to the desktop or dashboard(Mac).
3. Hard Disks -- This is your hard drive.
When you start up a computer, it runs a program from on the motherboard known as the (basic input/output system)System BIOS .
The initial function of the BIOS is to identify, test, and initialize system devices such as the video display card, hard disk, floppy disk and other hardware.
The BIOS prepares the machine for a known state, so that software stored on compatible media can be loaded, executed, and given control of the PC - (the operating system). This process is known as booting, or booting up.
The BIOS can be set to look for compatible media and the operating system on the internal hard drive, the CD drive or even a USB stick.
The boot priority is the order in which these devices are search to find a valid bootable operating system.
CMOS RAM
The Boot Priority List is configured via BIOS (Basic Input Output System) and is accessed by holding down whichever "f" key (1-8) is specified on screen, the message will usually say "to enter setup press": and then the specific "f number" usually f2
from there you are on your own to work it out because different bios versions are setup in different ways, but you are looking for "device settings".
Boot Device Priority is the order that you want your computer to boot in such as if you want your computer to boot from the hard drive or the CD drive first you can change this in the bios of your computer.
The boot priority is normally set to the drive that contains the operating system.
It may be beneficial to make the CD ROM drive the first bootable device.
If the hard drive fails you can boot from a recovery disk easily.
It all depends on the BIOS system and motherboard.
Most BIOS will allow you to change the boot priority from a cold start, by say press F12.
So it doesn't really matter.
Setting it to first boot on your operating system, will speed up the start process.
If the CD ROM is selected and there is no CD in the drive, it will simply check the next device on the list, until it finds something. This could take time.
If
The boot priority is the order in which your computer will try to boot on startup. For example, it might try and boot from the CD ROM drive first.
its called a "boot-up"
COLD BOOT - Booting up from power off condition.WARM BOOT- Restarting the computer WITHOUT turning the power off.http://wiki.answers.com/What_is_the_difference_between_cold_and_warm_booting#ixzz18HVIBp79
Warm booting refers to when your computer is already on and you do a Restart to the system. This is also called soft booting.
warm booting
Cold booting occurs when the electrical power (the switch button) on the system unit is turned and warm booting occurs when the computer system restart or reset without turning off the power.
It is commonly referred to as booting-up the computer.
You change the boot priority of a system by changing settings in its BIOS setup. The computer's first hard drive is usually the default first boot device.
When a computer starts and turns on, it is called "booting". Therefore, a "reboot" is when you must restart the computer.
They are the files that your computer call on to start up, or "boot." without these, the computer cannot function properly.
My first guess would be a bad switch.
When it finishes booting. (Starting Windows\Mac OSX\Linux\Other)
A hard boot or cold boot is the process of starting a computer system from the power-down state. Another one type of booting is warm boot, which is restarting the sytem through OS.