[ The PC Guide | System Optimization and Enhancement Guide | System Optimizations and Enhancements | Enhance and Streamline the Boot Process ]

Change the Boot Sequence to Avoid Virus Infection From Floppy Disks

Most PCs default to the so-called "standard" boot sequence, in which the BIOS first checks the A: floppy drive for a bootable disk, and if one is not found there, checks the C: hard disk drive and boots it instead. In some situations you may find it preferable to change this default boot sequence to something more customized.

Boot sector viruses are one of the two common types of viruses that affect PCs; they target the boot sector on your hard disk. They are most commonly contracted by accidentally booting (or trying to boot) a floppy disk that contains the virus.

One way to help greatly reduce the chances of a boot sector virus infecting your hard disk is to eliminate the possibility of accidentally booting from a floppy disk. This accidental booting happens most frequently when users boot up their PC with a floppy disk in the drive. You can change the boot sequence BIOS setting so that the system will not try to boot the floppy disk before the hard disk. Simply enter the BIOS setup program and set the boot sequence so "C:" (the hard disk) is before "A:" (the floppy drive).

Note: Read the description of the boot sequence BIOS setting for a discussion of the disadvantages of setting the hard disk to boot ahead of the floppy.

Next: Enable Booting SCSI Ahead of IDE On Supported Motherboards

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