The procedure is the same regardless of the Windows version.

Some computers are already configured this way, but many are not.

Insert the CD, DVD, or BD into your disc drive.

Photo of a hand inserting a disc into a laptop computer

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SeeHow to Burn an ISO Image Filefor more on that.

kickstart your computereither from within Windows or via thepower buttonif you’re still in the BIOS menu.

Watch for aPress any key to boot from CD or DVDmessage.

Most bootable discs don’t prompt for a key press and will start immediately.

What happens now depends on what the bootable disc was for.

If you’re booting from a Windows 11 DVD, the Windows setup process will begin.

A bootable AV program will start the virus scanning software.

You get the idea.

Recheck the boot order in BIOS (Step 1).

Do you have more than one optical drive?

your setup probably only allows for one of your disc drives to be booted from.

Insert the disc into the other drive, reset your system, and see what happens then.

A clean disc could make all the difference.

Burn a new CD/DVD/BD.

If the disc is one you created yourself, like from an ISO file, then burn it again.

The disc may have errors on it that re-burning could correct.

I’ve seen this happen more than once.

When you start your computernormally, you’re running with the OS (Windows, Linux, etc.)

installed on your hard drive.

Another reason is if you mustreinstall Windows,erase everything on your system, or runautomatic Windows repair tools.

Most operating system setup CDs and DVDs are bootable, as are many advanced diagnostic tools.