Full Guide: How to Make Dell Boot from USB in UEFI Mode

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UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) boot mode is a new motherboard boot project following the BIOS, breaking many of the limitations of the BIOS mode, including limitations on hard drive size, boot process, number of partitions and security with more advanced features.

From this page, you will learn the scenarios to make Dell boot from USB in UEFI mode and how to enable it with a stepwise guide.

Why need to make Dell boot from USB in UEFI?

A bootable USB drive can be considered as a modern-day replacement for old CDs, which we have been using to install various operating systems. It is compact and easy to use in comparison to CDs. It allows you to use the file system stored in a flash drive to boot the computer rather than using hardware. Here are some main purposes that you may want to enable Dell UEFI boot from USB in Windows 10.

For upgrading or installing. Just as Windows 11 released a new updated version, you may encounter Windows 11 install not detecting SSD error. Hence, you can boot from a USB device, upgrade or install it to experience it.

For troubleshooting. When there is a severe problem with your computer such as PC slow startup on Windows 11, you might end up reinstalling the system to fix it. With a bootable USB drive, you can easily troubleshoot the problems by yourself.

For system recovery. With a pre-created backup, you can also use a bootable USB to perform a full system image recovery.

How to boot from USB in UEFI mode Dell

In order to boot from USB in UEFI mode successfully, the hardware on your hard disk must support UEFI. One of the most important things is to make sure that your system disk is GPT style. If not, you have to convert MBR to GPT disk first.

You need to prepare a bootable USB drive at first. Then you can go to the Dell Boot Menu and make UEFI add boot option on Dell to boot from USB. Here are the steps to enable that.

♠ To make Dell boot from USB drives, you’d better keep your desktops or laptops connected to the power cable so it won’t shut down during the process.

1. Turn off your Dell computers and connect the USB drive that you want to boot from.

2. Turn on the computer. When you see the Dell logo on the screen, press F2 during the boot process to enter the BIOS.

3. Select the Advanced menu tab and select CSM Configuration in BIOS Settings.

4. Within the Boot option filter section, select UEFI only in the CSM.

5. Using the arrow keys, select the bootable USB drive (here listed as SanDisk) you want to boot from and then press Enter.

6. Press F4 to save the selection and exit the selection screen.

7. When prompted to confirm the option to Save & Exit, select Yes and press Enter. The system begins to boot from the selected USB in UEFI mode.

Create Dell bootable USB with AOMEI Backupper

If you want to boot your computer from a bootable USB but you have no idea what’s the best way to make one. Then you can refer to this section. Here, I will recommend you the best free third-party tool to make a bootable USB to boot your computer in case of a system failure. AOMEI Backupper Standard, the best free media creator can do you a big favor.

• It supports creating a bootable USB, CD/DVD, or simple ISO file and use it to boot different brands of computers, such as Dell, HP, Lenovo, etc.
• It's compatible with both BIOS and UEFI modes, without the file system limitation.
• The bootable USB created by AOMEI Backupper can be used on all Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP, both 32 bit and 64 bit.

Now, let’s get started to create Windows 11 UEFI bootable USB with AOMEI Backupper Standard.

☎ Please note that during the process of creating bootable USB, the data on your USB drive will be formatted, so please backup the files on USB drive if they are still important to you.

Step 1. Download the freeware, install and launch it on your Dell computer. Insert your USB formatted as NTFS to your computer.

Step 2. Then click Create Bootable Media under the Tools tab.

Step 3. Select Bootable Disc Type. It’s recommended to select Windows PE. This option is suitable for everyone and offers you more operations than Linux.

Step 4. Tick USB Boot Device and then click Next to move on. Wait for the process to complete and click Finish.

✍ Tips:
◊ If you don't have a separate USB as bootable media, you can go to Tools > Recovery Environment to create AOMEI recovery environment (available in higher editions). Thus, you can easily perform backup recovery tasks when your system crashes.
◊ If you want to boot Dell computer over a network, try the PXE boot tool or AOMEI Image Deploy feature. Both of them are available in the advanced edition.

To sum up

Now you know how to make Dell boot from USB in UEFI mode easily by following the provided steps in the above contents. Also, you are provided with the best free media creation tool to create a bootable USB for upgrading system, troubleshooting, or for system recovery.

AOMEI Backupper also allows you to create a system backup image. Whenever your computer fails to boot or other troubles such as inaccessible boot device in Windows 11 SSD, you can use this USB to boot your computer and recover your computer to a healthy state in case you encounter similar system errors.