Details of how to achieve this are set out below for completeness.

However, if you are seeking to obtain a bit-by-bit image from a system and you are a novice, we would not recommend this method and would suggest you seek advice before proceeding. This is especially so if the target device was pre-installed with any Windows OS from 8 onwards as your actions will entail making a number of modifications to a system which will need to be both justified and recorded.

For new computers pre-installed with Windows 8 onwards:

• Start computer and press UEFI key to enter UEFI BIOS Utility window.

• Click Exit/Advanced button in the upper right side of window.
• Choose Advanced Mode.
• Choose Boot in sub-menu.
• Navigate to the First Boot Device using the PgUp and PgDown buttons, when selected press Enter.
• Select USB flash drive from the pop-up dialog and press Enter, it will then be shown as the first boot device.
• Press F10 to save changes and exit.

From this point on, every time the system starts it will first look for a bootable USB key

For older computers with traditional BIOS or systems running Linux operating system.

• Make sure the machine is switched off
• Power on the computer, press BIOS Key to enter BIOS Setup Utility.
• Enter Boot option tab and go to Boot Priority or boot device priority.
• Select USB drive or USB HDD as the first boot device.
• Press F10 to save the BIOS setting and exit.
• Insert USB flash drive into the computer.
• Restart the computer
• The system will look to boot from the USB Key.

MacBooks

As with other devices accessing MacBooks depends to a large degree on what security features are available and have been implemented. To find out whether it is possible to boot your MacBook from a USB simply

• Plug the key into an available port on the Mac.
• Power on the system.
• Press and hold the Option (Alt) key on the keyboard when the computer starts.
  Select the USB drive as the start-up disk when the option appears.
  (The USB key option will be orange in colour).