Your drive won't start? Work down this list.

• You're starting too late. Begin tapping the instant you press power — not when the logo appears. By the time you see the logo it is often already too late.
• You're tapping the wrong key. Look yours up, and remember many brands have two or three possible keys. Try one key per restart.
• Tap, don't hold. Holding a key down can trigger a keyboard error instead. About one press per second.
• Fast Startup. See fix 1 above.
• Your keyboard isn't awake yet. See wireless keyboards below.
• Some laptops use a button, not a key. Lenovo machines often have a tiny Novo button (a curved arrow) next to the power button or on the side — press it with the laptop off. Sony VAIO has an Assist button. Microsoft Surface: hold Volume Down while pressing power.

Still nothing? Use the BIOS boot order method instead — it always works even when no boot menu exists.

• It's there under a name you don't recognise. It almost never says “Repairo.” Look for UEFI: Generic USB Drive, Generic Flash Disk, USB HDD, or a flash memory brand like SanDisk, Kingston, Netac or Verbatim.
• Change ports. Move the drive to a different port and try again. On a desktop, use the back of the tower. On older machines, prefer a black USB 2.0 port over a blue USB 3.0 one.
• Remove the middleman. USB hubs, docks, monitor USB ports and keyboard passthrough ports frequently don't work before Windows loads. Plug straight into the computer.
• Plug it in before you power on. Some machines only scan for USB devices at the very start.
• Unplug other USB storage. External hard drives, card readers and other flash drives can crowd out or confuse the list.
• Enable USB booting in the BIOS. Look for USB Boot, Boot from USB or Legacy USB Support and make sure it's enabled.

If the pop-up boot menu refuses to cooperate, tell the computer permanently to check USB first. This always works.

1. With the Repairo drive plugged in, start the computer and tap the BIOS setup key repeatedly — usually F2 or Del, sometimes F1, F10 or Esc.
2. You'll land in a blue, grey or graphical settings screen. Find the Boot tab.
3. Move your USB drive to the top of the boot order. Usually + / − or F5 / F6; the on-screen legend will tell you.
4. While you're here, also: set Secure Boot to Disabled, set Fast Boot to Disabled, and if there's a Boot Mode option leave it on UEFI.
5. Press F10 to save and exit.

Before Windows loads, your computer only understands very basic keyboards.

• Wireless and Bluetooth keyboards usually don't work at the boot menu. Borrow a plain wired USB keyboard — this alone solves a surprising number of cases.
• A wireless keyboard with a USB dongle sometimes works, but only if the dongle is plugged directly into the computer.
• Plug the keyboard into a black USB 2.0 port if one is available.
• On some laptops the F keys act as volume and brightness by default. Hold Fn together with your boot key, or look for an Fn Lock / Action Keys setting in the BIOS.

Tablets and 2-in-1s: the detachable keyboard often isn't active this early. Use the hardware button method — on Surface, hold Volume Down while pressing the power button.

Signs it's working: the small light on the USB drive flickering, the fan spinning up, brief flashes of text.

If it's still black after five minutes:

• Try the other entry for your drive in the boot menu — the UEFI one if you picked the plain one, or vice versa.
• Desktop with a graphics card: try plugging your monitor into the other video output (the motherboard's, or the card's).
• In the BIOS, look for CSM or Legacy Support and toggle it, or set Boot Mode to UEFI only.
• Disable Fast Boot in the BIOS (different from Windows Fast Startup — disable both).

Laptop: make sure it's plugged into mains power. Some laptops throttle hard on battery and stall during boot.

• Nine times out of ten this is Secure Boot. Follow fix 2 above.
• Turn off Fast Boot in the BIOS.
• Some business laptops from Dell, HP and Lenovo have extra protections — look for Intel VT, Boot Guard, Device Guard or Secured-core settings and disable what you can.
• Try a different USB port, ideally a black USB 2.0 one.

Work or school computer? IT departments frequently lock booting from USB entirely. See managed computers below.

Older Intel Macs (roughly 2019 and earlier) can usually boot it:

1. Shut the Mac down fully.
2. Plug the drive in. USB-C only? You'll need a USB-A adapter.
3. Press the power button and immediately hold Option (Alt) until a row of drive icons appears.
4. Choose the one labelled EFI Boot and press Return.

Chromebooks are not supported. ChromeOS devices are locked to their own recovery system. iPads, Android tablets and phones are not supported either — these drives are for Windows PCs.

Company and school laptops are frequently configured so that USB booting is impossible:

• A BIOS supervisor password stops you changing any boot settings. Nothing on this drive can remove it — only the IT department or the manufacturer can.
• USB boot may be switched off and locked.
• Full-disk encryption (BitLocker) is standard on corporate machines. See the BitLocker note.
• Domain-joined accounts authenticate against a server, not the computer, so local password tools can't help.

If you bought a used ex-corporate machine and hit a BIOS password, contact the manufacturer with your proof of purchase. That's the only route.

If your computer shows no signs of life, beeps repeatedly, shows no picture, or restarts endlessly with the Repairo drive removed, the problem is with the computer — not something a USB drive can address.

Symptoms that point at hardware:

• No lights, no fans, no beeps at all
• Repeated beeping or a blinking pattern from a status light
• Clicking or grinding from inside the case
• Screen stays black but the fans run
• Random shutdowns after a few minutes (often overheating)

These need hands-on repair. A local shop or the manufacturer's warranty line is your best move. We'd rather tell you that than have you spend another week on it.

Almost certainly not, but here's how to find out for sure in five minutes.

Test it on a different computer. Any second Windows PC will do — a friend's, a relative's, an old one in a cupboard. Boot from the drive on that machine.

• It boots on the other computer: the drive is fine, and the issue is a setting on your first machine. Come back to fix 1 and fix 2, or message us with the make and model.
• It doesn't boot on either: get in touch and we'll replace it. That's a genuine fault and we'll sort it out straight away.