Editing Boot disk (section)

{{short description|Removable disk from which a computer can boot an operating system}}
A '''boot disk''' is a removable [[Computer data storage|digital data storage medium]] from which a [[computer]] can load and run ([[booting|boot]]) an [[operating system]] or utility program.<ref name=RecovDSK.NYT98>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
   |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/08/technology/q-a-emergency-preparedness.html
   |title=Emergency Preparedness
   |author=By J. D. Biersdorfer  |date=October 8, 1998}}</ref> The computer must have a built-in program which will load and execute a program from a boot disk meeting certain standards.

While almost all modern computers can boot from a hard drive containing the operating system and other software, they would not normally be called boot disks (because they are not removable media). Fixed drives (such as [[hard drive]]s) that are bootable may be called ''boot drives''. [[CD-ROM]]s are the most common forms of media used, but other media, such as magnetic or paper tape drives, [[ZIP drive]]s, and more recently [[USB flash drive]]s can be used. The computer's [[BIOS]] must support booting from the device in question.

One can make one's own ''boot disk'' (typically done to prepare for when the system won't start properly).<ref>{{cite web
  |website=Hearst Newspapers
  |url=https://smallbusiness.chron.com/make-compaq-system-boot-disk-55875.html
  |title=How to Make a Compaq System Boot Disk}}</ref>