What does changing the boot order in BIOS allow?

Changing the boot order in BIOS is a crucial aspect of system configuration that allows a user to set the priority of storage devices during the startup process. When a computer powers on, it relies on the BIOS to determine which hardware to access for the operating system. By adjusting the boot order, you can specify which device — such as a hard drive, solid-state drive, USB drive, or CD/DVD drive — should be checked first for a bootable operating system.

This is particularly useful in various scenarios, such as when installing a new operating system from a USB flash drive, running diagnostic tools from a bootable media, or recovering data from another hard drive. The ability to prioritize devices ensures that the system can start from the intended source, which can be critical for troubleshooting or upgrades.

In contrast, launching applications in a specific sequence, enabling or disabling hardware devices, and caching frequently used programs are functions that fall outside the scope of BIOS boot order settings. These tasks involve operating system-level management rather than the fundamental hardware initialization and boot process managed by the BIOS.