| Introduction: Kiddix is more than a typical application, it is a complete operating system. It can be installed next to your current operating system (ie. Windows), or on a blank hard drive. In either case, during installation you will need to boot off the Kiddix Platform CD-ROM. If you have never installed an operating system before or used your computer's system restore disk, you probably never needed to boot off your CD-ROM drive. We aim to make installation of our software as simple as possible, however since Kiddix must be installed completely separate from your current operating system it is necessary to boot off the CD-ROM drive. Most computers will boot off the CD-ROM automatically if a bootable CD-ROM is inserted in the computer. Typically this is as simple as putting the Kiddix CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive and restarting your computer. If you are reading this, then there is a good chance that your computer is not configured to boot off the CD-ROM drive automatically. Looking for the "boot menu": If your computer does not boot off the CD-ROM drive automatically, then you will want to look for an option to display the boot menu. When your PC is first powered on, and the logo for your computer's brand is being displayed on the screen, look for text that tells which key to press. If you see the Windows logo, or your machine begins booting into your current operating system you have waited too long. The key that you will need to press will vary depending on the brand of your PC. Typically it is one of the function keys (F1, F2, ... F12). Vendor specific instructions: Here is a quick guide on how to access the boot menu on several brands of popular PC's. Dell:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dim4600/en/4600i/sm/syssetup.htm Gateway:
http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/Gateway/M275/3501734faq69.shtml IBM / Lenovo:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-66759.html What to do if your computer has no boot menu: If your computer does not have a boot menu option, you may need to enter your computer's BIOS and edit the Boot Device Priority. To access the BIOS on most computers, either press F1 or Del at startup. The text will typically say something along the lines of "Press Del for setup" or "Press F1 to enter BIOS". Some computers may not display any text, but every computer has a BIOS that can be accessed. It may help to press the key several times, or press and hold the key. There are many versions of BIOS software on the market, and each will have a slightly different menu layout. Most BIOS's use the keyboard for navigation, and options can be highlighted by using the UP, DOWN, LEFT, or RIGHT arrow keys. Typically the spacebar or enter keys can be used to select or change an option. Some BIOS's use the + and - keys (located in the num pad) to move options up and down. Specific directions to navigating your BIOS are typically displayed on the screen. Once inside your BIOS, you will want to locate the option labeled "Boot" or "Boot Device Priority". In this menu you will want to change your 1st boot device to be the CD-ROM drive. Your hard drive can be moved to the 2nd boot device. When you have finised, exit out of the BIOS setup and save your changes. By choosing these options, your computer will try to boot off the CD-ROM drive and then the hard drive, each time your computer is turned on. If there is a bootable CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive (like the Kiddix cd), your computer will boot off the CD-ROM instead of booting off the hard drive. This web page has a nice guide on how to switch the boot device priority in a BIOS, and includes screenshots:
http://www.hiren.info/pages/bios-boot-cdrom Do you need additional assistance? If the above instructions do not work for you, refer to your computer's documentation for additional details, or contact Kiddix Support for more extensive help. |