Can't access bios to set boot priority.

[vanzilemarine]

Hello, I just built my first computer (and nothing exploded into flames!)

however im already running into an issue, when I had the rig mostly put together minus the optical drive i turned it on to test for immediate sparks and explosions. It started and immediately went to the new-and-fancy mouse driven bios. Because i was merely testing for basic functionality i plugged in a keyboard and exited the bios. Then I finished the process of cable management and closed the case up. However, now when i turn the computer on there is no American Megatrends bios prompt, it goes right to a black screen asking for boot device. However when i put a dvd in the optical drive with the windows 7 .iso the computer is not recognizing it and still asks for boot device.

Did I somehow blow up my computer in the final stages of assembly, or is the boot priority listed as something other than my optical drive so it's not being read? if it's the latter, how can i get back into bios when there is no prompt to do so?

any thoughts? this project started as an exciting hands on educational experiment and I'd like it to not end up in failure.

Case: CoolerMaster Haf932 advanced
MB: p8z77pro
CPU: i5 2500k
Memory: Corsair xms3 ddr3 16gb
HDD: western digital 1tb 7200rpm
Optical: Some $20 LG cdrw/dvdrw

 

[vanzilemarine]

the exact message is "reboot and select boot device. or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key"

 

[noidea_77]

The manual tells you how to enter bios in section 3.2. There are two methods.

 

[vanzilemarine]

Thank You, found it.