The BIOS settings can be accessed in a variety of ways. In fact, pushing the appropriate BIOS key just as your computer is booting up is the most common method.
However, there are several reasons why this may not be achievable. So, in order to spare you some time, we’ve compiled a list of all the ways you may access the BIOS on Windows 10 and previous versions of Windows.
Changing the boot order, hardware components, system time and date, and so on may need accessing the BIOS settings. Keep reading to learn how to get into the BIOS on Windows PCs correctly.
1. How to Enter BIOS On Windows 10/8/7 Via UEFI Firmware Settings
The newer computers having recent versions of the Windows operating system offer an easy way to enter the BIOS and that is through UEFI. Let’s have a look at the steps you need to follow to enter BIOS via UEFI Firmware Settings:
Step 1. Click on the Start icon located on the System tray and then click on Settings.
Step 2. Once you are in the Settings window, click on Update & Security and then on Recovery.
Step 3. Hit the Restart Now button located under the Advanced Startup section. Now, your system will restart and enter the Windows recovery environment.
Step 4. In the next pop-up screens, click on Troubleshoot, then on Advanced options. This will take you to the Windows Advanced options window.
Step 5. In the Advanced Options window, click on UEFI Firmware Settings
Step 6. Then, click on Restart. If you can’t find the UEFI Firmware Settings option, press the Startup Settings option. Then, press the F1 or F2 key while the computer is restarting to enter BIOS in Windows 10.
2. How to Enter BIOS Windows 10/8/7 Via the BIOS Key
- Use hotkey during boot-up
- Use Windows 10’s start menu
- Via Linux Command
Method #1: Use hotkey during boot-up
The BIOS mode may be entered by pressing a certain key on your computer when it is booting up. Depending on the manufacturer, your PC or laptop’s BIOS hotkey may be different.
As soon as your computer has started up, hit and hold the hotkey until the BIOS menu appears. Wait until the BIOS screen appears before releasing the hotkey.
To find out which key is your hotkey, consult the handbook that came with your laptop or PC. You may also look for the hotkey in a search engine. F2 and Delete are the most frequently used BIOS hotkeys.
F2 is the BIOS key on an Asus machine. There are two hotkeys you’ll use on Dell computers: F2 or F12. It is possible to access the BIOS mode on an HP device by pressing F10. F2 or Fn + F2 is the key combination for Lenovo PCs and laptops. The BIOS hotkey might also change depending on the version of your machine.
When a computer is powered on, it goes through a Power On Self Test (POST). You need to hit the BIOS key before the POST is finished. However, some computers go through POST very quickly leaving you no time to hit the hotkey.
Certain systems might not recognize keyboard inputs until POST is finished. So, in these cases using the BIOS key might not be possible and you need an alternative.
Fortunately, we have the Advanced startup features of Windows 10 that can help you enter the BIOS mode. The steps given below will tell you how to enter the BIOS mode via the Windows 10s Start menu.
Step 1. Click on the Windows icon on your system tray. Then, click on the gear icon to go to Settings.
Step 2. Click on Update & Security
Step 3. Click on Recovery from the left pane
Step 4. Click the Restart now located underneath the Advanced startup header. Now, your computer will reboot and take you to the Windows startup settings window.
Step 5. Select Troubleshoot option followed by Advanced options
Step 6. Click on UEFI Firmware Settings and then, click on Restart to confirm.
Method #3. Via Linux Command
If you use a modern version of Linux OS like Ubuntu, you will be able to enter the BIOS menu by typing “sudo systemctl reboot –firmware” in the command prompt window.
How To Enter The BIOS Settings in Windows 7?
Step 1. Turn your computer off.
Step 2. Switch your computer on and press the BIOS hotkey. Since older Windows versions are slower, hence you need to have a long enough window of time for pressing the hotkey.
To enter the BIOS mode, a single keystroke or pressing a combination of certain keys should be enough. Sometimes, your computer will show a startup screen in which a single key or key is needed to be pressed to enter the BIOS mode.
How To Open the BIOS Menu in Windows 8?
If you have Windows 8 installed in your system, follow the steps given below to enter BIOS:
Step 1. Open the Windows Charms bar by hitting the Windows key + C.
Step 2. Then, click on Settings and then select the Change PC settings option located in the bottom right.
Step 3. In the PC Settings, go to the General tab.
Step 4. Then, click on the Restart now option located under the Advanced startup header.
If you are using Windows 8.1, then the steps would be quite different. In the PC Settings, click on the Update and Recovery tab. Click on the Recovery option and then, click on Restart now located under the Advanced startup.
Another way is to press and hold the Shift key when you click on the Restart option located in the Shut Down menu. Then, the system will enter the boot menu that includes the UEFI BIOS option.
What If You Can’t Boot Your OS Or Hit The BIOS Key?
If your system is not able to boot into your OS, then probably the bootable drive is going undetected. In this case, the computer might pause and beep followed by presenting you with the option to enter the BIOS. The computer might call the BIOS menu “setup.”
2. If the system’s POST is too fast for you to hit the host key to enter the boot menu, Windows might try and fail to enter the BIOS. In this case, you might get the Blue Screen of Death if the bootloader is corrupt or missing.
You can force enter the BIOS menu in these circumstances as well. Here’s how:
- Use an emergency boot disk. This can be done by using an emergency boot disk provided that you choose the boot device when your computer is starting. If your computer has an external USB drive set as the higher priority boot device than the internal disk.
- Another alternative is to use the Windows 10 install disk as an emergency boot disk. When your USB boots, click on “Repair your computer” and not on install. Then, click on Troubleshoot and choose UEFI Firmware Settings. Lastly, click on Restart.
- If booting off of the emergency disk is not working, then you can initiate a system halting error. This can prevent your system from trying to boot off the internal drives. Then, the option to enter the BIOS menu will be shown on the screen.
- Many computers will show an error message if the keyboard is not plugged in. This can also happen if the keyboard buffer gets overloaded due to too many keys being held at a time.
- So, if you pull out the primary internal storage drive, that would lead to an error as well. Such an error will allow you to enter into the BIOS mode. However, if the system’s drive has a non-booting OS installed on it, the issues might resurface once you have plugged it back in.
Final Words
This article gives you different ways how to enter BIOS in Windows 10 PCs. Before you go, remember that regardless of whichever method you use to access BIOS, be very cautious while making changes to BIOS settings. Otherwise, you might end up disabling the important key functions.
