Whether you are an advanced user or not, you have probably heard of a computer's BIOS on occasion. At the end of the day it is an element that is present in all computers in the world, whatever brand it is and it is essential for them to work. In this guide we will show you the different ways that exist to access.
BIOS is the acronym for Basic Input Output System , a system in charge of managing the startup of the different hardware elements of a computer (Board, CPU, RAM, graphics, storage, etc.) and allowing the loading and startup of the Operating System as it can be Windows 7 or Windows 10 for example.
Traditionally, the interface of the different BIOSes of computers consisted of a rather rough menu with options that are not very understandable to laymen and touching or modifying any section or value of them was something that produced (and rightly so) quite a lot of respect. .
Today few computers maintain the traditional BIOS and practically any PC from the last 10 years has replaced the old BIOS with the more modern UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) , a more advanced, faster system with improvements in both functionalities (disk drives higher capacity, 64 bits, screenshoots system, profiles etc.) and security (Secure Boot) as in graphical interface.
A UEFI BIOS usually have a much more modern and easy-to-use interface , with a friendlier design that even supports the use of the mouse in a generalized way, something that in traditional BIOS was not so common to see.
Be that as it may, entering both the BIOS and the UEFI can be very useful in various situations. For example, we may want to define the boot order of the different hard drives, SSDs or USB memories that we have on the computer; It also allows us to configure the operating speed of components such as RAM, either manually or by loading XMP profiles for the memories, or even the processor, allowing manual overclocking and the activation or deactivation of functions that affect to the consumption or performance of the computer in general.
Even tasks such as updating the BIOS / UEFI itself tend to be done more safely and effectively if done from within the BIOS itself.
It depends on each computer, the options that its BIOS / UEFI will give us can range from basic things to hundreds of options that only the most expert users will control and use.
Whatever the motivation to enter the BIOS (from now on we will call BIOS interchangeably if it is BIOS or UEFI), there are several methods to enter this system depending on the type of computer and also its manufacturer.
For example, the BIOS of a Dell laptop is not accessed in the same way as that of a HP laptop , nor is it the same to access the BIOS of a computer with an ASUS motherboard .
What key should I press to access the BIOS?
In this small guide we will teach you how to access the BIOS of most PCs, whether laptops or desktops, of the best-known brands in the industry, in addition to teaching you some other tricks to be able to access generically whatever your computer is .
All computers, whether they be desktop PCs or laptops, have a BIOS hotkey. Although these keys are not the same for all systems, they are generally reduced to three keys, although there are exceptions.
The most common keys to access the BIOS are: DEL, ESC or F2 , although, in general, the most common key to access is usually DEL, or DEL in English. With these keys you can possibly access the BIOS of the vast majority of computers.
Many computers show for a short time on the screen, just after turning on the PC, the keys from which you can access the BIOS. However, depending on the system and even our monitor, we may not see it or, directly, it passes too quickly.
There are specific computers that can use other keys like F1, F10, F12 or even some laptops include a specific key on the keyboard to access the BIOS. In the following table we will show you the most common BIOS access keys from various manufacturers:
Maker |
Usual BIOS access key |
Additional Keys |
ACER |
F2 |
DEL, F1 |
ASROCK |
F2 |
DELETE |
ASUS |
F2 |
DEL, Insert, F12, F10 |
Dell |
F2 |
DEL, F12, F1 |
GiGABYTE |
F2 |
DELETE |
HP |
ESC |
ESC, F2, F10, F12 |
Lenovo |
F2 |
F1 |
M: YES |
DELETE |
F2 |
TOSHIBA |
F2 |
F12, F1, ESC |
ZOTAC |
OF |
F2, DELETE |
When should we press the key to access the BIOS?
The exact moment to press the key that will give us access to the BIOS is during POST, that is, during the initial boot of the system when all the internal components are being verified. Some PCS display some information during POST, others simply display the motherboard logo.
The only thing common to all is that the POST occurs right after turning on or restarting the computer. That is the moment in which we must press the access key to the BIOS (possibly, as we have said, F2, DEL or DEL). As there are cases where we will not see the complete POST or others, especially after restarting, where it happens very quickly, it is advisable to repeatedly press the access key after restarting or turning on until we enter the BIOS.
Universal method to access BIOS from Windows
Access BIOS from Windows 10
- We must press the option to Solve Problems.
- Later, we will have to click on the Advanced Options option .
- Finally, we will see an option that reads: UEFI firmware configuration. This is the option that we must press so that the system restarts and enters the BIOS directly.
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