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How to enter BIOS

 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.


How to enter BIOS


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.

How to enter BIOS

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.

How to enter BIOS

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.

What key should I press to access the BIOS

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.

What key should I press to access the BIOS

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. 


When should we press the key to access the BIOS

When should we press the key to access the BIOS

In the event that a small circle formed by small rotating dots appears on the screen, it means that we have not hit the key on time (or we have hit the key that was not) and, therefore, Windows 7 will load , Windows 10 or the operating system we have. We will have to restart or turn off the PC to start again.

Universal method to access BIOS from Windows

If we still cannot find the necessary key to access the BIOS on our PC but we have Windows 8, Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 installed , there is an easy way to access the BIOS directly from the operating system.

Access BIOS from Windows 10


From Windows 10 we will only have to go to the system recovery menu or, if you want to go faster, simply write BIOS in the Windows start menu to show us the " Change advanced Start options " menu .

In that window we will see a section that says: Advanced Startup. Pressing it will restart the PC in a special mode from which we will have access to different options.

  • 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.
Access BIOS from Windows 10

Access BIOS from Windows 8 / 8.1


The mechanism is similar to that of Windows 10, except that instead of looking for the option to change advanced startup options, we must directly click on the shutdown icon and press Restart while keeping the SHIFT key pressed until we get the special Troubleshoot menu. . This way of accessing the advanced options menu also works in Windows 10.

In previous versions such as Windows 7 , Windows Vista or Windows XP we must use the key directly when starting the PC since it is not possible to access the BIOS from the start.

A tip before touching the BIOS

We have seen practically all the ways to access the bios on any PC, be it laptop or desktop, through the direct access keys to the BIOS during the PC power-up or through Windows.

As you have seen, accessing the BIOS is quite simple, even so we would like to make a small recommendation to finish this article. The BIOS is a very powerful environment that allows changing system options at a very low level, as we have seen, we can change basic elements such as the boot order of hard drives, but we can also change voltages, protections and speeds of the processor itself and other components that , if configured incorrectly, could damage certain components of the computer. For all these reasons, before changing any BIOS parameter, it is advisable to inquire in advance of its function and the consequences it may have for our system.

A tip before touching the BIOS


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