How to Enter BIOS Settings on Your Windows PC?

BIOS stands for Basic Input / Output System which is connected to your computer motherboard and controls almost everything in your computer system such as security options, boot environment, etc. It’s also known as UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) in modern computers.

Many times we need to enter into BIOS settings to change our system configuration. For example, sometimes we need to change boot device order to boot using our bootable USB drive or an external HDD (hard disk), we also need to enable/disable lots of security options such as secure boot, TPM, etc using BIOS settings.

Sometimes when CMOS battery is dead and we need to replace it, BIOS settings are restored to default factory settings and we need to access BIOS settings page to customize them again according to our requirements and set admin password.

Many times, I receive emails from readers asking similar question like how to open BIOS settings in my Windows PC? So today, I decided to write this tutorial.

In this tutorial, I’ll tell you how to access and open BIOS settings page in your computer system whether it’s a desktop PC or laptop.

There are 2 ways to open BIOS settings in your computer system:

• METHOD 1: By pressing a key on system startup
• METHOD 2: Using Windows 8/10/11 advanced boot options screen

Let’s discuss both one by one:

METHOD 1: By Pressing a Key on System Startup

1. First of all turn off your computer. Now press the power button to turn it on again.

2. As soon as the computer starts, you’ll see your device manufacturer’s logo on splash screen (BIOS logo) such as HP, Dell, etc. You’ll notice a few keys mentioned at the top-right corner or bottom-right corner of the splash screen to enter into BIOS settings or to select boot device.

You’ll need to press the mentioned key to enter into BIOS settings. Please note the key to change BIOS settings might be different for different brand PCs.

The most common keys to enter BIOS settings are F2, Delete, F1, F8, F10, F12 and Esc key.

For your convenience, we are sharing correct keys required to enter BIOS setup in popular brand computers:

• Dell – F2 or F12
• HP – Esc or F10
• Lenovo – F1 or F2 or Enter+F1
• Acer – F2 or Del
• Asus – F2 or Del
• Samsung – F2
• Sony – F1, F2 or F3
• Toshiba – F2
• MSI – Del
• ASRock – F2 or Del
• Gigabyte – F2 or Del
• Microsoft Surface – Press and hold “Volume Up” key or button

So as soon as you see the first splash screen (before Windows boot screen), press the required key immediately and the BIOS settings screen will launch.

METHOD 2: Using Advanced Boot Options Screen in Windows 8/10/11

Sometimes you might be unable to access BIOS Settings page using above mentioned method if your PC manufacturer disabled keys to enter into BIOS settings or if the BIOS splash logo quickly disappears and you don’t get time to press the required key.

In such situation, you can directly enter into BIOS settings using Windows operating system.

Windows 8, Windows 10 and Windows 11 allow users to enter into BIOS settings easily and directly using their advanced boot menu screen.

So you can access and enter the BIOS setup screen inside your Windows PC with the help of following steps:

1. Open Settings app from Start Menu or by pressing WIN+I keys together.

2. Now go to “Update & Security -> Recovery” section.

PS: Alternatively, You can directly launch this page using “ms-settings:recovery” command in RUN dialog box as mentioned here.

3. Now in right-side pane, click on “Restart Now” button present under “Advanced Startup” section.

Windows will close the session and will show “Please wait” screen for few seconds. After that you’ll get “Choose an Option” screen.

BONUS TIP 1: You can directly open Advanced Boot Options screen by clicking on Start button and then press and hold SHIFT key and click on Restart option present in Power menu.

BONUS TIP 2: You can also directly access the screen via command-line using Shutdown.exe /r /o command in Command Prompt or RUN dialog box.

4. Now click on “Troubleshoot” option given at “Choose an option” screen.

5. It’ll open Troubleshoot options screen. Click on “Advanced Options” option.

6. On next screen, click on UEFI Firmware Settings option.

That’s it. Your computer will restart into BIOS settings page directly.

BONUS TIP 3: You can also use shutdown /r /fw command in RUN dialog box to direct restart your computer into UEFI firmware or BIOS settings screen right from Windows Desktop.

Also Check:

How to Reset / Remove / Bypass Forgotten BIOS or CMOS Password?

How to Change SATA Hard Disk Mode from IDE to AHCI / RAID in BIOS after Installing Windows?

[Tip] How to Restart or Boot in Safe Mode in Windows 10, Pressing “F8” Key at Startup Not Working

[Fix] “The AC Power Adapter Type is Incorrect or Cannot be Determined” Warning Message at Startup in Laptops