How To Access Bios Windows 10

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The BIOS, or UEFI, is a powerful tool for configuring your PC's hardware such as your RAM, CPU, motherboard, and more than. It also has options that can increase the security of your PC. Hither are a few different ways to admission the BIOS.

What Is the BIOS?

The Basic Input-Output Organisation (BIOS) is depression-level software that is programmed onto your computer's motherboard. When y'all turn on your computer, the BIOS initializes and tests all of the hardware in your PC to ensure it is functioning correctly. By accessing the BIOS, you can customize how your PC'southward hardware functions.

Warning: Be conscientious though — some of the options bachelor in the BIOS tin physically damage your figurer.

If you're going to endeavor overclocking components, be sure you understand what overclocking is, and take the necessary precautions to do information technology safely. Y'all tin can also practise things similar enable XMP profiles to change your RAM speed, or boot your calculator from a deejay or USB drive.

The BIOS has been replaced by the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) on mod computers, but the term BIOS is ordinarily used to refer to UEFI. UEFI adds a number of new features that brand it unlike from BIOS.

Accessing the BIOS/UEFI at Startup

When yous get-go your PC, in that location will usually exist a splash screen that displays the manufacturer's name or logo. To access your BIOS, you can striking a key while the manufacturer's splash screen is visible. The keys you can printing to admission the BIOS will typically exist displayed almost the bottom. Usually, the key will be either F2 or Delete, simply non e'er. The manual for your estimator or motherboard will besides contain this information.

If you don't see anything because the screen flashes by besides quickly, or hitting the right fundamental doesn't bring you into the BIOS, it is possible that Fast Boot is enabled in the BIOS, or y'all have Fast Startup manner enabled in Windows ten.

Fortunately, there are other ways to admission the BIOS.

Accessing the BIOS From Within Windows 10

In that location are a handful of means to access the BIOS from Windows 10.

The simplest style to access the BIOS is with the Start push button. Click the Start push button, striking the power icon, and and so hold Shift while y'all click "Restart."

click Start, then Power, then hold Shift while clicking Restart

Alternatively, you tin hit the Start push, in the search bar type "Change Advanced Startup Options" and then hit Enter. Go to the Advanced startup department of the window that pops up, and click the "Restart now" button.

in Advanced startup section, click "Restart Now"

If y'all used either of the two preceding methods, you'll be sent to a blue screen with multiple options. Go to Troubleshooting > Advanced Options > UEFI Firmware Settings. Y'all should and then be at the BIOS.

If you don't see "UEFI Firmware Settings" there are ii likely explanations. The first is that the figurer y'all're using doesn't have UEFI at all — this is especially likely if your PC is older, and actually has BIOS rather than UEFI. The 2d possibility is that your motherboard does have UEFI, just Windows x is booting from a bulldoze that was partitioned using MBR and not GPT. If your boot drive was partitioned using MBR, information technology'll force UEFI to use a BIOS Legacy manner that disables access from within Windows 10.

If y'all'd rather use Command Prompt to access the BIOS, click the Start button, type "cmd" in the search bar, and and so select "Run every bit administrator."

Click "Run Command Prompt as Administrator"

Then, blazon shutdown /r /fw into the Command Prompt window and press Enter.

If it worked, a window volition popular upwards informing you that your PC will close down in less than a minute.

Windows restart warning

Y'all can type shutdown /r /fw /t 0 into the Command Prompt to remove the waiting catamenia and restart instantly.

If you encounter the bulletin "Kick to firmware UI is not supported past this arrangement'south firmware" when y'all effort to run the shutdown command, it probably means that your motherboard doesn't accept UEFI. It could also mean that Windows 10 is installed on a disk that was partitioned with MBR.

Command Prompt message indicating /fw argument not accepted

If you can't access the BIOS/UEFI from inside Windows 10, and your PC has Fast Boot enabled in the BIOS/UEFI, you'll have to do some troubleshooting.

Creating a Shortcut to Access the BIOS

The control to shut down and go into the BIOS can hands be fabricated into a shortcut for faster and more convenient admission. Right-click empty space on your desktop and select New > Shortcut.

Right-click desktop. Select New > Shortcut

In the window that appears, blazon shutdown /r /fw where it says to blazon the location of the detail, and then striking next. Name the shortcut something advisable, and then click "Terminate."

Shortcut creation guide, prompt for location of item

Once the icon is on your desktop, correct-click it, and hit "Properties." In the Properties window, click "Advanced."

Click "Advanced" in the Properties window.

On this window, tick "Run as administrator", then hit "OK."

Enable "Run as Administrator."

Back on the Properties window, click "Apply" and so "OK" to finish creating the shortcut.

Click "OK" and then click "Apply."

If you'd like, you can customize the icon of the shortcut by hit the "Change Icon" button in the properties window. You tin then select an icon from a number of default options, or y'all can brand your own high-resolution icons out of any image.

What to Do If Yous Can't Access the BIOS

If you can't access your BIOS during startup, Fast Boot or Fast Startup could be the culprit. The terms Fast Kicking and Fast Startup are often used interchangeably but are actually singled-out.

Fast Kicking ordinarily refers to a setting in the BIOS or UEFI that changes the initial startup process of the computer. Fast Kicking skips some of the hardware checks and initializations that usually occur when your PC is first turned on then that your operating system, similar Windows 10, loads more than quickly. There is an additional setting (sometimes chosen Ultrafast Kick) that is fifty-fifty faster considering it doesn't initialize things like USB controllers or disk drives. When that setting is enabled, USB devices like your mouse and keyboard won't be usable until the operating system loads. It besides prevents booting from DVDs or USB drives.

If that is the case for y'all, your best pick is to effort clearing your PC's CMOS to reset your BIOS settings. Some newer or higher-end motherboards include buttons to clear the CMOS — check on the back of your PC, near the USB ports. If it is at that place, printing and hold it for at least 10 seconds. By default, Fast Boot and Ultrafast Kicking are disabled, so clearing your CMOS should enable yous to hit the advisable button to get into the BIOS during startup.

Fast Startup is a Windows feature that enables your reckoner to offset more than chop-chop subsequently it was shut downward. Windows 10's Fast Startup style can interfere with your ability to reach the BIOS if your reckoner had been shut off with Fast Startup mode enabled. Fast Startup way doesn't affect restarts though, and so yous should exist able to reach your BIOS after a restart even with Fast Startup enabled.

If none of that works, you lot should check the documentation that came with your computer or motherboard. There may be more than specific instructions for your machine that tin help.