Launching bios on a windows 8.1 laptop
Before wondering how to enter the BIOS on Windows 8, you should understand what is hidden under this abbreviation and whether there is a need to do this at all.
What is BIOS?
Basic input/output system, or BIOS for short, is a chip located on the computer’s motherboard and is necessary to boot it up. How does this happen. The BIOS contains software code with primary drivers and settings, with the help of which the computer hardware is launched and checked, its basic configuration is performed and the installed operating system (OS) is loaded. Many parameters included in the BIOS system can be changed by the user. To do this, you need to go to a special interface called BIOS Setup, with which most users associate the concept of BIOS. Here, in addition to the basic settings, the date and time are adjusted, the components integrated into the motherboard are turned on and off, the drive from which the operating system is loaded is selected, the voltage and clock speeds of the processor, RAM timings and much more are changed. To enter BIOS Setup, a specific key combination is used, which may be different for different models of computers and laptops.
BIOS chip with embedded software code
Table: Keyboard shortcuts for entering BIOS Setup for various BIOS manufacturers
Manufacturer | Key combination |
American Megatrends (AMI) | |
ATi Radeon BIOS (ARI) | |
Advanced Logic Research (ALR) | |
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) | |
Dalatech Enterprises (DTK) |
Usually, to enter the computer’s BIOS, it is enough to press one of the keys at the very beginning of its boot: F1, F2, Del, Esc.
On modern motherboards, another chip is installed, called Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). It performs the same functions as BIOS, but has a more advanced software interface, interacts better with the OS bootloader and has many other advantages.
Since Windows 8 is mainly installed on computers with modern motherboards, you should consider the BIOS - UEFI type in more detail. Entering such a BIOS is not easy because the boot process is very fast.
How to enter BIOS UEFI through the control panel
Direct entry in this case is impossible. In the control panel, we can change some settings to increase the testing time of the computer by a few seconds before Windows 8 starts loading. Now you will see on the screen options for loading the OS and “hot keys” for entering BIOS UEFI and any other that you can do right away .
- In Windows 8, click Start -> Control Panel -> Power Options.
Selecting a power section
- In the window that opens, click on the links “Additional information about power management schemes -> Power button action”.
Selecting advanced settings
- On the tab that opens, next to the shield icon, enable the function for changing unavailable parameters, at the bottom, uncheck the checkbox for enabling quick computer startup and click the “Save changes” button.
Disabling Fast Startup
Now it won’t be difficult to get into the BIOS when the computer boots, since all the necessary key combinations and hints will be visible.
Login via parameters
This option is used to enter BIOS UEFI.
- Open the right sidebar and select Settings -> Change PC settings.
Selecting parameters
- A tab will open where at the end of the list select the “Update and Recovery” link.
Entering recovery mode
- In the new window on the left side, select “Recovery”, and in the special boot options section, click “Restart now”.
Selecting a download option
- After the computer restarts, a window will open where you select “Diagnostics” and then “Advanced Settings”.
Selecting advanced options
- Next, click on the “UEFI Firmware Settings” tab and confirm to restart the computer.
Go to BIOS settings
- The computer will reboot once again and automatically enter the BIOS UEFI.
System Settings
Video instruction: how to enter BIOS on Windows 8
Login via command line
First, go to the main menu of Windows 8 and select “Applications”.
Command line selection
In the window that opens, type in the command line - shutdown.exe /r /o and press Enter on the keyboard. The computer will reboot into boot option selection mode, where you can specify the parameters necessary to enter the BIOS, as in the option shown above.
Set of executable commands
other methods
You can use a reboot in safe mode to enter the BIOS by holding down the Shift key and pressing the “Reboot” drop-down list item from the “On/Off” menu, which can be accessed through the main “Start” menu. After the reboot, a menu with an entry point to the BIOS will become available.
HP (Hewlett-Packard)
[from DOS -> Ctrl+Alt+F11]
Possible problems and ways to solve them
There are usually no problems logging into the BIOS, except if the login is password protected and the password is lost. Also, users often try to increase the speed of the computer unacceptably (overclock) using special programs or directly through the BIOS, as a result of which hardware malfunctions occur, which can lead to disruption of Windows 8.
In these cases, the best way out of the situation is to reset the BIOS settings to factory settings. This is not difficult to do. Enter the BIOS using one of the methods discussed above and press the Esc key. A window will appear with a list of links, one of which will contain the word Defaults. This link will need to be clicked, after which the BIOS settings will be reset to factory settings and the computer will reboot. But if the login is password-protected, then you simply cannot enter the BIOS this way. Are there any other options.
You can also reset the settings using a jumper on the motherboard, the location of which can be found in the motherboard diagram available in the instructions that came with the computer.
BIOS reset jumper
The BIOS will also reset if you remove and then reinsert the coin-cell battery on the motherboard.
BIOS battery
The article discusses in detail the options for how you can enter the BIOS on Windows 8 and more. Having a list of “hot keys” at hand at all times, the user of any computer or laptop can easily get into the BIOS and this procedure will take very little time.
BIOS basic input/output system- “basic input-output system”), also BSVV, is a part of system software implemented in the form of microprograms, which is intended to provide the operating system with API access to the computer hardware and devices connected to it.
In this article we will tell you how to enter the BIOS in Windows 8 and 8.1. There are several proven methods for this. Let's look at them.
Special download options
In order to enter the BIOS on a computer or laptop with the Windows 8 operating system, you need to use special system boot options. They will also be useful to you when booting from a flash drive or disk, without entering the BIOS.
1. Move the mouse cursor to the lower right corner, and then up. Thus, we call up the panel that is hidden on the right.
2. In it we select “Options”.
3. Then “Change computer settings.”
4. Select “Update and Recovery”.
5. Now you need to open “Recovery” and in the “Special boot options” select “Restart now”.
At the very bottom select “Restart now”
6. This is the menu you will see after rebooting. If you want to boot from a flash drive or disk and simply open the BIOS, then select “Use device”. If you need to go into the computer settings, then click on the “Diagnostics” item.
Using the “Diagnostics” parameter, go to the next window
7. On this screen, select Advanced Options.
8. All that remains is to click on “UEFI Firmware Settings” and confirm the reboot to change the BIOS settings.
After this, you will immediately see the computer's BIOS UEFI interface.
Using the command line
Let's look at another way to enter the BIOS in Windows 8.
1. Right-click on the Start icon and select “Command Prompt” from the menu. You need to enter it - shutdown.exe /r /o .
Sometimes instructions for solving any problems related to the functioning of a computer or laptop say that you need to enter BIOS Win 8. But it is not always mentioned how to open it. It is also possible that the described method does not help. Most often, we are talking about pressing a button when restarting the PC.
Go to BIOS
Basically, the described methods involve pressing a key on the keyboard when the computer boots. But this article will talk about software methods for opening this menu from the system.
Method 1: Special download option
The first method of how to open the BIOS on Windows 8 is associated with special boot options for the computer. Call up menu "Options" from the new Charms panel. Click on the line "Change settings…" and go to the section "Update and Recovery". Then click on the column "Recovery" and select "Reboot Now".
Wait for the PC to restart and click on the button "Diagnostics", and then - "Extra options".From here you can access the BIOS.
Method 2: Command Line
The command line provides access to a large number of system functions that are called through special requests, without a graphical interface. Related to this is another option for how to enable Bios on Windows 8. You can launch the desired element from the search. Open menu "Start" and there click on the magnifying glass icon. In the text box enter "Command line".
Right-click on the desired element and select run with administrator rights.
Enter the following query into a terminal window:
shutdown.exe /r /o
This will automatically restart your computer in various modes. From the window that appears, you can go to the BIOS.
This is the final goal of our journey.
Reader, to launch the BIOS (and it doesn’t matter whether you have Windows 8 or something else), do the following:
1) Turn on your computer (or reboot).
2) Press one of these keys:
del, F8, F2, F7 are four options, but there is only one that suits your computer. Therefore, when you first boot, you use one key. If it doesn’t help, reboot again and use a different button.
Some launch details
1) Choose the right moment. The fact is that you can launch bios only at the initial stage of turning on the computer (these are those few seconds when inscriptions, numbers, and equipment configuration appear on the screen). But when the Windows loading window appears, or moreover, the Windows welcome window - then that’s it, the train has left, the moment of entering the bios has been missed - reboot.
2) What should I press? Some keys have been given above. Which ones should I press? It all depends on your motherboard. Which board - which is the BIOS - press those buttons. BUT! Don’t be afraid to press the wrong thing, it won’t explode your computer, it won’t break it, and nothing will even happen to Windows.
3) How many times should I click? My answer: hit the key, nothing will happen to it, just like with the computer. In other words, whether you press 5 times, 10 times, or more does not matter at all. No, of course, with a clear and precise movement made at the ideal moment - you can enter bios on the first try, but why such difficulties? Turn on the computer and click on the button.
P.S. The computer may not have Windows at all, but the BIOS is always installed in it! The fact is that bios is “hardwired” into the motherboard; it has NO CONNECTION with WINDOWS 8 or another OS. Therefore, questions related to how to enter it under a certain axis are simply incorrect.
The problem with how to enter Bios on Windows 8 may arise for users who need to hardware enable or disable some computer components.
And, if Windows 8 or 8.1 is installed on your PC, this can be done in several ways, including even logging in from the OS itself.
The main reason why you may need to enter the BIOS directly from Windows 8 is that the OS boot speed is too high.
New motherboards are equipped with improved BIOS (and their UEFI analogues), thanks to which the system begins to boot not in seconds, but in milliseconds.
As a result, you may simply not have time to press the usual quick login buttons that you used before.
And yet there is a solution. The developers of the 8th generation operating system from Microsoft provided the ability to enter the BIOS (UEFI) after loading it.
Special download options
The main way to solve the problem of the inability to enter the BIOS, which often occurs among owners of new computers and laptops from certain manufacturers, such as Lenovo and Hewlett Packard, is to use special options for booting the system.
This method does not require much time, and after familiarizing yourself with it, entering the Bios will take the user only a few minutes.
To use the first and most popular method to get into the BIOS before booting the entire system, you need:
- Open the right panel of the system;
- Select “Options” and “Change settings”;
- Click on the inscription “Recovery”;
- Find the special boot options item and select reboot the system.
When the computer restarts, a sign like this will appear on the screen:
If a flash drive is inserted into the computer's USB port or there is a boot disk in the drive, the menu may be slightly different.
The “Use device” icon will appear in it; by clicking on it, you can boot from an external drive rather than from the HDD.
However, to load the BIOS and change system settings, you must select the “Diagnostics” option.
Here you can restore the computer’s functionality or continue to gain access to the BIOS by clicking “Advanced settings”.
A new menu will appear on the screen, specifically designed for troubleshooting.
By selecting “Firmware Settings”, you should confirm loading the BIOS and reboot the system. After the reboot, the user gains access to the BIOS settings.
The method is quite simple, although it takes some time, however, as a result, in approximately 90% of cases it is possible to achieve the desired result.
BIOS Settings
Using the BIOS settings itself, you can also get to the advanced settings menu. There are 2 ways to do this:
- Use the command line;
- Reboot while holding down the "Shift" key.
Using the Command Line
The first option may seem simpler than selecting different panels and menus. It is carried out simply by calling the command line and entering the command shutdown.exe /r /o into it.
The computer should restart and show the same boot options as described in the previous paragraphs.
A special feature of using the command line is the ability to create a special button for this download.
Reboot with "Shift"
You can also get to the advanced options menu by simply restarting your computer while holding down the Shift key.
True, it only works on Windows 8.1. and later versions of the system.
Quick Login Options
If there are no firmware options in the advanced settings menu (this happens, for example, in some laptops), you should try other methods.
For example, return to the quick login options by trying to randomly press the function keys on the top row of the keyboard. This method works for all versions of Windows.
But for new computers it is associated with the need to quickly press, or rather simply hold down the keys, selecting them one by one or using the well-known list for popular brands of devices.
To quickly enter the Bios of HP laptops, press either Esc or F10.
After pressing these keys when the system boots, the user is taken to a menu that allows him to change hardware settings. The option is suitable for most models of the brand.
On laptops from other manufacturers, you need to press other keys - for example, for Asus it may be F12. For Toshiba, press Esc first and then F1 or F10.
For Lenovo, F1 and F12 are most often suitable.
Sony and Dell products require pressing F3 to get into the BIOS, sometimes F8.
Thematic video: