For the majority of users getting into the BIOS is something that they rarely if ever have to do but there are still a lot of reason why you do need to get into it.

The problem is that how you get into the BIOS is different depending on the make of your computer.

The BIOS key.

Most computers have a specific key that needs to be pressed at a specific time during the startup process of the machine.

Which key you need to press does depend on the Make of the machine and even the age.  As a general rule it will be either the F2 or DEL key.  This needs to be pressed after the PC is powered on and before windows starts to load.

The issue with this option is that as PC’s have become faster and especially with the advent of SSD hard drives, the amount of time you have to hit that button between powering on the PC and windows starting to boot can be just a second or two.

So, if you are struggling to hit the button in that sweet spot then there is another option that can be done from within windows.

Windows 10 and 11’s Advanced Start Menu.

The steps to get to the correct settings are similar in both windows 10 and 11 but these instructions are a guide only and a little common sense is required as Microsoft have a habit of moving settings around.

From the Start menu click on Settings

In the search box towards the top left of the settings page enter ‘Advanced startup’

The top search result should take you to the Advanced startup or system recovery page. On this page you should see the Advanced Startup option with a restart now button next to it.

Pressing the restart now button will reboot your computer and instead of loading windows it will take you to a blue screen with various options, one of which will be troubleshoot.

Select this option and you will be presented with another similar screen; this time select the ‘Advanced options’ button.

This will take you to yet another blue screen with various option, one of which is ‘UEFI Firmware settings’ press this button and then press the reset button to confirm.

This will reboot the PC into the BIOS (UEFI is another word for BIOS)

So now I hear you ask, what if I can’t boot into windows and I can’t get the timing right with the BIOS key option?  Well, there is a third way….

Windows Recovery method.

So, you have had no luck with option 1 and 2 so we try this little trick, you will need to get hold of a windows installation USB stick, you can create this using the windows media creation tools available from the Microsoft website.

Power off the PC and connect the USB stick into a free USB port, power on the PC and it should boot from the USB stick.

You will be presented with the Windows setup wizard, instead of clicking on the big ‘Install now’ button in the middle of the screen, click on the ‘Repair your computer’ button in the bottom left corner.  This will take you to the menus we discussed in the second method so simply follow those instruction to make your way to the BIOS.

Now you are in the BIOS you can make whatever changes it is that you need to do, just a word of caution, these setting can have very serious effects on how your computer runs and, on the data, stored on it, so please make sure you know what you are doing before you do it.