How To

How to Enter the BIOS or CMOS Setup

Published

5 years ago

November 16, 2019

What is BIOS

BIOSsimply stands for Basic Input/Output System. It actually consists of low-level software that controls the hardware devices of a computer and acts an interface between the operating system and the hardware. BIOS or CMOS setup is used to change the motherboard configuration or settings.

Due to the different brands of computer and BIOS manufacturers, there are numerous ways of entering the BIOS setup, each brand of system has its own key to access the BIOS. In order words the exact way to enter BIOS setup varies from one motherboard manufacturer to another. Below is the list of different BIOS brands and their BIOS setup keys you will have to press during start-up process.

BIOS Access Keys for Popular Computers

Hewlett-Packard (HP)

Press F1, F10, or F11 in your keyboard after restarting your computer.
Some HP Tablets uses F10 or F12.
You may also access the BIOS in some Computers by pressing F2 or Esc keys.
Some may still require you to press Esckey and then F10.

Acer

Acer laptops uses Del or F2.
Some uses Ctrl+Alt+Esc key and the F1 key for advanced options.
Some old Acer computers uses the F1 or Ctrl+Alt+Esc keys to enter the BIOS.

Compaq

Press F10 or Del key to enter the BIOS.
Some Compaq computers you have to press Escand the press F10 immediately after restarting your computer.

Asus

Asus laptops uses F10, Del or Esc key.
Some Asus computers require to press and hold F2 until you see the BIOS screen.

Dell

Dell laptops uses Ctrl+Alt+Enter or Del to enter BIOS.
Older Del uses Fn+Esc or Fn+F1 key to access the BIOS.
Some Del laptops you will have to press F2when the Dell logo appears, then keep on pressing until “Entering Setup” message appears.