Can't find the required key to enter the BIOS/UEFI or Boot Menu of your computer or laptop? We tried to collect in this material the entire list of hot keys for each laptop and PC manufacturer.
A large number of settings that can greatly affect the operation of your computer or laptop are located in the BIOS or UEFI. But how to get into it? This is exactly what we want to tell you about!
Here you will also find hotkeys for entering the Boot Menu.
How to get to BIOS/UEFI and Boot Menu?
In order to get into the BIOS/UEFI and Boot Menu, you need to turn off your computer or laptop, and then hold down one of the keys listed below.
| Manufacturer | Type | Login keys Boot Menu |
Login keys BIOS/UEFI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lenovo | PC | F12, F8, F10 | F1, F2, Novo Button, Novo Button + Power |
| Lenovo | Laptop | F12, Fn + F11 | F1, F2 |
| Intel | F10 | F2 | |
| HP | PC, Laptop | ESC, F9 | F10, Esc, F1 |
| Dell | PC, Laptop | F12 | F2 |
| Asus | PC, Laptop | F8 | F9, F2 or Delete |
| Acer | PC, Laptop | Esc, F12, F9 | Del, F2 |
| Samsung | Laptop | Esc, F12, F2 | F2, F10 |
| Sony | Laptop | Assist button, Esc, F11 | Assist button, F1, F2, F3 |
| Toshiba | Laptop | F12 | F1, Esc, F12 |
| Fujitsu | Laptop | F12 | F2 |
| NEC | F5 | F2 | |
| Packard Bell | F8 | F1, Del | |
| eMachines | F12 | Tab, Del | |
| Gigabit | F12 | Del | |
| AsRock | F11 | Del | |
| MSI | F11 | Del |
If you cannot enter BIOS/UEFI and Boot Menu (Windows 10 - 7)
In recent Windows versions A quick startup function for the operating system has been introduced, which helps speed up the startup of your computer or laptop after finishing work. For everything to work, it must be disabled.
To do this, go to Control Panel -> Hardware and Sound -> Power Options -> System Settings, then click on “Change settings that are currently unavailable” and uncheck “Enable Quick Launch”.
Or you can go the other way - shut down the device and completely turn off the power, on a computer, unplug it from the outlet for 30 seconds, and on a laptop, unplug it from the outlet and briefly remove the battery.
Still have questions? Write them in the comments, tell us what you did or vice versa!
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Now we will figure out how to enter the Boot Menu; usually, this is necessary to select a boot device: a bootable flash drive or CD/DVD disk from which you want to boot on the computer. Boot Menu BIOS is responsible for choosing boot disk and for choosing the boot priority from computer disks.
Immediately after turning on the computer, the BIOS, the “basic input/output system,” initializes, identifies and configures the computer’s hardware and prepares to load the operating system. Computers use modern versions of UEFI BIOS and legacy BIOS versions (Legasy BIOS).
To select a boot device, you must enter the BIOS boot menu. This will be needed in the following cases: when installing or reinstalling Windows, or installing another operating system on a PC, to boot from an anti-virus LiveCD (LiveDVD) or LiveUSB disk to treat the computer from infection, to run another operating system that can run on the computer from an external disk, for example, run one of the Linux distributions from a flash drive - in other situations.
Boot disks are usually located on removable media: a bootable flash drive on a USB drive, and a system image or “live” disk is recorded on an optical CD/DVD disk. To be able to boot from an external drive, you must select this drive in the BIOS boot menu on your computer.
To launch the Boot Menu, one “hot” key on the keyboard is used, which must be pressed immediately after the boot screen appears, at which time the logo of the laptop or motherboard manufacturer is displayed on the screen. To successfully enter the boot menu, quickly press the corresponding key several times. If you can't log in right away, try again the next time you start the system.
In the article you will find instructions and tables for entering the Boot Menu on a desktop computer and on laptops of different models.
Selecting boot devices in the BIOS or in the Boot Menu: differences between the two methods
Immediately after turning on the computer, you can select a boot device in two ways:
- directly from BIOS;
In the first case, you will need to enter the BIOS, and then in the corresponding tab change the priority of loading performed from computer devices. By default, the system boots from hard drive computer.
In the list of devices, depending on the configuration of the PC, there is equipment from which it is possible to boot: hard drive, CD/DVD drive, connected USB devices, etc. The user, using the arrow keys on the keyboard, selects desired device, moves it to the first place in the list, and then saves the changes in the BIOS settings.
After applying the changes, the computer will start booting from the very first device installed in the BIOS Boot Menu. If the first device does not have a boot disk, the boot will start from the next device, etc. For example, the PC has been set to boot priority from a CD/DVD, and the hard drive is used as a second boot device if there is no boot CD/DVD in the drive disk, the computer will boot from the hard drive. Accordingly, if a disc with Windows is inserted into the drive, the PC will boot from the DVD disc.
Selecting boot priority in the BIOS is a permanent setting that can be changed if the need arises again.
Loading the Boot Menu, on the contrary, is a temporary setting. In a separate window, the user goes to the boot menu and selects a boot device to launch on the computer. This action is one-time in nature at the current moment in time. This method is convenient because the user does not have to call the BIOS to change the system boot order settings.
If you need to boot your computer again from a boot disk (USB flash drive or CD/DVD), the user will have to enter the Boot Menu to select a boot device.
Disabling Fast Startup in Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8
On many modern computers running operating systems Windows systems 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, the boot screen is not displayed during system startup, or the screen is displayed for a very short period of time. This is done to increase the startup speed of Windows because the Fast Startup feature is enabled on the PC.
Everything happens so quickly that the user simply does not have time to press the required hot key to enter the Boot Menu. In this case, you will need to disable fast boot of the Windows operating system.
- In the Control Panel, select the "Power Options" section.
- In the Power Options window, select what the power buttons do.
- In the System Settings window, select the Change settings that are currently unavailable option.
- In the “Shutdown Options” section, uncheck the box next to “Enable Fast Startup (Recommended)”, and then click on the “Save Changes” button.
Some UEFI BIOS have a fast startup feature, so you need to disable it in the BIOS settings.
How to open the Boot Menu on a desktop computer: table
On desktop PCs, entering the boot menu depends on the motherboard manufacturer and the BIOS version used on the hardware. Basically, motherboards are produced by well-known Taiwanese companies.
The most common keys to enter the boot menu are the “F12”, “F11”, “Esc” keys; other keyboard keys are not used so often.
| Motherboard manufacturer | BIOS version | Keys |
|---|---|---|
| ASUS | AMI | F8 |
| ASRock | AMI | F11 |
| Gigabyte | AMI | F12 |
| Gigabyte | Award | F12 |
| MSI | AMI | F11 |
| Intel | Visual BIOS | F10 |
| Intel | Phoenix Award | Esc |
| Biostar | Phoenix Award | F9 |
| ECS (Elitegroup) | AMI | F11 |
| Foxconn | Phoenix Award | Esc |
On Asus laptops, most products use the “Esc” key. On K-series and X-series devices, use the “F8” key to launch the boot menu.
Boot Menu Lenovo
The user can enter the boot menu on Lenovo laptops using the “F12” key. Using a special key on some Lenovo laptop models, you can enter the additional menu and select the Boot Menu there.
Immediately after turning on the computer, on the HP laptop you should press the “Esc” key, and then select the “F9” key in the menu that opens.
On Acer laptops, the “F12” key is used to enter the Boot Menu. On some laptop models from this company, the ability to enter the boot menu when the computer starts is disabled.
To correct the situation, you need to enter the BIOS settings, and there enable the “F12” key as a “hot key” to enter the boot menu. Don't forget to save changes in BIOS settings.
Boot Menu Samsung
A special feature of entering the Boot Menu on Samsung laptops is to press the “Esc” key once when opening the boot screen. Pressing the key again will exit the boot menu.
To enter the boot menu on Sony laptops, use the “F11” key. It happens that on Sony VAIO laptops the function of entering the boot menu is disabled in the BIOS. To change the settings, you will need to go to the BIOS settings, and then enable the “External Device Boot” option.
How to enter the boot menu on a laptop: table
The table contains hotkeys for entering the Boot Menu of a laptop from the most well-known and widespread manufacturers. On some laptop models, in the boot menu, among other devices, there is a recovery partition created by the computer manufacturer.
| Laptop manufacturer | BIOS version | Keys |
|---|---|---|
| Acer | InsydeH2O | F12 |
| Acer | Phoenix | F12 |
| ASUS | AMI | Esc |
| ASUS | Phoenix Award | F8 |
| Dell | Phoenix | F12 |
| Dell | Aptio (AMI) | F12 |
| eMachines (Acer) | Phoenix | F12 |
| Fujitsu Siemens | AMI | F12 |
| HP | InsydeH2O | Esc → F9 |
| Lenovo | Phoenix Secure Core | F12 |
| Lenovo | AMI | F12 |
| MSI | AMI | F11 |
| Packard Bell (Acer) | Phoenix Secure Core | F12 |
| Samsung | Phoenix Secure Core | Esc (press once) |
| Sony VAIO | InsydeH2O | F11 |
| Toshiba | Phoenix | F12 |
| Toshiba | InsydeH2O | F12 |
Conclusions of the article
To enter the Boot Menu, immediately after turning on the computer, use various keyboard keys. “Hot keys” depend on the BIOS version and the device manufacturer: motherboard or laptop. The article contains instructions and tables with a list of keys used on different devices, separately for desktop computers and separately for laptops.
This menu allows you to select from what type of media and even from which specific one the download will be made this time. This can be useful when installing a system, installing BIOS updates, or if necessary, launching a LiveCD.
Standard methods
In order to get to the boot menu there is a set standard keys, exactly the same as for entering the BIOS. Usually these are buttons f11,f12,Esc. In this menu you can see all the devices from which you can download at the moment and select the one you need.
As a rule, information about which button to press appears immediately when the computer starts; if this does not happen and the above options did not help, then other actions will be required.
Features of the boot menu in Windows 8 and 10
If the PC was shipped with one of these systems, pressing the keys may not work. This happens because these systems usually do not turn off, in the usual sense of the word, but rather, go into hibernation. To get to the boot menu, you need to completely turn off the computer. To do this, you can hold down the key shift when selecting " Shutdown"or reboot the device using the button on the front panel.
There is also an option with disabling fast startup, but it’s not worth using it just to get into the Boot Menu.
Boot menu on Asus motherboards and laptops
For computers, login is carried out at pressedf8 immediately after launch. There can be some confusion with laptops. Most of them can also launch the necessary option when you press this key, and some enable it only when pressedEsс(usually this applies to models whose names begin with x or k). 
Lenovo laptops
Here everything is much simpler, the launch is carried out when pressedf12. There may also be a special key with an arrow that will allow you to perform the same action. 
Boot Menu on Acer
Here you can also enter by pressingf12. Only here lies a small trick: for proper operation and loading of the boot menu using this button, you must first enable the appropriate option in the BIOS. You can get into it by pressing f2. The name of the setting itself is shown in the image, all you need to do is set “ Enabled"at the right point. 
Other models of laptops and motherboards
Manufacturers do not seem to have come to a consensus on which button is best to use for the Boot Menu and therefore, each of them left the most convenient option for themselves. As a result, it is almost impossible to “guess” the right button on the first try, without knowing what model the motherboard is. Below is a list for the most common of them. 
When installing an operating system, you need to go to the Boot Menu to tell your computer which device to boot from. This is also necessary when you need to start from a Live CD or bootable USB flash drive. Today I will tell and show you how to enter Boot Menu as on motherboards ah PCs and laptops.
Just like you need to press a special key (F2 or Del) to enter the BIOS or UEFI, there is also a specific button to bring up the boot menu. As a rule, these are the F11, F12 or Esc keys, but there are exceptions. Usually, when you turn on the computer, under the splash screen you can see a key that is responsible for calling the Boot Menu.
You can, of course, do without the Boot Menu by simply selecting a specific boot order for devices in the BIOS, but if you want to boot one-time (checking for viruses or installing a system), then I would advise using the boot menu, because it is much faster.
So, why do you need the Boot Menu at all - you ask. This menu shows a list of devices connected to the PC from which you can boot (flash drives, CDs, hard drives) for further installation of the system or for testing components.
Logging into the Boot Menu in Windows 8 and Windows 10
If you are the proud owner of a laptop on which Windows 8, 8.1 or Windows 10 was originally installed, then you may not be able to enter the Boot Menu. I’ll explain why: shutdown in these systems is not complete, since it is more like hibernation, so when you press F11, F12, Esc, the boot menu may not open. There are several ways to fix this:- hold down the Shift button when selecting “Shutdown” and then the PC should turn off completely;
- disabling quick system startup - in G8, go to the Control Panel,
Go to "Power Supplies"
On the left, click on "Power button actions"
Disable the “Enable fast startup” item (you can do this even if not on a laptop).
Logging into the Boot Menu on Asus laptops and motherboards
On almost all Asus desktop computers, to enter the boot menu you need to press the F8 button immediately when the computer turns on. If we press F9 or Del, we will get to the BIOS.
Regarding laptops, it's a little confusing. The Esc key opens the boot menu on modern models, on older laptops the F8 key works and mainly on models whose names begin with the letter k or x. In short, if the Esc key does not bring up the Boot Menu, then we reboot and try pressing F8.
Logging into the Boot Menu on Lenovo laptops
To open the boot menu on Lenovo laptops, just press the F12 key. If you want to use additional boot options, press the additional arrow key,
Logging into the Boot Menu on Acer laptops
On all Acer laptops and all-in-one PCs, the Boot Menu can be accessed using the F12 key when turned on. But laptops from this company have one unpleasant feature - the ability to call the boot menu is disabled in the BIOS settings. To fix this, let's get into the BIOS by pressing the F2 key. Now let's find the "F12 Boot Menu" parameter and activate it so that the word Enabled appears next to it. All that remains is to save the settings and exit the BIOS.
Below in the table you can see all other laptops and the key to call the Boot Menu and BIOS:
I hope the information in this manual was useful to you. If you have any difficulties getting into the boot menu, then write in the comments, I’ll try to help!
Do you want to know how to enter the special boot BOOT menu of a computer or laptop?
To boot from a flash drive or CD - DVD drive?
In this article you will learn how to do it correctly.
When we do a clean installation of Windows, we need to boot from another medium rather than the hard drive.
This is either a CD - DVD disc or a flash drive.
Typically, this is done by entering the BIOS of a computer or laptop.
This is exactly what we did in previous lessons.
We went into the BIOS and changed the boot order of the devices.
It is at this step that approximately 90% of users who want to reinstall Windows stop.
They cannot enter the BIOS and make the necessary settings there.
Exists alternative way select boot device.
This is the BOOT menu. The BOOT menu is simpler and more convenient than entering the BIOS.
The essence of the BUT menu is to press a certain key when booting a computer or laptop.
A menu like this appears:
In this menu we can select any device and immediately boot from it.
Let's look at this in more detail.
I connected a bootable USB flash drive to the laptop. On my laptop, the Escape key is responsible for entering the Boot menu.
I pressed the Escape button, hold it down and, at the same time, turn on the laptop with the button. The Boot menu opened in front of me.
Using the cursor keys, up and down, I select the desired device. In this case it is a flash drive.
Once the desired device is selected, press the Enter key.
Ready! I booted from the flash drive and now I can start installing Windows.
So, to enter the BOOT menu, you need to press one key when you boot your computer or laptop.
As with the BIOS, the BOOT menu keys differ depending on the manufacturer and brand of your laptop or computer.
The most common keys are:
F12, Esc, F11, F9 and F8
Boot menu has significant advantages over BIOS.
1. Boot menu is simpler and faster to use.
2. You don't need to understand and change complex BIOS settings. Let me remind you that there are settings in the BIOS that, if you change them, your computer or laptop will stop booting completely. Using the Boot menu you will avoid this.
3. There is no need to return the BIOS settings back to their original state.
Of course, the Boot menu also has its own characteristics.
If you have Windows 10 or Windows 8.1, then to enter the BOOT menu, I recommend using restarting the computer instead of shutting down. The point is that in these operating systems, the so-called Quick Launch is activated by default.
Fast startup makes sure that when you shut down the computer does not turn off, in the usual sense of the word. He falls asleep, or rather enters hibernation.
So when you enable it, it will not give you the option to enter the Boot menu. It will simply wake up and show you the state it was in when you clicked the shutdown button.
The solution is very simple: use a reboot instead of shutting down.
Let's see how it's done:
So, my laptop is turned on, Windows is loaded, the bootable flash drive is connected. Now I enable reboot.
I just click on the Start button, click the Shut down button and click Restart.
Once the BOOT menu is in front of us, we can start installing Windows.
Quick startup can be disabled completely. And then you can use the Boot menu as usual when you turn on the computer.
The setup is very simple, I will now show you how it is done. Quick Launch is disabled via the classic Control Panel. On Windows you can open it via search. Just enter the word “panel” into the search. As soon as the Control Panel icon appears in the search results, I simply press the Enter key.
In Control Panel, you can switch from categories to icons. Or you can simply search for Power Supply.
On the left we have Power Supplies. Click on it.
Here we need a button Actions of the power buttons. Click on it. To unlock settings that are not active, you need to click as shown in the picture. Changing parameters that are currently unavailable.
Now we can disable Quick Launch (Fast Boot), just uncheck the box. Then we save the changes.
After this, the Boot menu will be available to you upon boot.
In Windows 8.1, the setup is done in a similar way.
One more feature.
In some sophisticated BIOS and not so sophisticated ones, there is a menu item that disables the BOOT menu.
More details about this in the video.
If your BIOS has such an item, then you will have to go into the BIOS and enable the BOOT menu once. That is, activate this item.
After this, the BOOT menu will be available to you upon boot.
From the table, you can find out which keys you need to press on your PC or laptop to enter the BOOT menu.
| Manufacturer | Model (if not specified - all models) | Key to enter BOOT menu |
| Asus | Desktop computers | F8 |
| k25f, k34u, k35, k43u, k46cb, k52f, k53e, k55a, k60ij, k70ab, k72f, k73, k84l, k93, k95vb, k501, k601, R503C | Esc | |
| x32a, x35u, x54c, x61g, x64, x75a, x83, x90, x93sv, x95gl, x101ch, x102ba, x200ca, x202e, x301a, x401a, x401u, x501a, x502c, x750ja | F8 | |
| VivoBook f200ca, f202e, q200e, s200e, s400ca, s500ca, u38n, v500ca, v550ca, v551, x200ca, x202e, x550ca, z202e | Esc | |
| N550, N750JV, g750, Infinity ux301la, Prime ux31a, Prime ux32vd, R509C, Taichi 21, Touch u500vz, Transformer Book TX300 | ||
| Compaq | Presario | ESC, F9 |
| Dell | F12 | |
| eMachines | F12 | |
| Fujitsu | F12 | |
| HP | Pavilion Media Center a1477, Pavilion 23 All In One, Pavilion g4, g6 and g7, Probook 4520s, 4525s, 4540s, 4545s, 5220m, 5310m, 5330m, 5660b, 5670b, Pavilion a410n | Esc |
| Pavilion Elite e9000, e9120y, e9150t, e9220y, e9280t | ESC, F9 | |
| Pavilion HPE PC, h8-1287c, Pavilion PC, p6 2317c, Pavilion PC, p7 1297cb, TouchSmart 520 PC, ENVY x2, m4, m4-1015dx, m4-1115dx, sleekbook m6, m6-1105dx, m6-1205dx, m6- k015dx, m6-k025dx, touchsmart m7, Envy, dv6 and dv7 PC, dv9700, Specter 14, Specter 13, 2000 - 2a20nr, 2a53ca, 2b16nr, 2b89wm, 2c29wm, 2d29wm | Esc (Then press F9 to enter “Boot Menu”) | |
| Other models | ESC, F9 | |
| Intel | F10 | |
| Lenovo | Desktop computers | F12, F8, F10 |
| IdeaPad P500 | F12 or Fn + F11 | |
| IdeaPad s300, u110, u310 Touch, u410, u510, y500, y510, yoga 11, yoga 13, z500 | Novo Button (next after the power button), F12 | |
| ThinkPad edge, e431, e531, e545, helix, l440, l540, s431, t440s, t540p, twist, w510, w520, w530, w540, x140, x220, x230, x240, X1 carbon, IdeaPad S10-3, g460, g470 , g475, g480, g485 and other models | F12 | |
| NEC | F5 | |
| Packard Bell | F8 | |
| Samsung | NC10, np300e5c, np300e5e, np350v5c, np355v5c, np365e5c, np550p5c | Esc |
| Series 5 Ultra, Series 7 Chronos, Series 9 Ultrabook | Esc (You need to disable "Fast boot" in BIOS) | |
| Ativ Book 2, 8, 9 | F2 (You need to disable "Fast boot" in BIOS) | |
| Other models | F12, ESC | |
| Sony | VAIO Duo, Pro, Flip, Tap, Fit | Assist button (Press the Assist button when the computer is turned off, not when booting) |
| VAIO, PCG, VGN | F11 | |
| VGN | ESC, F10 | |
| Toshiba | F12 | |