How to Access ASUS Laptop BIOS

If you need to access the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS), you have a small window when you start up your laptop to press the correct key. This key varies depending on the manufacturer of the laptop and the model, so the process for entering an ASUS laptop BIOS is slightly different from that of a Toshiba, Dell or other manufacturer's device.

When you want to do something like change where your computer boots from or activate or deactivate pieces of hardware, you need to enter BIOS to do it. After you learn a few methods for accessing BIOS on your machine, you can make changes whenever they are needed.

For most ASUS laptops, the key you use to enter BIOS is F2, and as with all computers, you enter BIOS as the computer is booting up. However, unlike on many laptops, ASUS recommends that you press and hold the F2 key before you switch on the power. Hold down the key until the BIOS screen is displayed; otherwise, your laptop might not recognize that you want to enter BIOS and may start up in the usual way.

F2 is the traditional ASUS access-BIOS key, but there are other options you can try if it doesn't work for your laptop.

On some ASUS laptop models, you may need to use another key to enter BIOS. The most common alternative key is the "Delete" key, but if it doesn't work, try the "Insert" key. In rare cases, the correct key is F10.

As with the standard F2 method, press and hold these keys before you switch on the power. The window to enter BIOS spans the time between switching the power on and your laptop booting the operating system. This is the only time you can enter BIOS, which explains why holding the button down before switching on the power is an effective approach for getting into BIOS.

From Windows 8 onward, Microsoft added options to make it easier to get into your BIOS settings. If you're looking for an ASUS BIOS key for Windows 10, you can use a different approach. Click the "Start" menu (the Windows icon at the bottom left corner of the desktop) and then choose the gear icon to go to "Settings." Select "Update & Security" from the options that appear, and choose the "Recovery" tab on the left of the next window.

Scroll down to "Advanced startup" and click "Restart now." This action restarts your computer and takes you to a boot options screen instead of starting Windows normally. Choose "Troubleshoot," then "Advanced options" and go to "UEFI Firmware Settings." Click "Restart," and your computer restarts again and takes you to BIOS.

The process described for Windows 10 works in the same way on Windows 8 or 8.1 machines but with a slight difference when it comes to accessing the right option. Open the Charms bar by pressing the "Windows" key and "C" together and then choose the "Settings" icon. Go to "Change PC Settings," and then – for Windows 8 users – go to the "General" tab, find "Advanced startup" and click "Restart now." For Windows 8.1 users, after you get to "PC Settings," choose "Update and Recovery," then "Recovery" and select "Restart now" from the "Advanced start-up" section.

The remainder of the process is as described for Windows 10: "Troubleshoot," "Advanced options," "UEFI Firmware Settings" and then "Restart."