System Boot to UEFI BIOS Firmware Settings in Windows 11


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UEFI_firmware_settings_banner.png

This tutorial will show you how to boot to your motherboard's UEFI/BIOS firmware settings on a Windows 11 PC.

UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) is a standard firmware interface for PCs, designed to replace BIOS (basic input/output system). This standard was created by over 140 technology companies as part of the UEFI consortium, including Microsoft. It's designed to improve software interoperability and address limitations of BIOS.

Windows utilizes the UEFI to support the handoff of system control from the SoC firmware boot loader to the OS. The UEFI environment is a minimal boot OS upon which Windows devices are booted and the OS runs.


Contents



EXAMPLE: ASUS UEFI BIOS

ASUS_UEFI_BIOS.jpg





Option One

Press a Key on POST screen at Boot to Enter UEFI/BIOS


1 Boot the PC.

2 When you see the POST screen, press the key mentioned to enter UEFI BIOS settings. (see screenshot below)

If you do not see a POST screen, or if the screen goes by too fast to see it, check your manufacturer’s site for specific instructions.

The key you press will vary per manufacturer, so you may need to read your manual or check your manufacturer’s site for specific instructions.

Common keys used for different manufacturers:

ASRock: F2 or DEL
ASUS: F2 for all PCs, F2 or DEL for Motherboards.
Acer: F2 or DEL
Dell: F2 or F12
ECS: DEL
Gigabyte / Aorus: F2 or DEL
HP: Esc, F1, F10
Lenovo (Consumer Laptops): F2 or Fn + F2
Lenovo (Desktops): F1
Lenovo (ThinkPads): Enter then F
MSI: DEL for motherboards and PCs.
Microsoft Surface Tablets: Press and hold volume up button.
Origin PC: F2
Samsung: F2
Toshiba: F2
Zotac: DEL


ASUS_press_key_to_enter_UEFI_BIOS.jpg





Option Two

Boot to UEFI/BIOS from Advanced Startup (WinRE)


1 Boot to Advanced Startup (WinRE).

2 Click/tap on Troubleshoot. (see screenshot below)

Boot_to_UEFI-BIOS_Advanced_Startup-1.png

3 Click/tap on Advanced options. (see screenshot below)

Boot_to_UEFI-BIOS_Advanced_Startup-2.png

4 Click/tap on UEFI Firmware Settings. (see screenshot below)

Boot_to_UEFI-BIOS_Advanced_Startup-3.png

5 Click/tap on Restart. (see screenshot below)

Boot_to_UEFI-BIOS_Advanced_Startup-3.png




Option Three

Boot to UEFI/BIOS using Command


1 Open Windows Terminal (Admin), and select either Windows PowerShell or Command Prompt.

2 Copy and paste the command below you want to use into Windows Terminal (Admin), and press Enter. (see screenshot below)

(with message)
shutdown /r /fw

OR​

(instant without message)
shutdown /r /fw /t 0

Boot_to_UEFI-BIOS_command.jpg





Option Four

Boot to UEFI/BIOS on Surface devices








That's it,
Shawn Brink


 

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Last edited:
That's a quite an advanced BIOS menu you have. My Lenovo laptop is not that advanced. In fact, booting into the BIOS with pre-fab PC can often be difficult.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDA 1650 Ti
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Lenovo C32q-20
Hi @Brink, could you please confirm this question.
I currently have W11 installed on an Nvme with EFI GPT and CSM enabled. I should be able to switch CSM on and off with no issues?
To use Resizable BAR on my video I need to disable CSM but I don't want to reinstall W11 just for that reason.
Thank you for your help and support.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ME Hemi
    CPU
    Intel i7 11700K
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    Crucial 32GB DDR4 3200mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 3070 FTW3 Ultra
    Sound Card
    Realtek S1220A 7.1 DTS:X Ultra
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 32in 4K Asus 27in 1K
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160 144Hz 1920x1080 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    10TB Nvme's & SSD's
    PSU
    EVGA 220G3750
    Case
    Antec 1200 w/8 fans
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12A
    Keyboard
    EVGA Z12
    Mouse
    Razer Deathadder v2
    Internet Speed
    GFiber 2GIG
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    Linksys WRT1900ACS, SONY WH-XB910N,
    7 Altec Lansing speakers
Hi @Brink, could you please confirm this question.
I currently have W11 installed on an Nvme with EFI GPT and CSM enabled. I should be able to switch CSM on and off with no issues?
To use Resizable BAR on my video I need to disable CSM but I don't want to reinstall W11 just for that reason.
Thank you for your help and support.
Hey Richard, :alien:

I haven't tried it in W11 since UEFI is required. You could test. If the PC doesn't boot afterwards, you could just reboot back into BIOS/UEFI and undo it.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
Thanks, I'll try it.

Update: Works as expected :-)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ME Hemi
    CPU
    Intel i7 11700K
    Motherboard
    Asus Prime Z590-A
    Memory
    Crucial 32GB DDR4 3200mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA RTX 3070 FTW3 Ultra
    Sound Card
    Realtek S1220A 7.1 DTS:X Ultra
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 32in 4K Asus 27in 1K
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160 144Hz 1920x1080 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    10TB Nvme's & SSD's
    PSU
    EVGA 220G3750
    Case
    Antec 1200 w/8 fans
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12A
    Keyboard
    EVGA Z12
    Mouse
    Razer Deathadder v2
    Internet Speed
    GFiber 2GIG
    Browser
    MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    Linksys WRT1900ACS, SONY WH-XB910N,
    7 Altec Lansing speakers

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gbps Download and 35 Mbps Upload
    Browser
    Google Chrome
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender and Malwarebytes Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Spectre x360 2in1 14-eu0098nr (2024)
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 7 155H 4.8 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Intel Arc
    Sound Card
    Poly Studio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14" 2.8K OLED multitouch
    Screen Resolution
    2880 x 1800
    Hard Drives
    2 TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD
    Internet Speed
    Intel Wi-Fi 7 BE200 (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.4
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Malwarebytes Premium

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