How to Setup BIOS in Windows 10

BIOS, or UEFI, is a potent instrument for configuring the circuitry of your personal computer, including the motherboard, CPU, RAM, and other components. Additionally, it offers options that can enhance the security of your personal computer. The BIOS can be accessed in a variety of methods.

What does BIOS stand for?

Basic Input-Output System, or BIOS, is low-level software that is built into the hardware of your computer. As soon as you turn on your computer, the BIOS sets up and checks all of the gear to make sure it works right. You can change how your PC's hardware works by getting into the BIOS. Before you attempt to boost components, you should make sure you know what it means and take the right safety measures.

XMP settings let you change the speed of your RAM, and you can also start your computer from a disk or USB drive. The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) has taken the place of the BIOS in modern computers, but the word "BIOS" is still often used to refer to UEFI. Some new things about UEFI set it apart from BIOS.

How to Access the BIOS/UEFI at Startup

The manufacturer's name or logo is typically displayed on the splash screen when your PC is booted up. While the manufacturer's welcome screen is visible, you can press a key to access your BIOS. You will typically find the controls that allow you to access the BIOS near the bottom of the screen. The key will typically be either F2 or Delete, but this is not always the case.

This information will also be included in the manual for your computer or motherboard. If the screen flashes by too rapidly or the correct key does not bring you into the BIOS, it is possible that Fast Boot is enabled in the BIOS or that you have Fast Startup mode enabled in Windows 10.

1. Accessing the BIOS From Within Windows 10

There are a handful of ways to access the BIOS from Windows 10.

The simplest way to access the BIOS is with the Start button. Click the Start button, hit the power icon, and then hold Shift while you click "Restart."

Alternatively, you can hit the Start button, in the search bar type "Change Advanced Startup Options" and then hit Enter. Go to the Advanced startup section of the window that pops up, and click the "Restart now" button.

You will be directed to a blue screen with a variety of options if you have implemented either of the two methods mentioned above. Navigate to Troubleshooting > Advanced Options > UEFI Firmware Settings.

Subsequently, you should be at the BIOS. If "UEFI Firmware Settings" are not visible, there are two probable explanations. The first possibility is that the computer you are currently using does not have UEFI. This is particularly plausible if your PC is older and instead uses BIOS instead of UEFI.

The second possibility is that your motherboard does have UEFI, but Windows 10 is launching from a drive that was partitioned using MBR rather than GPT. UEFI will be compelled to utilize a BIOS Legacy mode that hinders access from within Windows 10 if your boot drive was partitioned using MBR.

If you'd rather use Command Prompt to access the BIOS, click the Start button, type "cmd" in the search bar, and then select "Run as administrator."

Then, type shutdown /r /fw into the Command Prompt window and press Enter.

If it worked, a window will pop up informing you that your PC will shut down in less than a minute. You can type shutdown /r /fw /t 0 into the Command Prompt to remove the waiting period and restart instantly.

If you encounter the message "Boot to firmware UI is not supported by this system's firmware" when attempting to execute the shutdown command, it is likely indicative that your motherboard lacks UEFI. It is also possible that Windows 10 is installed on a disk that was partitioned with MBR.

2. Creating a Shortcut to Access the BIOS

To facilitate quicker and more convenient access, the command to shut down and enter the BIOS can be easily converted into a shortcut. Then, right-click on an unoccupied area of your desktop and select "New" > "Shortcut."

In the window that appears, type shutdown /r /fw where it says to type the location of the item, and then hit next. Name the shortcut something appropriate, then click "Finish."

Once the icon is on your desktop, right-click it, and hit "Properties." In the Properties window, click "Advanced."

On this window, tick "Run as administrator", then hit "OK."

Back on the Properties window, click "Apply" and then "OK" to finish creating the shortcut.

If you'd like, you can customize the icon of the shortcut by hitting the "Change Icon" button in the properties window. You can then select an icon from a number of default options, or you can make your own high-resolution icons out of any image.

What can you do when you can't access BIOS?

If you are unable to access your BIOS during initialization, Fast Boot or Fast initialization may be the cause. However, the terms Fast Boot and Fast Startup are genuinely distinct, although they are frequently used interchangeably.

Fast Boot is usually used to describe a setting in the BIOS or UEFI that changes how the computer starts up for the first time. When you turn on your PC for the first time, Fast Boot skips some of the hardware checks and initializations that usually happen. This lets your operating system, like Windows 10, load faster.

Another setting, which is sometimes called "Ultrafast Boot," is even faster because it doesn't set up things like disk drives or USB devices. If you turn that setting on, you won't be able to use USB devices like your keyboard and mouse until the operating system starts. It also stops DVDs and USB drives from starting up.

In that case, the best thing you can do is clear your PC's CMOS to start over with the BIOS settings. You can find buttons to clear the CMOS on some newer or higher-end processors. Look on the back of your PC, near the USB ports. Press and hold it for at least 10 seconds if it's there. Fast Boot and Ultrafast Boot are turned off by default, so clearing your CMOS should let you press the right button during startup to get into the BIOS.

With Fast Startup, Windows makes it possible for your computer to start up faster after being turned off. Fast Startup mode in Windows 10 can make it hard to get to the BIOS if the computer was turned off with Fast Startup mode on. But Fast Startup mode doesn't change restarts, so even if you turn it on, you should still be able to get to your BIOS after a restart. If that doesn't help, look at the manual that came with your computer or system. That might work better if you follow the directions that come with your machine.

How to easily and quickly manage boot device without entering BIOS?

There are different ways to get into BIOS on each type of computer. You need to look up how to get into BIOS on your computer first. This method is a bit of a pain if you only want to change the boot order and handle boot devices. So, we suggest that you use the "UEFI BIOS Boot Options Manager" feature of AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional.

This function lets users change the order of the boot files while the PC is still running normally and also saves the current boot settings. Also, the program will show you a list of all your device's boot settings and details, so you can see all of your boot devices. Weird boot orders can be found, and users can get rid of boot options they don't need using this feature.

Step 1. Install AOMEI Partition Assistant, click “Tools” in the top menu, and choose “UEFI BIOS Boot Options Manager” function.

If your system drive is an MBR one, after you click the tool you will get a message that the feature is available only if the current system disk is GPT partition type.

On a GPT drive, the UEFI Boot Options Manager will pop up. In this interface, all UEFI boot orders on your computer will be displayed and you can manage them.

1. How to change boot options

Click a boot option and click the button up and down to change the boot sequence of your computers.

2. How to delete boot options

Click a boot option that is not available or unnecessary to delete the boot option. Please be cautious before you delete a boot option. For system boot and security, it will be unable to delete the current boot option.

3. How to enable one-time boot entry

Click a boot option and click the button to enable a one-time boot entery. Once you click the option, the computer will boot from this entry only the next time system startup. After the PC boots from the entry once, the PC will boot from the defaulted first entry.

4. How to backup boot options

Click the boot option you want to backup to make a backup so that you can recover if necessary.

Select a location on your PC and click "Save" to save the backup.

Then the backup will create a .PAUB file.

5. How to Restore Boot Options

Click to restore the boot option you just backed up if the partition or boot files get lost or corrupted.

Locate the .PAUB FILE you backed up and select it to restore.

If you have a backup of your boot entries with Partition Assistant and your system cannot boot, you can also create a bootable media with Partition Assistant and restore the boot entries under WinPE.

6. How to refresh boot options

Click the button to refresh the boot options. The "Refresh" button does not mean reset. If you have modified the boot options, the button does not help to reset the boot options.

7. How to boot into UEFI BIOS Boot Options one-time

Please just click the option "Enter UEFI BIOS configuration interface directly only at next boot time".

If you tick this option, the computer will directly boot into the UEFI BIOS configuration interface at the next boot time. After the option is executed once,  your computer will still boot from the defaulted first entry.

There is no need to press any hotkey during the next system boot, for example, DEL or F12. In this way, the UEFI BIOS Boot Manager will be launched so that you can easily change boot sequence or configure other BIOS settings.

After you manage the boot options, you can click the "Restart Now" button to restart your computer immediately if needed.

To sum up

To easily set up BIOS in Windows 10, AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional offers you many handy solutions. If you need any help, try those practical features.