--- Normal behaviour to call Firmware (BIOS/UEFI): ---
Method 1: If you're in Windows 10/11 already and making SHIFT keystroke while click the restart button (Advanced options -> UEFI Firmware Settings) won't do the trick for you, use a setup image instead. Download the appropriate Windows ISO (language does not need to match) and decide whether you'd like to run the setup.exe
from within Windows or boot from a created install device like DVD or USB.
Method 2: If you use an older Windows or power is turned off currently, try to hit F2/ESC/F11/ENTER as many times as possible after turning on the power button (when the initial motherboard screen greets you). [The exact button might differ on special systems but usually its one of the named.]
--- If BIOS/UEFI don't react on mouse/keyboard (then RESET it): ---
If you use the correct keystroke and the BIOS ignores it (maybe your mouse too on GUI systems), then either Ultra-Fastboot was enabled before or in storage there exist options for backward compatibility with USB 2.0/3.0 devices that were disabled. No matter the cause the cure is the same: You've to force a Firmware reset (in this situation unfortunately there is no alternative):
ATTENTION: THIS RESETS YOUR FIRMWARE (BIOS):
- Turn off the power supply completely
- Open your computer case
- Remove the BIOS battery
- (According to the instructions of its manufacturers manual) make a CMOS reset. It means, somewhere on the MB there is are three very tiny pins (lets call them A-B-C), from which two pins are covered by a "bridge" - a little plastic module that sits on A and B. Search for it now until you find it:
- You've to pull the plugin-in out resp. flip the switch (bridge is "open" now) and place it on pins B and C instead carefully. Now the "bridge" is "closed" on CMOS.
- Together with battery removed wait at least two minutes while holding the power button that normally would start your PC to release the remained surge.
- After that undo everything - revert the bridge to the place of A and B again to close the bridge on not-resetting, put the BIOS battery back to its position and close the case.
- Now you can start your PC again - the BIOS settings became resetted but you can interact with it again like before. Only make sure that you let Fastboot disabled and compatibility with old USB 2.0/3.0 devices enabled. It slows down the postscreen speed but this is urgently necessary to interact with UEFI/CSM firmware.
--- Firmware damaged: ---
If, despite of the steps above, your device is still unresponsive to letting you navigating the firmware settings, there is a high possibility of irreversible hardware damage in your motherboard - you probably need to buy a new one then. Unfortunately this is not unlikely to occur, especially after several years or accidently folting over an element.
UEFI Firmware Settings
button does not exist.