How to set up the BIOS

Even if a little scary for most, setting the BIOS is a must for those who are hungry for knowledge and want to learn how to use the computer at 360 degrees. The BIOS (acronym for Basic Input-Output System ) is a set of software instructions stored on a non-volatile memory located inside the computer. It provides all the basic information to make hardware and software interact correctly and start the operating system: for this reason, it is important to know it in order to have at least a general “smattering” of its operation.

However, in computers with “standard” Windows 8 or a later edition of Windows, the BIOS system is replaced by the UEFI system : although the purposes are practically the same, UEFI is a more “modern” system, often equipped with graphic interface that can also be managed with the help of a mouse and keyboard. In addition, UEFI offers a wide range of additional features compared to the classic BIOS, including support for drives larger than 2.2 TB (limit not surmountable by the BIOS), support for network connectivity and the integration of advanced security protocols, such as Secure Boot, which prevents the execution of systems that do not have an adequate digital signature (thus prevents potential malware from starting when the computer is booted.

Having clarified this, if it is your intention to understand how to set the BIOS or UEFI, you just have to proceed with reading this guide. However, I would like to tell you right away that, by improperly modifying the computer boot system, you risk seriously compromising the entire device . In this regard, I do not take any responsibility for any problems you may encounter by modifying the BIOS parameters of your PC in a careless way. We understood each other? Perfect, then ban the chatter and let’s get to work!

Index

• Preliminary operations
• How to set BIOS in UEFI
  • How to set the BIOS for SSD
  • How to set the BIOS to boot from USB
• How to set up the classic BIOS
• Does BIOS exist on Mac?

Preliminary operations

Before getting to the heart of this guide, I think it is right to show you, first of all, how to access the area dedicated to configuring UEFI and BIOS systems. In this case, if your computer is equipped with a UEFI system , you can access the settings of the latter directly from the Windows interface, following the procedure that best suits the version of the operating system you have.

• Windows 11: right- click on the Start button (the window icon located to the left of the taskbar), select the Settings item from the menu that opens and go to the System and Recovery sections . Next, click on the Restart Now button and wait for the advanced startup options to appear on the screen.
• Windows 10: right- click on the Start button (the flag icon located in the lower left corner of the screen), select the Settings item from the menu that opens, click on the Update and security icon and then on the item Restoration (from the side). Finally, click on the Restart now button , under the heading Advanced startup .
• Windows 8.1: press the Win + I key combination on the keyboard, select the Change PC settings item from the panel that opens, select the Update and restore> Restore items and click on the Restart now button , below the box dedicated to advanced startup .

Alternatively, you can quickly access the advanced startup options by performing the same procedure you usually use to restart your computer, but also holding down the Shift key on your keyboard while clicking the Restart button .

Regardless of the steps taken previously, you should find yourself in front of the screen reading Choose an option : when this happens, click on the Troubleshoot , Advanced Options and UEFI Firmware Settings buttons and, finally, press the Restart button , so to proceed with restarting the computer.

If everything went smoothly, the next time you switch on, you should find yourself in front of the UEFI management interface, through which you can apply the settings you want.

If you are not able to access UEFI following the procedure seen above, you may find yourself in the presence of a motherboard equipped with UEFI but produced before the release of Windows 8.1, or a computer equipped with the classic BIOS.

In this case, to access the UEFI / BIOS settings area, you need to turn on the computer (or restart it, if it was already running) and quickly press a keyboard key between F10 , F2 , Del or Esc , while the very first startup screen (the one with the manufacturer’s logo, usually). You may find indications about the exact key to press in this last phase, in correspondence with writings similar to Press [key] to enter setup . On laptops, you may need to hold down the Fn key to enter the BIOS via function keys (eg F10 or F2).

If you have any doubts or problems, take a look at my guide on how to enter the BIOS / UEFI or my specific tutorials, dedicated to ASUS , Acer and Lenovo computers / motherboards .

How to set BIOS in UEFI

Once you have completed accessing the UEFI interface , you just have to find the setting you want to change and click on it, to access the dedicated sub-menu. Unfortunately, I cannot give you precise indications about the specific steps to follow in your case, as each motherboard is equipped with different firmware from the others.

In principle, however, the interface should be divided into categories, accessible through a special side menu, or a series of tabs placed in another. Below I show you the most commonly used subdivision.

• Home: This is the device status summary screen, which contains quick information about the CPU temperature, the status of the disks and, very often, the boot sequence as well.
• General / Configuration: this is the area that allows you to define the main UEFI options, such as the date, time, status of the integrated devices (e.g. sound card, network card, etc.), the possibility running non-UEFI operating systems and fan activity. On some UEFI interfaces, this latter information may instead be in separate categories, named Devices and Cooling / Fan respectively .
• Performance / Advanced: this is the area that allows you to manually adjust the activity of the processor, RAM and fans, as well as overclock the CPU, update UEFI and enable / disable paravirtualization and / or nested virtualization.
• Security: this is the area used for computer security. From here, it is usually set a password for UEFI settings access, a password for disk access or, again, enable / disable Secure Boot.
• Boot: from this section you can enable / disable supported boot devices and, if necessary, define their order.

UEFI settings can often be changed by using the appropriate buttons, menus and boxes, with the help of the mouse. Furthermore, at the bottom of the screen there is almost always a sort of how-to , indicating the keys to press to perform the desired operations (e.g. moving an option up or down, saving settings, selecting a menu and so on).

Some interfaces also have buttons dedicated to capturing screenshots, setting user profiles (with different permissions), quick exit and, again, for accessing advanced settings that are not immediately visible.

I always invite you, as already mentioned in the introductory jokes of this guide, to change the UEFI settings only if you are well aware of what you are about to do , as an error could compromise the functioning of the computer . However, I would like to point out that, in almost all cases, there is a dedicated option, called Load defaults / Load factory settings , which allows you to restore the initial UEFI settings, exactly as they were when you first turned on the computer. .

In any case, once you have made the necessary changes, you just have to press the virtual button or the physical button to save the changes (generally identified by the wording Save / Save and exit ), in order to apply the changes and restart the computer.

Clearly, the time needed to make the changes and the effect they will have on the system varies greatly depending on the result you want to obtain; for simplicity, let me explain how to perform some common operations on UEFI, taking as an example the interfaces in my equipment: the one present on some motherboards and ASUS notebooks and the one available on numerous Lenovo-branded notebooks .

How to set the BIOS for SSD

If you have recently cloned Windows to your new SSD and, after physically installing it, you want to use it as your primary boot device, you need to permanently change the boot device priority and set the SSD to the first position. To do this, you need to access the UEFI Boot menu , select the name of the SSD and drag it to the top of the list of boot devices (usually called Boot priority ).

In particular, if you use the ASUS UEFI EZ interface , locate the Boot priority box on its home screen, “grab” the SSD disk icon with the mouse (just place the mouse cursor on it, to see its name below) and drag it all the way to the left . Finally, click on the Exit button and choose to save the changes by clicking on the dedicated option (eg Save changes & Exit ).

On the Lenovo UEFI interface, instead, you have to select the Boot menu visible on the left, locate the name of the SSD disk in the list of EFI boot devices (or Legacy ones ) located at the bottom of the screen and, after selecting it, press repeatedly on the F6 button , until it is moved to the top of the list. Finally, press the F10 key on your keyboard to save the change and restart your computer.

How to set the BIOS to boot from USB

If you intend to start your computer from a USB stick / disk , you can go through two different paths, depending on what your needs are. Before proceeding, remember to connect the USB drive to your computer so that it is correctly detected.

Having said that, let’s see how to proceed. If you want to change the UEFI BIOS to boot from a USB stick permanently, making the computer try to boot from an external drive every time it is turned on or restarted, you have to follow the same steps I showed you a moment ago, in the section dedicated to SSD disks , taking care to act on the name of the USB key / port and not on that of the disk.

If, on the other hand, you need the computer to start from disk or key only once (because, for example, you are about to install a new operating system from USB ), you should go to the boot devices menu and select your own one. interest, from the proposed list.

This last menu can be available within the UEFI management interface (for example, in ASUS EZ it can be viewed by clicking on the Boot Menu button or by pressing the F8 key on the keyboard) or accessible by pressing a specific key immediately after turning on the computer .

The exact key to use, even in this case, varies according to the computer you are using: usually, the information is specified during boot, under the heading Boot menu . On ASUS-branded motherboards, for example, you need to press the F8 key ; on Acer computers and Lenovo notebooks, however, the key to press is almost always F12 ; the boot menu of Samsung computers is accessible by pressing the F10 key . Remember that, if yours is a laptop, you may need to enable the use of the F1 to F12 keys by pressing the Fn key along with them .

However, when you see the boot menu appear, use the arrow keys on your keyboard to select the name of the USB drive from which to boot the computer and then press the Enter key to proceed.

Please note that, following the same procedures seen a little while ago, you can also set the BIOS to boot from CD , taking care to choose the name of the optical reader in the list of boot devices.

How to set up the classic BIOS

If your computer is not very recent or if you are unable to identify the options to access UEFI I mentioned earlier, it is likely that the “classic” BIOS is present on the motherboard , that is the management area relating to settings main devices used since 1970 (and then gradually replaced with UEFI).

To access it, you must press a specific key during POST , that is, immediately after turning on or restarting the computer. The key to press varies according to the motherboard manufacturer, and can be: Del , F1 , F2 , F10 , F12 or Esc . I recommend that you try all the keys, by exclusion, until you find the correct one.

As already mentioned at the beginning of this tutorial, the functions of BIOS and UEFI are the same: both interfaces are used to initialize all the hardware connected to the computer, starting from the motherboard, making it available for the operating system. However, the BIOS management interface is always textual, can only be used with the keyboard and is organized into menus and functions accessible from an initial screen or through specific items at the top.

Again, the manufacturer’s rule applies: the names and organization of areas, as well as the availability of some options rather than others, is not standard and varies by motherboard manufacturer. As an example, however, let me show you how the Award BIOS is organized, available on most computers manufactured in the 1990-2000 years.

• Standard CMOS Features: this is the panel that allows you to change the date and time settings, as well as view the status of the disks and connected storage devices. This screen also contains information about the configuration of the RAM memory and the use of the fans.
• Advanced BIOS Features: allows you to view the connection mode of the available disks (master / slave) and the presence or absence of SMART data and to change some boot options, including the order of the devices to be used.
• Advanced Chipset Features: allows you to define options related to the peripheral devices that are part of the chipset, such as the integrated video card, if present.
• Integrated Peripherals: Allows you to enable, disable, and manage all devices integrated into the motherboard (e.g. sound cards, USB ports, IDE ports, serial ports, any infrared ports, and so on).
• Power management: from here it is possible to manage the computer’s energy saving settings, the availability or not of standby and hibernation and the possibility of rapid shutdown by pressing the appropriate key (if available).
• PnP / PCI Configuration: This menu allows you to manage and configure the behavior of plug-and-play devices and those connected to the computer’s PCI port.
• PC Health Status: this section, which is not always present, allows you to view the status of the peripherals installed on the computer and to carry out a series of tests for self-diagnosis.
• Frequency / Voltage control: allows you to intervene specifically on CPU and RAM settings, setting voltage, frequency and, if available, overclocking.
• Load Fail-Safe Defaults: is the option that, if chosen, allows you to load the BIOS factory settings, which ensure the safety and stability of the components.
• Load Optimized Defaults: is the option that, if chosen, allows you to load the BIOS factory settings, which guarantee optimized use in terms of performance of the available peripherals.
• Set supervisor passwordand Set user password : these two items allow you to set, respectively, a password for accessing the BIOS and one for using the computer.
• Save & Exit Setup: This is the entry that allows you to save the applied settings and exit the BIOS.
• Exit Without Saving: is the entry that allows you to exit the BIOS without saving anything.

Generally, at the bottom of the screen, the keys that allow you to navigate between the various items, select them, quickly access certain functions (e.g. saving) and move a certain element up or down, when possible, are listed. .

Does BIOS exist on Mac?

Do you have a Mac ? I’m sorry, but you can’t freely manipulate the BIOS parameters like you can on Windows PCs. This is because Apple, on its most recent computers, has decided to inhibit access to the EFI configuration menu.

If you have a problem with your computer, the only things you can do are reset the NVRAM (the non-volatile memory where information about startup disk, screen resolution, double-click speed, and more is stored), reset the ‘SMC (a chip dedicated to energy management and control of some components of the Mac) and format the Mac . Check out all the tutorials I just linked to you to know in detail how to proceed.