What it does
Every computer manufacturer (and every motherboard vendor) picks its own key — or sometimes several, depending on the model — to enter the BIOS/UEFI setup or to open the one-time boot menu at startup. Getting it wrong often means missing the tiny time window during POST and having to reboot and try again.
This tool lists the most common key(s) for each major brand, so you can quickly check before rebooting.
Try it
How it works
This is a static reference table baked directly into the tool's JavaScript — nothing is sent anywhere, and it works fully offline. Select a brand from the dropdown and the tool immediately shows:
- The key(s) to press for the BIOS/UEFI setup screen.
- The key(s) to press for the one-time boot menu (choose a USB drive, DVD, network boot, etc. without changing the permanent boot order).
- Any extra notes for that brand (e.g. "hold Fn on some laptops", "varies by model year").
General tips
- Press the key repeatedly, right after pressing the power button — don't wait for the manufacturer's logo to disappear.
- On very fast-booting systems (especially with an NVMe SSD and Fast Boot enabled), you may only have a fraction of a second. If you keep missing it, disable Fast Boot from within Windows (Power Options), or hold the key down instead of tapping it.
- On some laptops, function keys are shared with media controls — you may need to hold Fn as well (e.g.
Fn + F2). - On UEFI machines with Windows 10/11, you can also reach the firmware settings from Windows: Settings → Update & Security → Recovery → Advanced startup → Restart now → Troubleshoot → Advanced options → UEFI Firmware Settings.
- If the listed key doesn't work, try the alternates listed, or consult your exact model's manual — some OEMs change the key across product lines or model years.
Reference table
| Brand | BIOS/UEFI key | Boot menu key |
|---|---|---|
| Acer | F2 or Del | F12 |
| ASUS (laptop) | F2 or Del | Esc |
| ASUS (motherboard) | Del or F2 | F8 |
| Dell | F2 | F12 |
| Fujitsu | F2 | F12 |
| Gigabyte / Aorus | Del | F12 |
| HP | F10 (or Esc then F10) | F9 (or Esc) |
| Intel NUC | F2 | F10 |
| LDLC | F2 or Del (varies by motherboard vendor) | F11 |
| Lenovo (laptop) | F1 or F2 | F12 (or Novo button) |
| Lenovo (ThinkPad) | F1 | F12 |
| MSI (laptop) | F2 or Del | F11 |
| MSI (motherboard) | Del | F11 |
| Microsoft Surface | Hold Volume Up + press Power | Hold Volume Down + press Power |
| Apple (Intel Mac) | Hold Option/Alt at startup | Hold Option/Alt at startup |
| Origin PC | F2 or Del | F11 |
| Razer | F2 | F12 |
| Samsung | F2 | Esc or F12 |
| Sony (VAIO) | F2 or Assist button | F11 or Esc |
| ASRock | F2 or Del | F11 |
| Toshiba | F2 or Esc then F1 | F12 |
Note: many brands changed default keys across generations — if a key doesn't respond, try the listed alternate, or tap Esc first to reveal a "press X for setup / boot menu" prompt on screen.