How to Access the BIOS on a Variety of Manufacturers Motherboards

The information below for accessing BIOS is applicable to older computer systems. Most newer computers have a much easier accessability to the BIOS. The information below can be used to access the BIOS from all the major suppliers of BIOS chips and the Computer Manufacturers that use them. During the computers initial boot the BIOS supplier will be displayed. If the OEM(Original Equiptment Manufacturer) logo splash screen is displayed, press the ESC key to see the boot up information. Press the Pause/Break key if text displays too fast. The major BIOS suppliers are listed below and can be used to search for special BIOS updates not supplied by the Computer vendor.* During the initial boot, if a beep or combinations of beeps is emitted from the motherboard system speaker , the system speaker must be connected to mother board to hear beep codes )[consult motherboard manual for speaker connection configuration], click on the Computer Hope (tm). (Copyright 1998-2006) link below to find the beep code definition. BIOS System beep codes

For a very comprehensive and visual look at the BIOS, follow the link below from Eric Legge's www.pcbuyerbeware.co.uk/ web site. The BIOS: the 'Basic Input Output System' Setup Program used in a computer

Warning: Making changes to BIOS settings can have adverse effects on the way a computer performs. Use caution when performing BIOS modifications.

Bios Suppliers

Keyboard Commands

ALR Advanced Logic Research, Inc. PC / PCI ALR PC non / PCI

F2 CTRL+ALT+ESC

AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.) BIOS AMI (American Megatrends, Inc.) BIOS Award BIOS Award BIOS DTK (Datatech Enterprises Co.) BIOS Phoenix BIOS Phoenix BIOS Phoenix BIOS

F1 DEL CTRL+ALT+ESC DEL ESC CTRL+ALT+ESC CTRL+ALT+S CTRL+ALT+INS

Computer Vendor
Acer ARI AST Compaq 8700 CompUSA Cybermax Dell BIOS web site search links Dell 400 Dell 4400 Dell Dimension Dell Inspiron Dell Latitude Dell Latitude Dell Optiplex Dell Optiplex Dell Precision eMachine Fujutsu Manuals & BIOS

Keyboard Commands
F1, F2, CTRL+ALT+ESC CTRL+ALT+ESC, CTRL+ALT+DEL CTRL+ALT+ESC, CTRL+ALT+DEL F10 DEL ESC For models not listed below. F3, F1 F12 F2 or DEL F2 Fn+F1 (while booted) F2 (on boot) DEL F2 F2 DEL , F 2 Manuals & BIOS Download

Gateway 2000 1440 Gateway 2000 Solo HP (Hewlett-Packard) IBM E-pro Laptop IBM PS/2 IBM Thinkpad (newer) Intel Tangent Lenovo(formerly IBM) Micron Packard Bell Seanix Sony VAIO Sony VAIO Tiger Toshiba 335 CDS Toshiba Protege Toshiba Satellite 205 CDS Toshiba Tecra Toshiba Notebook [Newer models]

F1 F2 F1, F2 (Laptop, ESC) F1 F2 CTRL+ALT+INS after CTRL+ALT+DEL Windows: Programs-Thinkpad CFG. DEL Lenovo BIOS Access page F1, F2, or DEL F1, F2, Del DEL F2 F3 DEL ESC ESC F1 ESC then F1 or F2 1. Turn on computer by Holding down power button while pressing the ESC key. The machine will beep, then display: Check System, then press [F1] key. 2. Release ESC key 3. Press F1 key Notebook BIOS FAQ For frequently asked questions on Notebook BIOS.... click here

BIOS FAQ - For frequently asked questions on BIOS click here

Warning: Computer vendor and Mother Board manufacturers customize their BIOS to the individual specifications of the mother board. Care must be taken when applying a BIOS update. A BIOS update should be applied to the exact make; model; version; etc. specified in the update description. Applying the BIOS update to the wrong BIOS chip can render the system unbootable and could necessitate a Mother Board or BIOS chip replacement. NOTICE: The information supplied on this web page is compiled from published sources publicly available in digital and traditional printed media and may be used as needed. Copying of the web page source code is not permitted without consent of the author. MichaelStevensTech

DrDflash Boot Disk For BIOS Flashing - No Drivers: Save this file to your hard drive, insert a blank floppy in the floppy drive and double click the drdflash.exe file to create the boot disk. Follow the onscreen prompt and after creating the boot disk; copy the files for flashing the BIOS to the boot disk. Not all Motherboard and BIOS manufacturers require a bootable floppy disk to create the BIOS boot floppy disk. Gateway for example specifies a blank IBM formatted disk and creates the bootable floppy from the downloaded BIOS update file. Make sure you check out all the available flashing information from the vendors web site before flashing the BIOS.
If the direct link above is no longer valid or you would like to know more about the downloaded file, you can find a wealth of information and boot disks for all occasions at: Bootdisk.com Due to the high volume of traffic to Bootdisk.com, if you can make a donation to help with the web hosting, it would be much appreciated by the owner of the web site. I have no affiliation with Bootdisk.com.

Although I do enjoy helping users with their unique problems, I would request that you exhaust all the links supplied as options to your basic BIOS questions I supply on my web site. If you do not find a specific solution from a link in my BIOS page, look for a link to the manufacturers web site and look for your specific make; model; revision; etc. This information should also be included in any correspondence directed to me. Try a Google search for the motherboard manufacturer and exact model if the information is not listed above. Please contact me with any bios access information you feel I need to add to my BIOS ACCESS page. I supply the information as a public service, and rely on feedback as one of my major sources update information.

This page was last updated on Monday, August 9, 2010 At 06:53:44 AM, You accessed it on Friday, December 31, 2010 At 01:44:31 PM.

TravelMate, Altos

Press Del or F2 immediately after powering on. The BIOS on the Acer Altos 600 server uses the Ctrl+Alt+Esc key and the F1 key for advanced options. Older Acer computers may use also use the F1 or Ctrl+Alt+Esc keys to access BIOS.

Compaq - Presario, Prolinea, Deskpro, Systempro, Portable

Press F10 while the cursor in the top right corner of the screen is blinking. Older Compaq computers may use the F1, F2, F10, or Del key to give access to BIOS.

Dell - XPS, Dimension, Inspiron, Latitude. OptiPlex, Precision, Vostro

Press F2 when the Dell logo appears. Press every few seconds until the message Entering Setup appears. Older Dell desktops and laptops may instead use Ctrl+Alt+Enter or Del to enter BIOS. Older Dell laptops may use Fn+Esc or Fn+F1.

eMachines - eMonster, eTower, eOne, S-Series, T-Series

Press Tab or Del while the eMachine logo displays on screen. Other eMachine computers may use F2 to enter BIOS.

Fujitsu - LifeBook, Esprimo, Amilo, Tablet, DeskPower

Press F2 once the Fujitsu logo appears.

Gateway - DX, FX, One, GM, GT, GX, Profile, Astro

Press the F1 key repeatedly after restarting the computer. Some older Gateway computers use F2 to access the BIOS Setup utility.

Hewlett-Packard (HP) - Pavilion, TouchSmart, Vectra, OmniBook, Tablet

Press the F1 or F10 key after restarting the computer. HP Tablet PCs may use F10 or F12. Other HP computers may allow access to BIOS using the F2 or Esc keys.

IBM - PC, XT, AT

Press F1 immediately after powering on the computer.

Older IBM computers (including some laptops) may utilize the F2 key for BIOS entry.

Lenovo (formerly IBM) - ThinkPad, IdeaPad, 3000 Series, ThinkCentre, ThinkStation

Press F1 or F2 after powering on the computer. Older Lenovo products allow access to BIOS using Ctrl+Alt+F3, Ctrl+Alt+Ins, or Fn+F1.

Micron (MPC Computers) - ClientPro, TransPort

Press F1, F2 or Del immediately after powering on the PC.

NEC - PowerMate, Versa, W-Series

Press F2 to enter the BIOS Setup.

Packard Bell - 8900 Series, 9000 Series, Pulsar, Platinum, EasyNote, imedia, iextreme

Press F1, F2, or Del to enter BIOS.

Sharp - Notebook Laptops, Actius UltraLite

Press F2 after the computer starts. Some very old Sharp PCs require a Setup Diagnostics Disk to access BIOS.

Shuttle - Glamor G-Series, D'vo, Prima P2-Series, Workstation, X Mini XPC, Surveillance

Press F2 or Del on startup.

Sony - VAIO, PCG-Series, VGN-Series

Press F1, F2 or F3 after turning on the computer.

Toshiba - Portg, Satellite, Tecra, Equium

Press F1 or Esc after powering on to access BIOS. Press F12 on a Toshiba Equium.

The following companies are either closed for business or no longer manufacture or support mainstream computers systems so verifying the following BIOS access information is nearly impossible. I have included what I could dig up for anyone who might be interested: ARI / ALR / AST (Advantage) - Press the Ctrl+Alt+Esc or Ctrl+Alt+Del keys. Cybermax - Press the Esc key. Tandon - Press the Ctrl+Shift+Esc keys.