How to enter BIOS without a keyboard

Keyboard keys are used to enter the BIOS, and the entry itself is carried out before loading the Windows operating system. In some situations, access to BIOS without a keyboard is required.

The BIOS is included to configure or change some computer settings, to select boot priority from a specific disk, bootable USB flash drive or CD / DVD drive, for example, this is necessary to install Windows from bootable media.

BIOS (basic input/output system) is a basic input/output system consisting of a chipset on a motherboard with system software. BIOS is necessary to check and configure the computer hardware before starting the system; using the BIOS, the Windows operating system is loaded.

Usually, immediately after starting the computer, when the splash screen of the motherboard manufacturer or laptop manufacturer appears on the screen, you need to press a certain key, or several keys on the keyboard to enter the BIOS. Which keys are used to start the BIOS display on the screen depends on the BIOS developer and motherboard manufacturer, and on devices: stationary PCs or laptops, various keyboard keys are used.

In some cases, the user does not have the opportunity to use the keyboard to enter BIOS on a PC. This is influenced by several factors:

• keyboard malfunction;
• damage to connectors or wires at the keyboard or on the system unit;
• in the BIOS settings, the USB keyboard is disabled or not supported.

If the keyboard itself is faulty, it must be tested on another computer and then replaced with a working keyboard. The same applies to malfunctions of the power cable or connections to the computer.

If the computer does not support a USB keyboard, or support for such a keyboard is disabled in the BIOS settings, use a keyboard with a PS / 2 connector, or install an adapter from a USB keyboard to the PS / 2 port on the computer.

In this article, we will look at how to enter the BIOS on Windows, in a running operating system, and not when Windows boots up, as usual, the BIOS is entered to perform certain actions. This method works in UEFI BIOS, in Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 operating systems.

If, for some reason, the keyboard does not work, and the user is tormented by the question of how to enter the BIOS, the manipulator will help him: a computer mouse. In modern PCs, UEFI BIOS supports the use of a mouse, unlike the regular BIOS (Legacy BIOS), which can only be operated using keyboard keys.

For this, the following conditions must be met:

• the computer is in UEFI BIOS mode;
• the Windows operating system must be running on the PC;
• A working computer mouse is connected to the computer.

In the article you will find instructions for operating systems Widows 10 and Windows 8.1 (Windows 8).

How to enter BIOS without a keyboard in Windows 10

First, let’s see how to enter BIOS without a keyboard from a normally running Windows 10 operating system.

On the Windows 10 operating system, follow these steps:

1. Enter the Start menu, open the Settings app.
2. Click on “Update and Security” and then open the “Recovery” section.
3. In the “Special boot options” option, click on the “Restart now” button.
4. After rebooting, in the “Select Action” window, click on “Troubleshooting”.
5. In the “Diagnostics” window, click on the “Advanced options” button.
6. In the next “Advanced Options” window, click on “UEFI Firmware Settings”.
7. In the UEFI Firmware Settings window, click the Restart button.

After restarting the PC, the UEFI BIOS window will open, in which you need to make the necessary settings. In particular, enable USB keyboard support if it is disabled in BIOS, or select the preferred queue for booting from computer disks.

This image shows the Gigabyte UIFI BIOS installed on my computer, which has Russian language support.

How to run BIOS without a keyboard in Windows 8.1 (Windows 8)

Similarly, you can enter the BIOS from a running Windows 8.1 or Windows 8 operating system.

In the Windows 8.1 or Windows 8 operating system, to enter the UEFI BIOS without using the keyboard, you must perform the following steps:

1. On the Desktop, move the mouse cursor to the top or bottom right edge of the screen.
2. In the sidebar, click on “Settings” and then select “Change PC settings”.
3. Enter the “Update and Recovery” section, and then click on “Recovery”.
4. In the Special Boot Options option, click Restart Now.
5. The computer will restart, then in the “Select action” window, click on the “Diagnostics” button.
6. In the next window, click on “Advanced Options”.
7. In the new window, select “UEFI Firmware Settings”.
8. In the UEFI Firmware Settings window, click the Reboot button to apply the settings change.

After rebooting the PC, the UEFI BIOS will open on the computer, in which the user can make the necessary settings.

Article Conclusions

The article addresses the question of how to enable BIOS without a keyboard on a running Windows operating system. The prerequisites for being able to enter BIOS are: a working computer mouse, UEFI BIOS mode on the computer, Windows 10, Windows 8.1 or Windows 8 operating system.