There are various methods for entering the BIOS or CMOS setup depending on the make, model and age of your computer.I will try and explain some of the most popular methods.
Most modern computers will require you to press one of the following keys during start up:
  • F1
  • F2
  • DEL
  • ESC
  • F10

You should press the key when you see a message such as press <f2> to enter BIOS or try tapping the appropriate key slowly during startup.

On some modern computers, pressing and holding down a key during boot will cause a stuck key error. This may give you the option to enter BIOS setup

Older computers may require one of the following key sequences during startup:
  • CTRL + ALT + ESC
  • CTRL + ALT + INS
  • CTRL + ALT + ENTER
  • CTRL + ALT + S
  • PAGE UP KEY
  • PAGE DOWN KEY

If the above suggestions do not work please check the access key lists below.

List of BIOS access keys for major computer manufacturers.

Acer - Aspire, Power, Veriton, Extensa, Ferrari, TravelMate, Altos
  • Press Delor 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 Delkey.
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.
  • Older Dell laptops may use Fn+Escor 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.
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.
Hewlett-Packard (HP) - Pavilion, TouchSmart, Vectra, OmniBook, Tablet
  • Press the F1 key after restarting the computer.
  • HP Tablet PCs may use F10 or F12.
  • Other HP computers may use the F2 or Esckeys.
IBM- PC, XT, AT
  • Press F1 immediately after powering on the computer.
  • Older IBM computers (including some laptops) may use the F2 key.
Lenovo (formerly IBM) - ThinkPad, IdeaPad, 3000 Series, ThinkCentre, ThinkStation
  • Press F1 or F2 after powering on the computer.
  • Older Lenovo products use 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.
Packard Bell- 8900 Series, 9000 Series, Pulsar, Platinum, EasyNote, imedia, iextreme
  • Press F1, F2, or Del.
Sharp - Notebook Laptops, Actius UltraLite
  • Press F2 after the computer starts.
  • Some very old Sharp PCs require a Setup Diagnostics Disk.
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
  • PressF1, F2 or F3 after turning on the computer.
Toshiba - Portégé, Satellite, Tecra
  • Press F1 or Escafter powering on.
List of BIOS access keys for major motherboard manufacturers.

abit - ab9, an7, an8, av8, aw9d, be6, bh6, ic7, in9, ip35, kn8, kn9, etc.
  • Press Delwhile the PRESS DEL TO ENTER SETUP message is displayed.
ASRock - 4coredual, 775dual, 939dual, k7s41gx, p4v88, k7vm3, etc.
  • Press F2right after the computer starts up.
ASUS - p5b, a7v600, a7v8x, a8n, a8v, k8v, m2n, p5k, p5n, etc.
  • Press Delright after starting the computer. A few ASUS motherboards use Ins instead.
BFG - 680i etc.
  • Press Delwhen the enter setup message briefly displays at the bottom of the screen after powering on the computer.
BIOSTAR - 6100, 550, 7050, 965pt, k8m800, p4m80, ta690g, tf7050, etc.
  • Press the Del key while the full screen logo is showing on screen, immediately after starting the computer.
DFI - LANParty Ultra, Expert, Infinity 975x, NF3, NF4, cfx3200, p965, rs482, etc.
  • Press the Del key when the Press DEL to enter setup message appears, immediately after the memory test.
ECS Elitegroup - k7s5a, k7vta3, 741gx, 755-a2, 945p, c51gm, gf7100pvt, p4m800, etc.
  • Press either the Del or F1key.
EVGA- 790i, 780i, 750i, 680i, 650i, e-7150/630i, e-7100/630i, 590, etc.
  • Press Del immediately after powering on the computer.
Foxconn - c51xem2aa, 6150bk8mc, 6150bk8ma, c51gu01, etc.
  • Press Del.
GIGABYTE - ds3, p35, 965p, dq6, ds3r, k8ns, etc.
  • Press Delduring POST (Power on Self Test), right after the computer is turned on.
Intel- d101ggc, d815eea, d845, d850gb, d865glc, d875pbz, d945gccr, d946gtp, d975xbx, etc.
  • Press F2 during the initial boot process.
JetWay- jm26gt3, ha04, j7f3e, hi03, ji31gm3, jp901dmp, 775gt1-loge, etc.
  • Press Delimmediately after powering on.
Mach Speed - Viper, Matrix, pm800, 917gbag, v6dp, s755max, etc.
  • Press Delafter the boot process begins.
MSI (Micro-Star) - k8n, k9n, p965, 865pe, 975x, k7n2, k9a2, k8t neo, p7n, p35, x48, x38, etc.
  • Press Delwhile the Press DEL to enter SETUP message displays on screen after powering on the computer.
PCChips - m810lr, m811, m848a, p23g, p29g, p33g, etc.
  • Press Del or F1.
SAPPHIRE - PURE CrossFire 3200, a9rd580Adv, a9rs480, CrossFireX 770 & 790FX, PURE Element 690V, etc.
  • Press Delafter powering on.
Shuttle - "bare bones" and motherboards including ak31, ak32, an35n, sn25p, ai61, sd37p2, sd39p2, etc.
  • Press Delor Ctrl+Alt+Esc at the Press DEL to enter SETUPmessage that appears right after turning on the computer.
Super Micro - c2sbx, c2sbm, pdsba, pdsm4, pdsmi, p8sc8, p4sbe, etc.
  • Press the Delkey at any time during the boot process.
TYAN - Tomcat, Trinity, Thunder, Tiger, Tempest, Tahoe, Tachyon, Transport and Bigby motherboards including K8WE, S1854, S2895, MP S2460, MPX S2466, K8W S2885, S2895, S2507, etc.
  • Press the Delor F4key.
XFX- nForce 500 Series, 600 Series, 700 Series, etc.
  • Press Delduring the boot process, immediately after the computer is turned on.
List of BIOS access keys for major BIOS manufacturers

AMI (American Megatrends) - AMIBIOS, AMI BIOS
  • Press Del when after powering on the computer.
  • Some older motherboards that use AMIBIOS may prompt for the F1 or F2 key instead.
Award Software (now part of Phoenix Technologies) - AwardBIOS, Award BIOS
  • Press the Delkey to enter the BIOS Setup Utility on nearly all AwardBIOS powered motherboards.
  • Some older systems using Award's BIOS software asked for Ctrl+Alt+Esc to enter BIOS.
DTK (Datatech Enterprises) - DTK BIOS
  • Press the Esckey to enter BIOS, right after powering on the PC.
Microid Research - MR BIOS
  • Press F1.
Phoenix Technologies - Phoenix BIOS, Phoenix-Award BIOS
  • Press Delduring the POST (Power On Self Test), immediately after the computer starts.
  • Many older Phoenix BIOS systems required Ctrl+Alt+Esc, Ctrl+Alt+Ins, or Ctrl+Alt+S.
If none of the above suggestions work and you still cannot enter BIOS setup, please post your problem in the Hardware Support Section for further assistance.

Original article can be found at TnT Tips n Tricks

© 2011 Grumpygit