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Accessing Bios

PaulMB

PaulMB

pfm Member
On my desktop the DVD/CD reader/writer has given up the ghost. I've realised that it was at the top of the boot menu, so each time I started the computer it briefly sprang into action, since it was from there that I installed Kubuntu a few years ago, which I suspect may have shortened its life.
So I've been trying to get into the Bios to make the computer boot directly from the HDD. Except I can't! Even banging feverishly and repeatedly on the Delete key only brings up the Bios screen once every 30-40 tries. And it is not the old-fashioned boot menu which was easy to use, but a thing with colours and mouse-operated, so so far I've not found the way to alter the boot sequence.

Why can't I open Bios as I have done in the past? Is there some "fast-boot" feature that prevents this? If so how can I disable it so I can get into the Bios? With Kubuntu, is there some other way of getting into the Bios?

Thanks for any help.
 
Try ESC F1 enter or disconnect the HDD or remove some memory to make the bios open to accept the changes.

Pete

F10 and F12 as well
 
i keep misreading the thread title as "Assessing Bios" - opened it expecting a thread about assessing the content of CVs

:facepalm
 
Thanks all. The MB is Asus and on start-up calls for Del to go into Bios. But evidently it boots so fast that it does not "feel" me hitting the Del key. About once out of 40 tries, by hammering it like a woodpecker at invisibly fast speed it "catches" the Bios. But there must be an easier way, and I'm afraid I'll eventually damage the keyboard. I have tried with F8, F12, but no good. The OS is Kubuntu 18.04.
 
PaulMB said:
On my desktop the DVD/CD reader/writer has given up the ghost. I've realised that it was at the top of the boot menu, so each time I started the computer it briefly sprang into action, since it was from there that I installed Kubuntu a few years ago, which I suspect may have shortened its life.
.
Click to expand...

FWIW one of the machines I use has a similar 'bios' display. It lets me DnD the icons to change their order. The snag being that when running in this state it only accepts the use of an ancient type of keyboard/mouse or something via one specific USB1 port lurking on the back amongst all the more modern USB sockets. I kept the book-of-words which helps, but it can still be a bit of a pest to alter anything.
 
I might have totally missed it but what's the exact problem you're trying to fix? If the CD drive is borked just unplug the cables?

Pinged ASUS Support?

Did you load a dual boot system with Win 10? UEFI or GPT? Try a different USB cabled keyboard into a USB2 socket. DEL is the key to enter the ASUS BIOS. You only need to get in once.

The ugly screen is Legacy BIOS.

The pretty screen is UEFI BIOS. - If in here look for Fast Boot - Disable it and Save+Exit

If you can get into Win 10 you can get in via a command line reboot or download ASUS EZ Utility

If you can get into Linux search Github/Google for a reboot utility that puts you into the BIOS - EFI Firmware Boot

Maybe give you some hints:

If you want to reset BIOS - pull the mains - pull the CMOS battery or short the jumpers to reset to factory - info/diagram will be on the ASUS support site if you enter your exact mboard model/revision
 
Darth Vader said:
Sudo systemctl reboot --firmware-setup

Cheers,

DV
Click to expand...

That's what I was looking for!

In the event I changed keyboard, from my old IBM "M" to a crappy plastic Logitech, with which I managed to open the Bios screen. Which is no longer plain text in B&W with up/down sideways commands, but an obscene orgy of gaudy colours and rounded shapes and icons and push-buttons, and a chaotic mix of mouse and keyboard commands. I have no doubt it will make my Bios "experience" more "meaningfull", but I have to understand how it works first.

In response to other kind suggestions, I don't have Win 10.

Thanks, All.
 
Jim Audiomisc said:
FWIW one of the machines I use has a similar 'bios' display. It lets me DnD the icons to change their order. The snag being that when running in this state it only accepts the use of an ancient type of keyboard/mouse or something via one specific USB1 port lurking on the back amongst all the more modern USB sockets. I kept the book-of-words which helps, but it can still be a bit of a pest to alter anything.
Click to expand...

Yes, and I have yet to find a Save and Exit command. All a bit hit n miss.
 
Amber Audio said:
I might have totally missed it but what's the exact problem you're trying to fix? If the CD drive is borked just unplug the cables?

Pinged ASUS Support?

Did you load a dual boot system with Win 10? UEFI or GPT? Try a different USB cabled keyboard into a USB2 socket. DEL is the key to enter the ASUS BIOS. You only need to get in once.

The ugly screen is Legacy BIOS.

The pretty screen is UEFI BIOS. - If in here look for Fast Boot - Disable it and Save+Exit

If you can get into Win 10 you can get in via a command line reboot or download ASUS EZ Utility

If you can get into Linux search Github/Google for a reboot utility that puts you into the BIOS - EFI Firmware Boot

Maybe give you some hints:

If you want to reset BIOS - pull the mains - pull the CMOS battery or short the jumpers to reset to factory - info/diagram will be on the ASUS support site if you enter your exact mboard model/revision
Click to expand...

Thanks, will digest.
 
UEFI will replace BIOS eventually. I keep some legacy machines at work for project students to use when their project involves writing BIOS software. Always an interesting exercise in the deeper understanding of machine architecture.
 
Darth Vader said:
In order to avoid confusion we should be using the correct terms. The BIOS and UEFI are different things. Here is a brief and simple introduction https://www.howtogeek.com/56958/htg-explains-how-uefi-will-replace-the-bios/

Cheers,

DFV
Click to expand...

From the user's POV the distinction tends to come down to being less noticable that "How much of a PITA is it to change something without messing up!?" My experience is that both rate a high PITA value in the cases of machines I've got/used. (ARM systems running RO perhaps being excepted as different.)
 
Jim Audiomisc said:
From the user's POV the distinction tends to come down to being less noticable that "How much of a PITA is it to change something without messing up!?" My experience is that both rate a high PITA value in the cases of machines I've got/used. (ARM systems running RO perhaps being excepted as different.)
Click to expand...
For what a typical user wants i.e. to change boot order on a permanent basis both BIOS and UEFI are a cinch. Leave everything else alone. However most users can get by with F11/F12 to temporarily boot from a USB device. My own UEFI (X299E mobo) is uber rich in things that you can do with umpteen pages of stuff that can be configured. Its rather like a small computer OS in itself.

The key for any user is to write down (or today take a photo) of what they are going to change and again after making a change. If you screw up you can always go back.

Fast boot was a M$ requirement so that Windows could come alive faster. This is the only area where I have met serious problems such as complete lock out and unable to enter UEFI in order to recover. However in every case there has been a way to recover although not obvious unless the manufacturer lets on. Six years ago my wifes new Win 8 touch screen i7 Acer S7-391 locked up after just 3 months with the Windows logo displayed no initial splash screen. That took a while to figure out as at that time I hadn't heard of fast boot and this machine goes from off to ready in around a second and a bit.

I was an early adopter of over clocking and actually patched the AMD Thunderbird CPU using very thin copper wire soldered to the external pad on top so that the CPU allowed over clocking. Tweaking CPU and RAM clock to get the highest performance often resulted in a complete lock up. Twas fun back then.

Cheers,

DV
 
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