In some models of laptops and computers, when logging into BIOS settings You can find an option called “f12 boot menu”. Not everyone knows what it is and what it is responsible for. In this article you will find answers to these questions, and also find out whether you need to enable it or not.
To understand the purpose of this option, you first need to translate it into Russian. The translation sounds something like this: “F12 boot menu" Here F12 represents a button on the keyboard.
In simple words, the meaning of F12 boot menu can be described as “Activation of calling the boot menu by pressing the F12 button on the keyboard.”
This is what the boot menu looks like
This means that if you move the value opposite “F12 boot menu” to the “Enabled” position, you will enable the ability to open a list of devices from which the computer can start booting (flash drives, cd-rom, HDD etc.) when you press the F12 button immediately when turning it on.
Activating this option is useful so that before installing Windows from a flash drive or , you don’t have to configure boot priorities every time.
Boot menu
When the “F12 boot menu” option is activated, all you need to do is press F12 when turning on your computer or laptop, select the flash drive in the list that opens and press the “Enter” button.
The Boot Menu can be called up when turned on on most laptops and computers, this menu is a BIOS or UEFI option and allows you to quickly select which drive to boot your computer from this time. In this instruction I will show you how to enter the Boot Menu on popular models of laptops and PC motherboards.
The described feature may be useful if you need to boot from a Live CD or bootable flash drive For Windows installations and not only - it is not necessary to change the boot order in the BIOS; as a rule, selecting the desired boot device in the Boot Menu once is enough. On some laptops, the same menu also gives access to the recovery partition of the laptop.
For laptops and computers that originally came with Windows 8 or 8.1, and soon with Windows 10, you may not be able to enter the Boot Menu using the specified keys. This is due to the fact that shutdown for these operating systems is not a shutdown in the full sense of the word. This is more like hibernation, and therefore the boot menu may not open when you press F12, Esc, F11 and other keys.
In this case, you can do one of the following:
One of these methods should definitely help with entering the boot menu, provided that everything else is done correctly.
For almost all desktop computers with Asus motherboards, the boot menu is entered by pressing the F8 key after turning on the computer (the same time we press Del or F9 to enter the BIOS or UEFI).
But there is some confusion with laptops. To enter the Boot Menu on ASUS laptops, depending on the model, you need to press when turning on:
In any case, there are not many options, so you can try each of them if necessary.
For almost all laptops and all-in-one PCs Lenovo brands To enter the Boot Menu, you can use the F12 key when turning on.
You can also select additional boot options for Lenovo laptops by pressing the small arrow button next to the power button.
The next most popular model of laptops and all-in-one PCs in our country is Acer. Login to the Boot Menu on them for different versions BIOS is done by pressing the F12 key at startup.
However, on Acer laptops there is one feature - often, entering the Boot Menu using F12 does not work on them by default and in order for the key to work, you must first enter the BIOS by pressing the F2 key, and then switch the “F12 Boot Menu” parameter to the Enabled state, then save the settings and exit the BIOS.
For other laptop models, as well as PCs with different motherboards, there are fewer features, so I’ll simply list the Boot Menu entry keys for them in the form of a list:
It seems that he took into account all the most common options, and also described possible nuances. If suddenly you still cannot access the Boot Menu on any device, leave a comment indicating its model, I will try to find a solution (and do not forget about the issues related to fast loading in the latest Windows versions, which I wrote about above).
Well, in addition to everything written above, video instructions on how to enter the Boot Menu may be useful to someone.
When installing operating system You must go to the Boot Menu to tell your computer which device to boot from. This is also necessary when you need to start from a Live CD or bootable USB flash drive. Today I will tell and show you how to enter Boot Menu both on PC motherboards and laptops.
Just like you need to press a special key (F2 or Del) to enter the BIOS or UEFI, there is also a specific button to bring up the boot menu. As a rule, these are the F11, F12 or Esc keys, but there are exceptions. Usually, when you turn on the computer, under the splash screen you can see a key that is responsible for calling the Boot Menu.
You can, of course, do without the Boot Menu by simply selecting a certain order for loading devices in the BIOS, but if you want to boot one-time (checking for viruses or installing a system), then I would advise using the boot menu, because it is much faster.
So, why do you need the Boot Menu at all - you ask. This menu shows a list of devices connected to the PC from which you can boot (flash drives, CDs, hard drives) for further installation of the system or for testing components.
Go to "Power Supplies"
On the left click on "Actions" power buttons",
Disable the “Enable fast startup” item (you can do this even if not on a laptop).
Regarding laptops, it's a little confusing. The Esc key opens the boot menu on modern models; on older laptops, the F8 key works, and mainly on models whose names begin with the letter k or x. In short, if the Esc key does not bring up the Boot Menu, then we reboot and try pressing F8.
This menu allows you to select from what type of media and even from which specific one the download will be made this time. This can be useful when installing a system, installing BIOS updates, or if necessary, launching a LiveCD.
In order to get to the boot menu there is a set standard keys , exactly the same as for entering the BIOS. Usually these are buttons f11,f12,Esc. In this menu you can see all devices from which you can download to this moment and select the one you need.
As a rule, information about which button should be pressed appears immediately when the computer starts; if this does not happen and the above options did not help, then other actions will be required.
If the PC was shipped with one of these systems, pressing the keys may not work. This happens because these systems usually do not turn off, in the usual sense of the word, but rather, go into hibernation. To get to the boot menu, you need to completely turn off the computer. To do this, you can hold down the key shift when selecting " Shutdown" or reboot the device using the button on the front panel.
There is also an option with disabling fast startup, but it’s not worth using it just to get into the Boot Menu.
For computers, login is carried out at pressedf8 immediately after launch. There can be some confusion with laptops. Most of them can also run required option when you press this key, and some turn it on only when pressedEsс(usually this applies to models whose names begin with x or k). 
Here everything is much simpler, the launch is carried out when pressedf12. There may also be a special key with an arrow that will allow you to perform the same action. 
Here you can also enter by pressingf12. Only here lies a small trick: for proper operation and loading of the boot menu using this button, you must first enable the appropriate option in the BIOS. You can get into it by pressing f2. The name of the setting itself is shown in the image, all you need to do is set “ Enabled"at the right point. 
Manufacturers do not seem to have come to a consensus on which button is best to use for the Boot Menu and therefore, each of them left the most convenient option for themselves. As a result, it is practically impossible to “guess” the desired button on the first try, without knowing which model motherboard. Below is a list for the most common of them. 
If necessary, use a flash drive or external HDD. In order not to change the BIOS settings several times, you can simply boot into the Boot Menu once without changing any settings, select the disk to boot, perform all the necessary operations, and then simply reboot the PC and work on it as usual. In today's article we will discuss in detail, how to enter the Boot Menu on laptops and desktop PCs from all kinds of manufacturers and a huge variety of brands.
What is the boot menu? In fact, this is one of the built-in features of UEFI or BIOS, which makes it possible to quickly make a choice from which external device data storage to boot the PC this time. The presented feature can come in handy if you have to boot from a bootable flash drive or LiveCD. On a number of laptop models, the same menu provides access to the device reconstruction category.
How to enter the Boot Menu on a laptop or desktop computer? Similar to calling the BIOS, this is done using one of the hot keys (most likely F12, F11 or Esc, but there may be other options). It may happen that the data on the corresponding hotkey to call the Boot Menu appear on the screen immediately when you turn on the PC, but this does not always happen.
When is it worth using the Boot Menu, and when is it better to change it? BIOS settings? If you need to boot from a flash drive once (for example, check your computer for viruses using a special disk, or install new version OS), it would be more logical to use the Boot Menu, but if you need to change the boot priority of devices (for example, set boot from DVD first), and not just once, but permanently, then, of course, it would be more advisable to change BIOS settings.
In the boot menu you can see a list of all devices connected to the PC from which you can currently boot the computer (these can be laser drives, external HDDs, flash drives), as well as, potentially, the option of network booting a PC from a backup partition.
For laptops or PCs that originally shipped with Win 8.1/8/10, it may not be possible to activate the boot menu using the mentioned hot buttons. The thing is that workstations based on this OS actually do not even turn off, but only enter hibernation status. Therefore, the Boot Menu may not be activated after pressing F12, F11, Esc and other keys.
Under these circumstances, you have the right to resort to one of the following methods:
1. While selecting the “Shutdown” menu item in Win 8/8.1, hold down the Shift button. IN in this case The PC will completely shut down and the next time you turn it on, the buttons to activate the boot menu will be active.
2. Instead of turning off and on the PC again, use a reboot by pressing the appropriate button.
3. Deactivate Express Start. To do this, open the control panel, select the option “System and Security” -> “Power Options” -> “Actions of the Power Buttons”.
One of the above methods should certainly help in solving the problem of activating the boot menu, if you carried out all the other iterations correctly.
Essentially, if you own a desktop PC based on an Asus motherboard, you can enter the Boot Menu on it by pressing the F8 button after the computer is turned on.
But in the situation with a laptop, some nuances may arise. To activate the boot menu on ASUS laptop For a certain modification, when turning on the device, press:
Esc – relevant for most current and not very current models;
F8 – for those types of ASUS devices, capital letter whose name contains the letters x or k (for example, k601 or x502c).
Be that as it may, the variability here is not that great, so if necessary, you can use any of the proposed options.
For almost all Lenovo brand laptops and desktop computers, you can use the F12 button when turning on the power to activate the boot menu.
Moreover, assisted boot methods for Lenovo devices can be found by using the miniature button with an arrow on it, located near the power button.
Another very popular type of desktop PCs and laptops is Acer. To enter the boot menu on a device of this brand, you need to press F12 during startup.
However, with regard to laptops, such a trick is not always effective, and to this method became possible, you must first enter the BIOS by pressing F2, and then in the parameters set the “F12 Boot Menu” setting to Enabled, and only after that save all the changes made and leave the BIOS mode.
Other devices based on components from other brands
For other brands, the situation with using the Boot Menu is slightly different. Below I will provide a detailed list of devices and their corresponding buttons for activating the menu:
- ASRock - F11
— MSI motherboards – F11
— ASUS motherboards – F8
— Intel motherboards– Esc
— Gigabyte motherboards – F12
— Toshiba laptops – F12
— Samsung laptops – Esc
— Dell laptops – F12
— HP laptops and desktop PCs – F9 or Esc.
Here are all the common devices and descriptions with which you can find out how to enter the Boot menu. We hope this article will serve you well and you will be able to quickly, easily and painlessly perform all the necessary operations on your PC that the boot menu requires. With that, let me take my leave.
