How to open the bot menu on a Lenovo laptop. Calling the boot menu on different motherboards
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.
Standard methods
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.
Features of the boot menu in Windows 8 and 10
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 into 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 shutdown quick launch , but use it for one hit Boot Menu not worth it.
Boot menu on Asus motherboards and laptops
For computers, login is carried out at pressedf8 immediately after launch. There can be some confusion with laptops. Most of them can also launch the necessary option when you press this key, and some enable it only when pressedEsс(usually this applies to models whose names begin with x or k). 
Lenovo laptops
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. 
Boot Menu on Acer
Here you can also enter by pressingf12. Only here lies little trick: For proper operation and download 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. 
Other models of laptops and motherboards
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” it on the first try. the desired button, without knowing what model the motherboard is. Below is a list for the most common of them. 
Good day everyone.
At Windows installation(for example), very often it is necessary to choose bootable media, different hard drive. This can be done in two ways:
1) Go into the BIOS and change the boot queue (i.e. put the flash drive in the boot queue before the HDD - this way the PC will first check the flash drive for boot records, and only then the hard drive);
2) Call the Boot Menu and select the specific media to boot at the moment. In my opinion, this option is even better than the first: faster and no need to go back and forth into the BIOS to change the boot queue.
To enter the BIOS (call Boot Menu) in most cases the following keys are used: F2, Del, Esc, F12 (depending on the device manufacturer). The button must be pressed immediately after turning on the computer (you can do it several times so as not to miss the right moment.
By the way, if you look closely at the first screen, which is visible immediately after turning on the computer, then there is often a button written on it to enter required settings(call menu). An example in the screenshot below.
Rice. 1. Dual Bios. DEL button - enters BIOS settings, F12 button - Calls Boot Menu.
Table No. 1: hot keys for computers
To use the table, you need to know what motherboard you have, BIOS version. There are several ways to find out, here are the fastest:
Simple free program, which will tell you quite a lot about your hardware. For example, you can find out information about: processor (CPU), random access memory(Ram), motherboard (Motherboard), video card (Graphics), HDD drives, SSD (Storage), etc. In addition, you can find out and control online the temperature of the main components: hard drive, video card, processor.
A screenshot of the operation of this utility is shown in Fig. 2.
Rice. 2. Speccy - obtaining information about the motherboard
Table No. 1
| Motherboard | BIOS version | Hotkey | Which menu will be open |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acer | Del | Enter Setup | |
| F12 | Boot Menu | ||
| ASRock | AMI | F2 or DEL | run Setup |
| F6 | Instant Flash | ||
| F11 | Boot Menu | ||
| TAB | switch Screen | ||
| Asus | Phoenix Award | DEL | BIOS Setup |
| TAB | Display BIOS POST Message | ||
| F8 | Boot Menu | ||
| Alt+F2 | Asus EZ Flash 2 | ||
| F4 | Asus Core Unlocker | ||
| BioStar | Phoenix Award | F8 | Enable System Configuration |
| F9 | Select Booting Device after POST | ||
| DEL | Enter SETUP | ||
| ChainTech | Award | DEL | Enter SETUP |
| ALT+F2 | Enter AWDFLASH | ||
| ECS (Elite Group) | AMI | DEL | Enter SETUP |
| F11 | BBS POPUP | ||
| FoxConn (WinFast) | TAB | POST Screen | |
| DEL | SETUP | ||
| ESC | Boot Menu | ||
| GigaByte | Award | ESC | Skip memory test |
| DEL | Enter SETUP/Q-Flash | ||
| F9 | Xpress Recovery Xpress Recovery 2 | ||
| F12 | Boot Menu | ||
| Intel | AMI | F2 | Enter SETUP |
Table No. 2: hot keys (Bios/Boot Menu, etc.) for laptops
Note: on modern laptops The key combination works the same way in Windows: hold down the SHIFT button + select the restart button with the mouse.
The Boot Menu is a small window in which, using the mouse (arrow keys on the keyboard), you can select the device from which to boot. An example of such a menu is shown in Fig. 3.
Depending on the manufacturer of your device, the menu may differ slightly, but the principle of operation is the same everywhere.
Table No. 2
| Laptop manufacturer | BIOS version | Hotkey | Function/menu call |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acer | Phoenix | F2 | Enter Setup |
| F12 | Boot Menu (Change Boot Device,Multi Boot Selection Menu) | ||
| Alt+F10 | D2D Recovery (disk-to-disk system recovery) | ||
| Asus | AMI | F2 | Enter Setup |
| ESC | Popup Menu | ||
| F4 | Easy Flash | ||
| Phoenix Award | DEL | BIOS Setup | |
| F8 | Boot Menu | ||
| Benq | Phoenix | F2 | BIOS Setup |
| Dell | Phoenix,Aptio | F2 | Setup |
| F12 | Boot Menu | ||
| eMachines (Acer) | Phoenix | F12 | Boot Menu |
| Fujitsu Siemens | AMI | F2 | BIOS Setup |
| F12 | Boot Menu | ||
| Gateway (Acer) | Phoenix | Click mouse or Enter | Menu |
| F2 | BIOS Settings | ||
| F10 | Boot Menu | ||
| F12 | PXE Boot | ||
| HP (Hewlett-Packard)/Compaq | Insyde | ESC | Startup Menu |
| F1 | System Information | ||
| F2 | System Diagnostics | ||
| F9 | Boot Device Options | ||
| F10 | BIOS Setup | ||
| F11 | System Recovery | ||
| Enter | Continue Startup | ||
| Next | F1 | Calling Boot Menu | |
| F2 | BIOS setup | ||
| Lenovo (IBM) | Phoenix SecureCore Tiano | F2 | Setup |
| F12 | MultiBoot Menu | ||
| MSI (Micro Star) | *** | DEL | Setup |
| F11 | Boot Menu | ||
| TAB | Show POST screen | ||
| F3 | Recovery | ||
| Packard Bell (Acer) | Phoenix | F2 | Setup |
| F12 | Boot Menu | ||
| Toshiba | Phoenix | Esc,F1,F2 | Enter Setup |
| Toshiba Satellite A300 | F12 | Bios |
Table No. 3: recovery from a hidden partition (for laptops)
Most modern laptops have a built-in special hidden partition with the ability to restore Windows OS using a “pair” of keys (no need to prepare bootable USB flash drive, download ISO images with Windows, etc.).
As a rule, to launch the recovery function, after turning on the laptop, just press one key (F9, for example, on Asus laptops). Next, a window will appear in which you need to follow the instructions of the recovery wizard.
Note: when restoring information, system disk"C:\" is often formatted and all information from it is deleted. Make a copy of important data from it in advance.
Rice. 4. ACER laptop- service recovery utility
Table No. 3
| Laptop manufacturer | Button combination | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Acer | Alt+F10 | First you need to log in Laptop Bios, and enable the D2D Recovery function. The default password in the recovery system is 000000 or AIM1R8. |
| Asus | F9 | |
| Dell Inspiron | Ctrl+F11 | |
| Fujitsu Siemens | F8 | |
| HP | F10, F11 | |
| LG | F11 | |
| Lenovo ThinkPad | F11 | |
| MSI | F3 | |
| Packard Bell | F10 | |
| RoverBook | Alt | |
| Samsung | F4 | |
| Sony VAIO | F10 | |
| Toshiba | F8, F11 |
PS
The tables will be updated (over time). For additions on the topic of the article - thank you very much in advance. Good luck to all!
Each computer/laptop has its own firmware (BIOS) and its appearance and functionality depends on the manufacturer, model and software version of the device (year of manufacture). The boot menu is part of the BIOS and may look different. The way to call the boot menu also depends on the device model, but usually it is a constant (so as not to miss) pressing a certain button immediately after turning on the computer.
Let's look at the most common keys for calling up the boot menu. various manufacturers laptops and motherboards:
| Motherboard | Key |
| AsRock | F11 |
| Asus | F8 |
| Intel | Esc |
| Gigabyte | F12 |
| MSI | F11 |
| Laptop | |
| Acer | F12 |
| Asus | Esc |
| Dell | F12 |
| HP | Esc > F9 |
| Lenovo | F12 |
| Packard Bell | F12 |
| Samsung | Esc |
| Sony Vaio | F11 |
| Sony Vaio | Assist |
| Toshiba | F12 |
As I said earlier, the boot menu looks different for everyone, but the logic is always simple:
Usually the choice of what to boot from is made using the "up" and "down" keys, and the final choice is "Enter". The new Windows 8 OS is installed on new computers and laptops, and along with it, hardware manufacturers have found a replacement for the BIOS - UEFI. A more sophisticated firmware that has an interface that can rightfully be called graphical, and sometimes even cute. By default on such computers " fast loading", in most cases, does not allow you to get into the boot menu in the usual way, and indeed into the BIOS settings themselves.
The simplest option is to resolve the issue from operating system: you need to hold down the "Shift" button and send the machine to reboot. The service window should appear Windows menu 8.
By the way: sometimes the boot menu function is disabled by default in the BIOS. An excellent example would be Sony Vaio laptops: to boot from a flash drive, you need to enable a special option in the BIOS - "External Device Boot". Also when loading from regular flash drive sometimes it is defined as HDD- this is the norm
Probably everyone knows that in order to boot from a disk drive or flash drive you need to set the order of devices to boot in the BIOS. For example, in order to start, you need to boot from this very disk. To do this, you need to set the disk drive as the first boot device in the BIOS.
However, you don’t have to go into the BIOS and change nothing there. All you need to do is immediately after turning on the computer, press the boot menu key and in the list of devices that appears, select the one from which to boot. Selecting a boot device in the boot menu has no effect on BIOS settings. That is, this menu affects specifically a specific boot, and if you do not call it afterwards, the computer or laptop will boot as configured in the BIOS.
How to call the boot menu - keys for calling the BIOS boot menu
So, we figured out what the boot menu is in BIOS. Now I’ll tell you what hotkeys you use to call it. There is no standard here. It all depends on the manufacturer of the PC or laptop motherboard and on the version of the BIOS installed there. So, for example, calling the boot menu asus differs from how to call the boot menu on an acer or sony vaio laptop.
In most cases, the key to call up the boot device selection menu is F12 , but some manufacturers use their own key combinations. Special attention You can focus on the boot menu of Samsung and HP. To get to the boot menu of a Samsung laptop you need to press Esc (just one time!). If you click on Esc at least twice, the boot menu will close before it can open. Therefore, you need to calculate and clearly hit the time by pressing hotkey calling boot menu. This can be quite difficult to do without some skill.
Calling the boot menu on HP laptops is also specific. To do this, you first need to click Esc , after which it will appear service menu laptop. In it we already select the desired item (by pressing the hot key). To call the HP boot menu, press F9 .
For some manufacturers, the device to be loaded into the menu is selected using the cursor keys; for others, you need to press a key with a number indicating serial number devices in the list.
Below is a table that is easy to understand. This is a table of correspondence between hotkeys for calling up the menu for selecting the boot device, motherboard manufacturer and BIOS.
Yes, and one last clarification. In some cases, boot menu hotkeys are disabled by default in the BIOS. To be able to use the boot menu, you need to enable it in the BIOS settings. Typically this function is called F12 Boot Menu . To enable this feature, you must set its value to Enabled .
In addition to the keys for calling the boot menu, the table shows keys for entering the BIOS.
| Manufacturer/device | BIOS version | Boot menu key | Key to enter BIOS |
| Mat. MSI boards | AMI | F11 | Del |
| Mat. Gigabyte boards | Award | F12 | Del |
| Mat. Asus boards | AMI | F8 | Del |
| Mat. Intel boards | Phoenix Award | Esc | Del |
| Mat. AsRock boards | AMI | F11 | Del |
| Asus laptops | Esc | F2 | |
| Acer laptops | Inside H2O | F12 | F2 |
| Acer laptops | Phoenix | F12 | F2 |
| Dell laptops | Dell | F12 | F2 |
| HP laptops | Esc -> F9 | Esc -> F10 | |
| Lenovo laptops | AMI | F12 | F2 |
| Packard Bell laptops | Phoenix Secure Core | F12 | F2 |
| Samsung laptops | Phoenix Secure Core | Esc (once, pressing again exits the menu) |
F2 |
| Sony Vaio laptops | Inside H2O | F11 | F2 |
| Toshiba laptops | Phoenix | F12 | F2 |
| Toshiba laptops | Inside H2O | F12 | F2 |
All more or less experienced computer users know that when installing an OS or using a tool with disk media or flash drives, you need to set the priority of these devices in the BIOS, in simple words– what will be loaded first when the PC starts.
Boot Menu, also called the boot menu, is intended to simplify the selection of devices from which it is possible to boot. You turn on the computer, go to the boot menu, using special keys, and then use the arrows to select a boot device, for example, a flash drive or disk drive. This makes it easier for inexperienced users to perform many actions.
Now we will learn how to enter the Boot Menu using regular keyboard shortcuts. And also how to do it on laptops.
How to enter the Boot Menu - BIOS boot menu
When we enter the BIOS, we press certain combination on keyboard. The same is true for the Boot Menu. In many cases, the following methods are relevant for laptops and motherboards: Esc, F11, F12, however, there are other options for logging into Boot.
It makes sense to use this feature if you do not need to change any parameters in the BIOS, except for setting the boot order.
So, if you have a laptop with Windows 8, and now with Windows 10, the above keys are not guaranteed to work. In some models, when you turn off the laptop, the device can be considered to go into hibernation mode, and not turn off as usual, so an attempt to enter the Boot Menu is unsuccessful.
To get rid of this problem you can use the following methods:
How to enter the Boot Menu from an Asus laptop
Most possible options The input keys for Asus are the following keys:
- ESC - for many brands;
- F8 – for devices where names can begin with the letters X and K, if it doesn’t work, then use Esc.
Logging into the Boot Menu from a Lenovo laptop
In these models it is even simpler, you press the F12 key and get to Boot. Also, many laptops of this brand have a special arrow button that allows you to select the boot type, for example, BIOS, Boot Menu, or recovery mode.
Here, entering the boot menu is possible using the F12 key.
If it doesn’t work, then you need to translate the option there F12 Boot Menu to the on position – Enabled. Then we save the applied actions, reboot and try to log in again using the F12 key.
Go to the Boot Menu on HP laptops
I have a laptop of this brand, so I know a lot about it. You can enter the boot menu from this device like this:
- Esc is a fairly common option;
- F9 – when you press the Esc key.
Logging into the Boot Menu on other laptop models and motherboards
The options I described below are practically the same as described above, that is, the same keys:- Dell devices - F12 key;
- Toshiba devices – F12 key;
- Samsung devices – Esc key;
- Intel board – Esc key;
- Board from Gigabyte – F12 key;
- Board from Asus - F8 key, as on laptops;
- MSI board - F11 key.
Here, I described most of the models. If you are unhappy that your laptop or model is not listed motherboard, then please leave comments and I will try to help you.