Can't tap key for BIOS or Display Boot Options on Acer Aspire M3450

[jpmackay]

I need your help with this problem more likely very serious. First I will give you my computer specifications and operating system and here is below:

My desktop is Acer Aspire M3450 Gaming desktop and my operating system is Windows 10 Home Premium 64X with all updates to this date.

Now here is what I will explain about the problem with my desktop.

When I restart the desktop and hold the key to access to BIOS with " DEL " key or Display Boot Options with " F12 " key and none of those two keys are working.I am trying to get into CD/DVD after restart but can't. Is there a repair or fix for those two access to BIOS or Display Boot Options. I am wondering if the program of Tweaking.com - Windows Repair v3.9.11 or have to reinstall the operating system of Windows 10 Home Premium 64X. I have not done this yet and will wait to hear if there is another option to fix the problem.

Thank you,

John       

[Boggin]

I assume you are trying to change the boot order so that it checks the CD/DVD drive first ?

Give this a try - from within Windows press and hold F2 as you go Start/Power/Restart and hold F2 until the BIOS comes up.

[jpmackay]

You are correct that I am trying to hold down the key with " DEL " not " F2 " on my desktop. As soon as the desktop restart and I press the key down to hold so can get into BIOS but boot in normal with Windows 10 logo on monitor screen then type the password.  That's strange with this as I did try several times but kept booting in normal not BIOS or Display Boot Options. I don't if there is a fix for that or might have to reinstall the operating system of Windows 10  Home Premium 64X or what??

Thank you,

John

[Boggin]

Those keys no longer work in Win 10 unless you change the boot menu policy.

Try it as I've said by just holding the F2 key down - restart and continue to hold the F2 key until it reboots into the BIOS.

If you want to change the boot menu policy back to legacy then right click on the Start button and select Power Options - click on Choose what closing the lid does - Change settings that are currently unavailable - uncheck the box for fast startup - Save changes.

Open a Command Prompt (Admin) and type and enter bcdedit

In the first block look to see what is in { } for Default - this is your Identifier.

It could be Default or Current, so type that between the curly brackets as your Identifier and enter this command at the next prompt -

bcdedit /set {Identifier} bootmenupolicy legacy

shutdown /r /t 00

and you should see the old keys to press as the machine restarts.

I'm not sure now if you also have to turn off Hibernate as well, but see how that goes and if they still don't work then at a Command Prompt (Admin) enter powercfg -h off and follow that with shutdown /r /t 00 to restart.

To change it back, if you've had to turn Hibernate off then turn it back on with on instead of off, then redo the bootmenupolicy command changing legacy to standard - reboot and then re-check the fast startup box.

Your start up times will be longer with the boot menu policy set to legacy

[jpmackay]

I have tried this and still not fix yet. Guess that I should take the desktop to the computer repair shop to see if the tech can fix this. I tried different things and so far nothing solved yet.

John

[jpmackay]

Boggin --  Sorry that I did not realized that I did not type correctly in command prompt that you provide in your message. So I decided to try again and follow your instructions carefully. And still the same after this. I am not sure what else to look for to fix this problem. What's about CMOS battery to remove from the motherboard and BIOS will be reset. If yes and what will happen to BIOS reset? I have no idea with this part.

Let me know about this.

John

[Boggin]

A BIOS reset wouldn't affect that.

If your computer supports Secure Boot then you will also have to disable that.

Because different models have different keys to tap/press, you could contact Dell Support who should be able to help with that - I haven't been able to find anything specific to Dell on Google.

When I hit Restart I usually see the old F2 and F12 key prompts - do they show up then for you ?

[jpmackay]

OK my desktop is Acer not Dell. After restarting the desktop and I see DEL for BIOS and F12 for Display Boot Options show on the bottom left corner on the screen with Acer logo. But for some reasons I still can't press either keys to get into BIOS or Display Boot Options. I did switched the keyboard to see if the other is damaged by USB to plug in the back of desktop. No difference with both keyboards. Guess that the only way is to call Acer Support to see if they can help with this problem.

John

[Boggin]

I can access the BIOS as well as change the boot menu policy with the steps I've described on my upgraded Toshiba laptop, although it doesn't support Secure Boot because it is MBR and not EUFI - although I already had the boot order changed before I upgraded from Win 7 to Win 10.

[Boggin]

Sorry about the confusion about the model.

I've since found this article which should help - http://acer.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/37064/~/windows-10%3A-access-the-uefi-bios

[jpmackay]

Want to say thank you for the article. Unfortunately my desktop doesn't support UEFI settings as I checked in Settings \ Recovery \ Advanced Options and not see with UEFI Settings as showin in the video. I don't know if I should have this settings in or not?

John

[Boggin]

So you have the same older BIOS as me.

Following the steps I'd described by pressing and holding F2 as you restart, did you uncheck fast start up first ?

This works perfectly for me.

[Boggin]

Have you tried it with F1 instead of F2 ?

[jpmackay]

Yes I have tried F1, F2, DEL,  F12 and none of them is working. Guess that maybe I should contact Acer Support (Out of Warranty) for help or take my desktop to the local repair shop to see if they can fix the problem. I have tried everything and so far nothing yet.

Thank you,

John

[Boggin]

Try Acer Support first before you go spending any money in a repair shop.

Even if it's out of warranty, their tech dept. may offer some advice.

[jpmackay]

Good idea to contact Acer Support about this and will get back here for the answer from them.

John

[Still_Game]

Good luck John - and if you don't get any help from Acer themselves, you could try posting in this Acer forum http://community.acer.com/t5/Discussion-Forums/ct-p/boards

[jpmackay]

My problem was solved late last night. Someone I know told me that I should try to change the keyboard which I did. The one I am using is an USB keyboard so I switched to wireless keyboard. Finally I can press the key for getting into BIOS or Boot Display Options. I am not sure why is the USB keyboard not accepting for access into either with BIOS or Boot Display Options. Do anyone here have an answer for this? I want to know why? But am happy and relieved too with this solution.

John

[Boggin]

Have you tried a different USB port with the keyboard ?

Not sure if Control Panel/Find and fix problems/View all and then run the trouble shooter for Hardware and devices would find anything.

Uninstalling the keyboard and let Windows reinstall it may sort the drivers for it to function, or it may just be broken in that respect.

If it worked okay before the Win 10 upgrade, then it could be a driver issue.

Anyway, glad you found the problem

[Samson]

I am not sure why is the USB keyboard not accepting for access into either with BIOS or Boot Display Options. Do anyone here have an answer for this? I want to know why?

When in the BIOS settings, check that "Legacy USB support"  is set to "enabled".

Look under "Advanced"..."Integrated peripherals"..."Legacy USB support".