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⚙️ BIOS Access Trick

Open BIOS Setup from Windows with One Command No Key Pressing Needed

Every PC brand hides its BIOS behind a different key, and modern PCs boot so fast the key window is gone in a blink. Windows has a cleaner door: one command that restarts the PC directly into the firmware setup screen.

✍️ Technical Anshu🪟 Windows 10 / 11⏱️ 2 minute trick
🎥 Watch the full video — the one-command BIOS entry shown live, from checking UEFI mode to landing in setup

The old way to enter BIOS is a small lottery — restart, tap Del, too late; restart again, tap F2, wrong key; restart a third time and guess F12. On a fast SSD machine the logo screen can flash past in under a second. The method in this guide skips the lottery completely. Windows itself asks the firmware to open setup on the next boot, so the PC restarts and lands in BIOS on its own. There are two honest conditions: the PC must be running in UEFI mode (not Legacy BIOS), and the command must run in a Command Prompt opened as administrator. Both are checked in the steps below, in under two minutes.

Administrator: Command Prompt
C:\Windows\system32>shutdown /r /fw /t 0 The PC restarts on its own and opens the BIOS / UEFI setup screen. No key is pressed at any point.
👆 The whole trick on one screen — one command typed in an administrator Command Prompt (panel recreated from a real admin terminal)
1

First Check the PC Is Really in UEFI Mode

This command talks to the UEFI firmware, so it only works when Windows was installed in UEFI mode. On a Legacy BIOS install it will simply refuse — no tweak changes that. The video checks this first, and so should you.

  1. Press Windows + R, type msinfo32 and press Enter
  2. In the System Information window, find the BIOS Mode line
  3. It must say UEFI. If it says Legacy, this command cannot work on that install — the Settings route and the classic key method are your options

Most PCs bought or installed in the last decade are UEFI. Legacy shows up mainly on very old hardware or on installs that were deliberately done in old-style mode.

2

Open Command Prompt as Administrator

A normal Command Prompt window is not enough — the firmware request needs elevated rights, and without them the command fails with an access error.

  1. Click Start and type cmd
  2. Right-click Command Prompt and choose Run as administrator
  3. Click Yes on the permission prompt
  4. The window title should begin with Administrator — that is your confirmation

Windows Terminal or PowerShell opened as administrator work exactly the same way; the command does not care which elevated shell types it.

3

Run the Command and Save Your Work First

Save and close anything important before this step. The timer in the command is zero seconds, which means the restart begins the moment you press Enter.

  1. Type exactly this and press Enter: shutdown /r /fw /t 0
  2. The PC restarts immediately — there is no countdown to cancel
  3. Instead of booting Windows, the firmware opens the BIOS / UEFI setup screen

In the video the command is shown exactly like this. A common variant adds the /f switch — shutdown /r /fw /f /t 0 — which force-closes open programs without showing the usual “apps are preventing shutdown” warning screen. The result is the same; just be certain everything is saved before using the force version.

4

Once Inside Setup Change Only What You Came For

BIOS setup is powerful and unforgiving — there is no undo button in here. Work with a short list, not curiosity.

  1. For a one-time boot from a pen drive, prefer the one-time boot menu (often F12 at startup) over permanently changing the boot order
  2. If you do change boot order, note the original order first — a phone photo of the screen is enough
  3. Leave voltages, memory timings and anything you do not recognise exactly as they are
  4. Exit with Save and Exit (usually F10) so your one change is kept and everything else is untouched

Encrypted drive on this PC? Changing boot-related settings can make BitLocker ask for its 48-digit recovery key at the next start. That pairing is covered in the companion guide on suspending BitLocker first.

🎥 Watch the Full Video for Complete Knowledge

The command, the UEFI check and the restart into BIOS setup — shown live on a real PC, step by step.

▶️ Watch Full Video
❓ Common Questions (FAQ)

Does this command work on Windows 10 as well as Windows 11

Yes. The /fw switch exists in the shutdown command on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. The real condition is not the Windows version — it is that the PC boots in UEFI mode and the command runs with administrator rights.

The command gave an error and the PC restarted into Windows normally. What happened

Two usual causes. If the error says the firmware UI is not supported, the Windows install is in Legacy BIOS mode and this route cannot work. If it says access is denied, the Command Prompt was not opened as administrator. This guide has a separate page for the not supported error.

Is it safe to use this command every time I need BIOS

Yes — it changes nothing by itself. It only asks the firmware to open setup on the next boot. What you change inside setup is where care is needed, which is why changing only what you came for matters.

This guide is based on the BIOS command video by Technical Anshu • Stuck on a step? Ask in the video comments — that is where answers come fastest 🙏