How to open your BIOS and turn off Fast Boot

The BIOS is the settings screen built into your motherboard, and it runs before Windows starts. Newer boards call it UEFI, but it's the same place. Our firmware only needs one change there: turn off Fast Boot. The PCIe slot speed is the only other setting you might touch. Leave everything else alone, virtualization included, because the firmware supports it.

Save your BitLocker key first

Windows encrypts the drive on a lot of PCs. A change in the BIOS can make it ask for a 48-digit recovery key at the next start, and without that key you can't open the drive. Main PC Setup shows how to check whether yours is encrypted and where the key is kept.

You can also pause the encryption for one restart. Microsoft suggests this before firmware changes. Right-click the Start button, open Terminal (Admin) (Windows PowerShell (Admin) on Windows 10) and run Suspend-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:" -RebootCount 1. It switches itself back on after the next Windows start. If Windows says it doesn't know the command, the saved key is enough.

Getting in

Turn the PC on and tap the key for your board over and over, from the moment the screen lights up until the BIOS appears. Most boards also show the key for a second on the first screen.

The boot menu key lets you start from a USB stick once, without changing any settings. You only need it to reinstall Windows.

If the key never works, Windows can restart you straight into the BIOS. On Windows 11 go to Settings, System, Recovery, and press Restart now next to Advanced startup. On Windows 10 it's Settings, Update & Security, Recovery. Then choose Troubleshoot, Advanced options, UEFI Firmware Settings and Restart. This route starts from Windows, so only use it when the card is flashed or not in the PC.

On MSI boards, MSI says the keyboard doesn't work at startup while MSI Fast Boot is on, so use the Windows route there.

Turn off Fast Boot

Most boards open on a simple screen with only a few settings. On ASUS, press F7 for the full one, called Advanced Mode. On other boards, look for Advanced Mode at the top or bottom of the screen.

• ASUS.
  The Boot tab, under Boot Configuration. Set Fast Boot to Disabled.
• MSI.
  Settings, then Boot. Set Fast Boot to Disabled, and MSI Fast Boot too if your board has it.
• Gigabyte.
  The Boot tab. Set Fast Boot to Disabled.
• ASRock.
  The Boot tab. Fast Boot has three options, Disabled, Fast and Ultra Fast. Pick Disabled.
• Dell.
  Dell calls it Fastboot, under POST Behavior. Set it to Thorough. That's Dell's default and does the full start-up check.
• HP, Lenovo and other brands.
  Look for Fast Boot in your PC's manual. The name and place change between models.

Windows has its own Fast startup in the power options. That's a different setting. Our rule is about the one in the BIOS.

The PCIe slot speed

Each slot runs at a PCIe generation (Gen1, Gen2, Gen3 and up), and most boards leave it on Auto. Start with the slot on the fastest setting your board offers. If the card doesn't appear, step it down one generation at a time, down to Gen1, and cold boot after each change.

Slots are named on the board next to each one, like PCIEX1_1 or PCIE2, and in the manual. Where the speed setting sits:

These names change between boards and BIOS versions. If yours is different, check the BIOS chapter of your board's manual. Some boards have no speed setting for the small slots at all. If yours doesn't, leave it and try another slot. See Which slot to actually pick.

Save and leave

F10 saves and exits on most boards. It asks you to confirm, then restarts. If your card isn't flashed yet, don't let that restart go into Windows. Go back into the BIOS or turn the PC off. Main PC Setup has the rest of the first boot.

After a BIOS update

A BIOS update puts every setting back to its default, so Fast Boot can come back on. Check it again after every update. Pause BitLocker before you update, the same way as above.

Done

If your board's screens look nothing like this, post its model on the support forum and we'll point you to the right menu.