How to change BIOS/UEFI settings when keyboard is disabled during boot

boot windows-10 keyboard bios

11,074

Solution 1

There are three possible ways to solve this:

Make your motherboard forget its settings. (Take the battery out, see the many posts on BIOS resets)
Borrow a wired keyboard.
Find a tool which lets you edit the motherboards saved configuration. While in theory this is neat, it is also something with which I have no experience at all.

Personally I would go for #2. Simple, safe, and you do nto even have to buy one. Just borrow a keyboard for a day.

Solution 2

Use CLR_CMOS button (if you have it on your MB version) when the PC is fully powered off to reset BIOS settings. http://www.hardwarezone.com.sg/review-first-looks-asus-z97-deluxe-nfc-wlc-motherboard

Also it is possible to reset it by taking out the battery. Turn off the PC, take the battery out of your motherboard, wait few seconds, then put it back, then turn the PC on. This should reset your BIOS settings.

11,074

cmeeren

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

cmeeren over 1 year

During debugging a Linux boot problem, I disabled USB power on boot in the BIOS. This was effectively an irreversible change, since I can't enter the BIOS anymore now. My motherboard is Asus Z97-A. I can currently boot into Windows on this PC (Linux is #2 in the Grub menu, so I can't select it due to the lacking power to the keyboard). My keyboard is wireless, in case that's relevant. I don't have a wired keyboard.

How can I enter the BIOS so that I can re-enable USB power on boot? Is this possible to change directly from Windows? I tried the "Advanced start-up" from Windows, but "UEFI settings" was not visible in the advanced troubleshooting options when I restarted.
- Vojtěch Dohnal almost 8 years
  
  You can reset BIOS by taking out the battery.
- Wes Sayeed almost 8 years
  
  I still keep a PS/2 keyboard around after all these years just for occasions like this.
- ganesh almost 8 years
  
  Or for use as main keyboard (Model M for the win!)
ganesh almost 8 years

Add a brief 'wait' after taking out the battery?
cmeeren almost 8 years

#2: Does it need to be PS/2? Wouldn't a wired USB keyboard also suffer from lack of power?
Vojtěch Dohnal almost 8 years

@cmreen That motherboard has one PS/2 port.
ganesh almost 8 years

If the EFI setting disabled all USB power during boot: Then yes. Or rather, anything but USB. And you have two choices with that motherboard, one of which got disabled. That leaves old but very common PS keyboards.