How to Access the BIOS menu & Advanced Mode on an Acer Laptop

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A complete guide to boot into your Acer laptop's BIOS/UEFI

Written by Travis Boylls

Last Updated: October 15, 2025 Fact Checked

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Entering the BIOS

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Advanced BIOS Modes

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Video

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Tips

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Warnings

Every PC has a BIOS/UEFI menu that allows you to adjust advanced settings for your computer’s hardware. The steps to access the BIOS/UEFI menu on your Acer laptop vary by model, but accessing it is always easy. Depending on your laptop model, you may also be able to access advanced features in the BIOS, such as debug mode. This wikiHow article teaches you how to access the BIOS on an Acer laptop and access the hidden features.

Quick Steps to Open the BIOS on an Acer Laptop

Power your laptop off.
Press the Power button to power it back on.
Immediately start tapping the F2 key repeatedly to boot into the BIOS menu.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Enter the BIOS on an Acer Laptop

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1
Enter the BIOS/UEFI menu during startup. To enter the BIOS menu from startup, power off your computer. Press the Power button to power it on. Immediately start pressing the F2 key repeatedly. You need to be quick. If it doesn’t work the first time, try again.^{[1]
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- On some models, you may need to press and hold the F2 key while powering on your computer.
- On some models, it may be the Del key instead of F2.
2
Enter the BIOS/UEFI menu from Windows. If you are not able to boot into the BIOS during startup, you can boot into the BIOS from within Windows. Use the following steps to do so:
- Click the Windows Start menu.
- Type “Recovery.”
- Click Recovery options.
- Click Restart next to “Advanced Startup.”
- Click Troubleshoot.
- Click UEFI Firmware Settings.
- Click Restart.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Accessing Hidden BIOS Options

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1
Enable VMD controller options. Volume Management Device (VMD) is a hardware feature that manages high-speed data from NVMe SSDs, particularly with RAID configuration. To enable the VMD controller options, select the Main tab in the BIOS menu, then press Ctrl + S to get the VMD controller options to appear.
- The VMD controller is generally enabled by default. It is not recommended you tweak any of these settings unless you know what you are doing.^{[2]
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- If your operating system is not able to recognize an NVMe SSD, you may want to try disabling this feature.
2
Access the Advanced Debug Mode. There is rumored to be a hidden Advanced/Debug/Power menu in the BIOS menu on Acer computers that can be activated via certain key combinations. However, we have not been able to verify this via testing or research. Be aware that these methods may not work on all Acer computer models. The following are some ways users have reported accessing the advanced/debug menu:
- General Acer models:
  - Boot into the BIOS menu and press FN + Tab keys three times.
  - Press and hold the power button to force-shutdown your computer.
  - Power it back on and immediately start tapping F2 to boot back into the BIOS menu.^{[3]
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  - On some models, the reported key combination is either Ctrl + F10 or Ctrl + Shift + F2 instead.
- Nitro Laptop models:
  - Boot into the BIOS and immediately press and hold the Power button to force-shutdown your computer.
  - While the laptop is off, press the following keys on the laptop keyboard in order: F4, 4, R, F, V, F5, 5, T, G, B, F6, 6, Y, H, N.
  - Power your laptop back on and immediately start tapping F2 to boot back into the BIOS.^{[4]
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- Older Acer Aspire Models:
  - Power your laptop off.
  - Press and hold the FN + Tab keys and press the power button to power on your laptop.
  - Immediately start tapping F2 to boot back into the BIOS.

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Tips

In case it doesn't work, retry the steps after connecting the charging cable to the laptop and turning the main power on.

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Tips from our Readers

The advice in this section is based on the lived experiences of wikiHow readers like you. If you have a helpful tip you’d like to share on wikiHow, please submit it in the field below.

This is a great tweak, but it will not work on machines that have a system-specific constrained BIOS, such as the Travelmate P214-53. If you have a locked down machine, the only additional tweaks you can work with will be through the Ctrl + S combination while on the Main tab. This will reveal a few additional BIOS settings, but it may void your warranty.

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