Acer boot menu and BIOS key: enabling the F12 menu, and F2
| Acer | Key |
|---|---|
| BIOS | F2 |
| Boot menu | F12 (must be enabled in the BIOS first) |
The most common snag on Acer: the F12 boot menu may be disabled out of the box. If pressing F12 does nothing, you need to enable it first.
Enabling the F12 boot menu (Acer's steps)
- Restart the computer and press F2 while the Acer logo is shown to enter the BIOS.
- On the Main tab, set F12 Boot Menu to Enabled.
- Press F10, then Enter, to save and restart.
- From now on F12 opens the boot menu at startup; select the USB drive.
According to Acer, not every Acer laptop has the F12 Boot Menu feature; if the setting is missing, change the boot order in the Boot section of the BIOS.
If the key does not work
- Press the key repeatedly as soon as the logo appears; if the Windows logo shows up, you were too late.
- If pressing the F key changes volume or brightness, press the same key together with Fn (Fn key and Fn Lock).
- The menu may not appear when resuming from sleep or fast startup; shut the computer down fully and start it again.
If setup cannot find the drive, shows "This PC can't run Windows 11" or the USB drive does not start: Windows 11 installation problems. All brands: boot menu and BIOS keys table.