ASUS boot menu and BIOS key: Esc and F2 (laptop), booting from USB
| ASUS laptop | Key |
|---|---|
| Boot menu | Esc |
| BIOS | F2 |
On some older ASUS desktops the BIOS key is Del. For ASUS motherboards, see motherboard boot menu and BIOS keys.
Booting from USB (ASUS's method)
Instead of trying to catch the right moment at startup, ASUS recommends this:
- With the computer fully turned off, press and hold Esc.
- While holding Esc, press the power button.
- When the boot menu appears, release Esc, select the USB drive and press Enter.
If the boot menu does not appear this way, ASUS recommends entering the BIOS and changing the boot option there.
Entering the BIOS
- With the computer off, press and hold F2.
- While holding F2, press the power button.
- Release F2 when the BIOS screen appears.
Setup cannot find the drive (ASUS's fix)
According to ASUS, Windows setup may not see the drive on devices with Intel 11th to 14th gen processors. There are two ways around it:
- Load the driver: on your model's ASUS support page, download the Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST) package from the Chipset section and extract it to the USB drive. On the drive selection screen in setup, choose Load driver, select the folder, pick Intel RST VMD Controller and continue.
- Turn off VMD: in the BIOS VMD menu, set Enable VMD controller to Disabled and save. ASUS's warning: the device can then no longer use RAID arrays.
According to ASUS, this driver is no longer needed on Lunar Lake and newer processors with Windows 11 24H2 and later.
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.