Can't get into BIOS

My Lenovo T430s bit the dust so I'm using my wife's until I get a new laptop. It's the same model. I switched her SSD out for mine so essentially it's my stuff for now. Odd issue though. I cannot access the bios. I've tried every key combination I can think of (splash screen says press Enter ) but it always boots straight to Windows 10. Sys info shows uefi but there's no option for it in the troubleshooting menu. Also, pressing F12 to get into the boot menu doesn't work (which it did on mine). Short of resetting the cmos (which I'd like to avoid). is there any way to fix this?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

BTW, I don;t absolutely need to get into the bios, it just bugs me that I can't.

OldGuyFromCdn said:

My Lenovo T430s bit the dust so I'm using my wife's until I get a new laptop. It's the same model. I switched her SSD out for mine so essentially it's my stuff for now. Odd issue though. I cannot access the bios. I've tried every key combination I can think of (splash screen says press Enter ) but it always boots straight to Windows 10. Sys info shows uefi but there's no option for it in the troubleshooting menu. Also, pressing F12 to get into the boot menu doesn't work (which it did on mine). Short of resetting the cmos (which I'd like to avoid). is there any way to fix this?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

BTW, I don;t absolutely need to get into the bios, it just bugs me that I can't.

To enter the BIOS on a Lenovo... it's either the F1 or the F2 key.

OldGuyFromCdn said:

Yeah, F1 worked on my other machine but neither F1 or F2 work one this one. I tried every other F key as well. Nothing. Fast start up is disabled so that's not the cause.

It may be that you're just not hitting the correct F-key fast enough.
With modern SSDs... I just turn on the computer and start gently spamming the correct key, maybe once a second, until I get into the BIOS.

I'm not a laptop person, but it might also be that you have to hit the Fn key to set your F-keys back to their normal function?

OldGuyFromCdn said:

Tried 2-3 times, didn't work. I also had a boot to bios shortcut that worked on the other laptop but not this one. Screen flashes briefly then nothing.

Oh well, as I said, I don't absolutely need to get to it so guess I'll leave it alone. Thanks for your help Ghot. Much appreciated.

Google found this...





Here's more...

How To Enter Bios On Lenovo Laptop T430? | Digi Effects

OldGuyFromCdn said:

Well, I'm off to bed so will look at these tomorrow.

Thanks again Ghot, really appreciate you're help.

- - - Updated - - -

Well, I've tried everything I can think of. F1, F2 etc, Function key plus F1, F2 etc, delete, escape, shortcuts, press repeatedly, press fast, press and hold while starting, command as admin and everything else. Still nothing. Very strange. All I see at the Lenovo splash screen is press Enter but that doesn't work either. I give up!

Might want to call Lenovo at this point. Sooner or later you will "need" to get into the BIOS.

Contact Us | Lenovo US

OldGuyFromCdn said:

I fixed it! Downloaded the Lenovo Vantage app and asked it to update everything. It updated the bios and uefi settings are back. Deleted the app when I was done.

Good job, and good of you to post the solution also.