How to access the Asus Boot Menu

The Asus Boot menu pops up when you simultaneously press the F8 key immediately after you press the power button on your laptop.
Turns out that you can do a lot of things using your boot menu including installing operating systems, booting to flash drive, CD, DVD, and Hard Disks.
Boot menu offers you the option to Secure Boot which offers protection against malware attacks during booting process. You can enable it in boot menu and in BIOS settings. We will see how to enable secure boot further in this article.

Let me briefly outline what you will see in this article. Starting with booting, we will move on to BIOS and Boot Menu. Next, we’ll learn how to access the Asus Boot Menu, how to boot from USB and how to disable/enable secure boot.

What is Booting?

Booting is a process of loading memory into the central processing unit(CPU) after we press the power button. This can be done either by the CPU’s hardware or by an independent processor on the computer.

What is the Boot Menu?

In the introduction part, we have seen a glimpse of what the boot menu can do. It has many more uses, e.g. you can select how you want to access your operating systems if you have two operating systems.

What is BIOS and how to access Asus BIOS settings?

The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System), is a program the microprocessor runs in order to turn on the computer when it is powered on. BIOS controls the data flow between the Operating System and all hardware, including the keyboard, mouse, and hard disk.

After the power button has been pressed, simultaneously press the F2 Key to access the Asus BIOS.

What is Boot Sequence?

The Boot Order also known as boot sequence allows the computer to check all devices, including USB & Hard Disk, on which the operating systems boot files are stored. It also indicates the order or sequence in which devices will be checked. BIOS settings can be used to change the Boot Order.

How do I open the boot menu on Asus Laptops?

1. As your laptop turns on, simultaneously press the F8 key on the Keyboard.

2. Use the arrow keys to navigate to the correct boot options. You must save your settings before you exit the boot menu.

How do I enable the F12 boot menu in Asus laptops?

F12 boot menu allows your PC to access the boot menu using the F12 key. Here’s how to enable F12 boot menu in Asus laptops:

1. To access the boot menu, simultaneously press the F8 key on your keyboard after the power button is pressed.

2. Use the right arrow keys to navigate to the Main menu tab.

3. Click the down arrow for the F12 boot menu.

4. Press Enter to switch from Disabled to Enabled.

5. Save the changes, then exit the boot menu.

Asus Boot using USB

The boot order in any laptop is set to hard disk by default. To boot from USB, you will need to modify the BIOS boot order priority list to USB instead of hard disk.

How do I change the boot order?

1. Turn off your laptop.

2. To get into the BIOS, press the F2 key simultaneously after your laptop/PC turns on.

3. Navigate to the Boot menu tab using the arrow keys.

4. Use the up-and-down arrow key to adjust the priority order of the boot. (Insert the USB target option first in the list)

5. Close the setup utility. Save your changes and exit BIOS.

How do I boot from USB?

These steps will allow you to boot from USB.

1. Connect the USB drive to your Asus laptop.

2. To access the BIOS menu, turn on your laptop while simultaneously pressing the F2 key.

3. Navigate to your boot order, and make the USB option priority on the boot priority lists.

4. Save changes and exit BIOS.

Asus Secure Boot

Secure Boot protects your laptops against malicious software and unauthorized media files when they start up.
Secure boot is a feature which allows authorized operating systems to boot in your PC. You can modify the certificates it uses to authorize the allowed operating systems in your PC.
You can enable/disable secure boot using BIOS settings.