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Acer Aspire A517 - Insyde Bios - Secret Keys?
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Hi guys!
I recently bought an Acer Aspire laptop (A517-51G-55G9) and a weird thing just happened......
I needed to get into the BIOS and change something, I couldn't remember which F-Key got me into the BIOS, so I just started hitting everything from escape to F12 etc and then, finally, up comes the BIOS.....
But here's the weird part. When I was last in the BIOS it was really stripped down - everything useful was hidden. This time, the entire BIOS was exposed. And I mean everything. Pages and pages of screens with really arcane settings that I have no clue as to what they do. You could overclock it, overclock the memory, change every little bit of the processor power management, change which GPU it uses - I mean, TONS of options.
So I re-start the computer, go back into the BIOS (to see if it's still the same) and no, it's back to the lame factory screens.
The only thing that could cause this would have been that I entered some kind of 'secret' key setting when I got into the BIOS the first time. I knew I should have taken pictures of the screens because you would not believe what was exposed.
So my question is, have I stumbled onto something that lots of people already know about, and if so, what are the magic keystrokes that I entered in when I got the full options screens? What is the secret key(s)?
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Try holding shift + enter and tapping F2. That got me into manufacture mode in my insyde bios on my Acer Aspire 5 A517-51G-55G9. Let me know if this unlocks those advanced settings that you found before. If not, let me know too. Also, did you find the key combination for these advanced settings? All I could find was manufacture mode. Thanks! =) - Nights.
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(03-07-2018, 12:17 AM)Nights Wrote: Try holding shift + enter and tapping F2. That got me into manufacture mode in my insyde bios on my Acer Aspire 5 A517-51G-55G9. Let me know if this unlocks those advanced settings that you found before. If not, let me know too. Also, did you find the key combination for these advanced settings? All I could find was manufacture mode. Thanks! =) - Nights.
Tx for the reply I tried your suggestion and it did get me into manufacture mode! However, this is not the mode I saw. The mode I saw was so advanced it was unreal. You could control everything, overclock/underclock everything and it seemed there were thousands of options. I should have taken pictures of it with my phone because no-one here would believe it. It unlocked and exposed every thing. I did not know what even 25% of the options did. It was incredibly granular. You could change anything - period.
I took a bit of time to see if I could find the magic keystrokes again. I haven't found it yet but I did find that the up arrow on the left side (along with F2) caused it to also go to manufacturer mode.
When I stumbled on the exposed settings I was trying to get into the bios after having forgotten which F-key it was. So I would guess I hit something-F2.
But I will say this, no-one here would believe the options that were exposed. Everything. Literally. It is likely an Insyde-only secret keystroke given that the manufacturer-specific BIOS has [censored] in it.
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03-07-2018, 10:09 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-07-2018, 10:10 PM by Nights.)
It's pretty cool that you found that. It's too bad that they keep us locked out of those settings & insyde doesn't give support to consumers. If you do happen on it again, let us know.
Do you remember if you hit only f1 to f12, if the combination was only on the left hand side of the keyboard, or right hand side or both? Did you use two hands, or one to get into the settings? Like f2 + f12 ( only f keys? ) maybe the key fn? Or perhaps f2 + K? ( I don't think any of those would do anything, I'm just trying to jog your memory. ) I don't have an idea on what you might've pressed so that I may experiment on key strokes more.
What I did was take a plastic card from a store, and move it all along the keyboard. That's how I found the shift + enter combination. I think if I was more thorough doing it like checking different keystrokes based on a rough idea of what you pressed then maybe we might find something.
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03-07-2018, 10:13 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-07-2018, 10:13 PM by marvin-miller.)
(03-07-2018, 10:09 PM)Nights Wrote: It's pretty cool that you found that. It's too bad that they keep us locked out of those settings & insyde doesn't give support to consumers. If you do happen on it again, let us know.
Do you remember if you hit only f1 to f12, if the combination was only on the left hand side of the keyboard, or right hand side or both? Did you use two hands, or one to get into the settings? Like f2 + f12 ( only f keys? ) maybe the key fn? Or perhaps f2 + K? ( I don't think any of those would do anything, I'm just trying to jog your memory. ) I don't have an idea on what you might've pressed so that I may experiment on key strokes more.
What I did was take a plastic card from a store, and move it all along the keyboard. That's how I found the shift + enter combination. I think if I was more thorough doing it like checking different keystrokes based on a rough idea of what you pressed then maybe we might find something.
It should be that I hit a F-key combination. I knew that to get into the BIOS it required an F-Key and I could not remember which one it was. This is what led to my inadvertently discovering the while BIOS. It was really wild, had overclocking settings for memory and for each processor core and a ton of stuff that I could not fathom. It would be worth finding it again - but it is there. When you see it, you will be shocked.
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03-07-2018, 11:07 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-08-2018, 11:21 PM by Nights.)
Do you know what kind of f-key combination? Was it one key + an f-key, or two keys & an f-key? Or more keys? Do you remember any of it? It would help me find it for us both. It does sound something worth while to find by the way that you describe it. I need to disable my graphics which the original bios doesn't have.
I think if we worked together & kept a log of what key presses that we've tried that maybe we can find these settings again? I'm sorry if I am asking for too much. .-.
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Do you think that you might have pressed some keys while you were in the stripped down bios that could have enabled the hidden bios with all those features? I saw a YouTube video where someone pressed fn + tab 3 times while they were in a stripped down bios, and then when they exited & saved the bios, & then went back into the bios for a second time, the advanced menu was there.
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(03-08-2018, 11:27 PM)Nights Wrote: Do you think that you might have pressed some keys while you were in the stripped down bios that could have enabled the hidden bios with all those features? I saw a YouTube video where someone pressed fn + tab 3 times while they were in a stripped down bios, and then when they exited & saved the bios, & then went back into the bios for a second time, the advanced menu was there.
No, it wasn't that. It was simply a case of not remembering what the F-key was to get into the BIOS and then hitting them as the system started up. I guess I lucked out! It shouldn't be that hard to find it again (unless one of my fingers hit something unintentional)
I was going to tell you though, I'm pretty sure it was a secret combo for the Insyde BIOS people to access everything. It was nothing like I had ever seen before and I've built at least 100 custom systems for customers in past years. I mean, literally EVERYTHING was adjustable.
I had a feeling I should take pictures of it when I was in there - I'm sorry I didn't! It would have freaked out everyone here.
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Thanks for the reply. I see now. I did some more testing, I tried every key ( one key each time ) with f2, and didn't get the menu. Then I tried shift ( because that gets you into manufacturer mode ) + all keys ( one key each time ) + f2, and I didn't get the menu. I did find something though, the keys ctrl, alt & s ( when holding shift & s +f2 ) do not work at all. I was thinking that s could stand for super & maybe could get into the menu. I'm not sure.
I also found that it is not shift + enter, but just right shift to get into manufacturer mode too.
Yes, pictures would've been nice. It would've been cool to see, & it could have possibly helped to get back into the menu.
Cheers mate! =)
- Nights.
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10-16-2023, 12:01 PM
(This post was last modified: 10-16-2023, 12:04 PM by VasyaHP2007.)
Hello everyone! I know the topic has been inactive for a long time, but I would like to share my result about the developer mode on another device (laptop). When trying to boot into the BIOS with the Right Shift and F2 keys pressed, a strange thing happens: sometimes the F2 key is simply ignored and the system is loaded, and sometimes only the BIOS is loaded (normal, without hidden settings), but the developer mode is never loaded.
I'll tell you right away, because it can be important. I have the Insyde 3.0 BIOS version, which one is on the Acer Aspire (A517-51G-55G9) I have no idea. I use a laptop: TOSHIBA Satellite L300-14X. It may not be on my laptop at all (developer mode).
What can I say about this (developer mode)? I am unlucky with my laptop or I do something not right? I will look forward to hearing from you!
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