Computer users who have ever installed or reinstalled the Windows operating system are probably aware of the term BIOS as most of the time, we need to change the BIOS settings to enable boot from CD/DVD/USB. As you probably know, PC makers have been replacing the outdated BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) with the UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface).
UEFI features
UEFI offers more features when compared to the standard BIOS and solves many of the limitations of BIOS. For instance, unlike BIOS, UEFI systems boot faster and support hard disks with more than 2 TB. Almost all PCs shipped with Windows 10 support UEFI firmware.
If you aren’t sure whether your PC is booted into UEFI or legacy BIOS mode, you can go through your PC’s user manual or check the manufacturer’s website, but there is actually an easier way to check the current boot environment without using third-party tools.
How to access UEFI settings in Windows 10/11 guide might also be of interest to you.
Does your PC support UEFI?
Follow the given below instructions to check whether your PC is using BIOS or EFI/UEFI:
Step 1: Turn on the PC and sign in to your account.
Step 2: Open up the Windows installed drive (generally, it’s “C”).
Step 3: In your Windows 10/11 installation drive, open up the folder titled Windows, locate the folder named Panther, open it, and then open the text file titled Setupact in Notepad.
Step 4: Look for an entry named Detected Boot Environment. You can use Ctrl + F keys to quickly search for Detected Boot Environment. At the end of Detected Boot Environment, BIOS or UEFI will appear. If your PC supports UEFI, you’ll see Detected Boot Environment: UEFI or EFI. That’s it!
Hope this helps!