what will happen if I lose power while in bios
If you lose power while you’re just in the BIOS setup screen, usually nothing permanent happens. Most of the time the machine will just shut off, and when power comes back it may boot with the same settings as before or, in some cases, reset any changes you hadn’t saved.
What can happen
- If you were only viewing settings, the risk is low. The BIOS itself is stored on firmware, so a sudden shutdown usually does not damage it.
- If you were changing settings and hadn’t saved yet, those changes are typically lost.
- If you were in the middle of a BIOS update/flash , that is much riskier because a power cut can corrupt the firmware and stop the motherboard from booting normally.
Signs of trouble
- No display or no boot.
- Repeated restart loops.
- BIOS-related error messages.
- Settings that keep resetting after each shutdown.
What to do next
- Turn the system back on and see whether it boots normally.
- If it fails, try a CMOS reset or the motherboard’s recovery method.
- If your board has BIOS Flashback or a similar recovery feature, that can sometimes restore a bad BIOS state.
- If it still will not boot, the board may need service or reflashing.
Practical advice
The big danger is not “being in BIOS” itself, but losing power during a firmware update. For that situation, a UPS and careful update process are the safest protection.
TL;DR: power loss in the BIOS menu is usually harmless; power loss during a BIOS update can brick the motherboard.