To change the system configuration information after you add, change, or remove any hardware in your computer
To set or change a user-selectable option such as the user password
To read the current amount of memory or set the type of hard drive installed
Before you use system setup, you must know the kind of floppy drive(s) and hard drive(s) installed in your computer. It is recommended that you write down the system setup screen information for future reference.
NOTICE: Unless you are an expert computer user, do not change the settings for this program.
Certain changes can make your computer work incorrectly.
Entering System Setup
Viewing Settings
Turn on (or restart) your computer.
When the blue DELL™ logo appears, press <F2> immediately.
If you wait too long and the operating system logo appears, continue to wait until you see the Microsoft® Windows® desktop. Then shut down your computer and try again.
System Setup Screens
System setup screens display the current configuration information for your computer. Information on the screen is divided into five areas:
Title — The box at the top of all screens that lists the computer name.
Computer data — Two boxes below the title box that display your computer processor, L2 cache, Service Tag, and the version number of the BIOS.
Options — A scrollable box listing options that define the configuration of your computer, including installed hardware, power conservation, and security features.
Fields to the right of the option titles contain settings or values. When <Enter> appears to the right of an option title, press <Enter> to access a pop-up menu of additional options.
Help — A feature that gives you information on the option that is selected (highlighted) when you press <F1>.
Key functions — A line of boxes across the bottom of all screens that lists keys and their functions within system setup.
Keys
Action
<Tab> or down arrow
Moves to the next field.
<Shift>, <Tab> or up arrow
Moves to the previous field.
back arrow or forward arrow
Cycles through the options in a field. In many fields, you can also type the appropriate value.
<Page Down> or <Page Up>
Scrolls through help information.
<Enter>
Enters the selected field's pop-up options menu.
spacebar, <=> or <->
In the selected field's pop-up options menu, cycles through the options in a field.
<Alt> <x>
Exits system setup without restarting the computer and returns the computer to the boot routine.
<Alt> <b>
Exits system setup and restarts the computer, implementing any changes you have made.
<Alt> <d>
Resets the selected option to the default setting.
<Alt> <f>
Restores all system settings to the default configuration.
System Setup Options
NOTE: Depending on your computer and installed devices, the items listed in this section may or
may not appear.
Drive Configuration
Diskette Drive A
Identifies the floppy drive attached to the DSKT connector on the system board. With the standard cabling configuration, Diskette Drive A (the boot floppy drive) is the 3.5-inch floppy drive installed in the top externally accessible drive bay. The two options are 3.5 Inch, 1.44 MB and Not Installed.
Tape drives are not reflected in the Diskette Drive A option. For example, if a single floppy drive and a tape drive are attached to the floppy drive interface cable, set Diskette Drive A to 3.5 Inch, 1.44 MB.
SATA Primary Drive
Identifies the serial ATA hard drive attached to the SATA1 connector on the system board.
SATA Secondary Drive
Identifies the serial ATA hard drive attached to the SATA2 connector on the system board (not available on the small form-factor computer).
Primary Drive 0
Identifies the IDE hard drive attached to the IDE1 connector on the system board.
Primary Drive 1
Identifies the IDE device attached to the IDE2 connector on the system board.
Secondary Drive 0
Identifies the device that is cabled with the drive on the IDE1 data cable.
Secondary Drive 1
Identifies the device that is cabled with the device on the IDE2 data cable.
IDE Drive UDMA
Sets the mode for all installed hard drives.
NOTE: You must have an IDE device connected to the
primary IDE interface if you have an IDE device
connected to the secondary IDE interface.
If you have a problem, see "Hard Drive Problems" in your Owner's Manual.
Hard-Disk Drive Sequence
If you insert a boot device and restart, this option appears in the system setup menu.
System BIOS boot device
USB Device
To boot from a USB memory device, select the USB device and move it so it becomes the first device in the list.
Boot Sequence
Normal
(This option is available only for the current boot process.) The computer attempts to boot from the sequence of devices specified in system setup.
Diskette Drive
The computer attempts to boot from the floppy drive. If the floppy disk in the drive is not bootable, or if no floppy disk is in the drive, the computer generates an error message.
Hard Drive
The computer attempts to boot from the primary hard drive. If no operating system is on the drive, the computer generates an error message.
CD Drive
The computer attempts to boot from the CD drive. If no CD is in the drive, or if no operating system is on the CD, the computer generates an error message.
PXE
(This option is available only for the future boot process.) As the computer boots, it prompts the user to press <Ctrl><Alt><b>. Pressing this key combination causes a menu to display that allows you to select a method for booting from a network server. If a boot routine is not available from the network server, the computer attempts to boot from the next device in the boot sequence list.
USB Flash Device
Insert the memory device into a USB port and restart the computer. When F12 = Boot Menu appears in the upper-right corner of the screen, press <F12>. The BIOS detects the device and adds the USB flash option to the boot menu.
NOTE: To boot to a USB device, the device must be
bootable. To ensure that your device is bootable, check
the device documentation.
Memory Information
Indicates amount of installed memory, computer memory speed, amount of video memory, size of the display cache, and channel mode (dual or single).
Installed System Memory
Displays the amount of installed system memory.
System Memory Speed
Displays the speed of your system memory.
System Memory Channel Mode
Displays the mode of your system memory.
AGP Aperture
Displays the amount of aperture memory. The default setting is 128 MB.
CPU Information
CPU Speed
The processor speed at which the computer boots.
Press the left- or right-arrow key to toggle the CPU Speed option between the resident processor's rated speed (the default speed) and a lower-compatibility speed. A change to this option takes effect immediately and no restart is necessary.
To toggle between the rated processor speed and the compatibility speed while the computer is running in real mode, press <Ctrl><Alt><\>. (For keyboards that do not use American English, press <Ctrl><Alt><#>.)
Bus Speed
The speed of the processor's system bus.
Processor ID
The manufacturer's identification code(s) for the installed processor.
Clock Speed
The core speed at which the processor(s) can operate.
Cache Size
The size of the processor's L2 cache.
Hyper-Threading
The setting that allows you to enables or disable Hyper-Threading technology for operating systems that support Hyper-Threading. The default setting is Disabled.
NOTE: If your computer has a processor capable of supporting Hyper-Threading,
the Hyper-Threading option is the first selection in the list.
Integrated Devices (Legacy Select Options)
Configures the following devices integrated with the system board:
Sound
The settings are On (default) or Off.
Network Interface Controller
The settings are On (default), Off, or On w/ PXE.
Mouse Port
The settings are On or Off.
USB Emulation
The settings are On (default) and Off.
USB Controller
The settings are On (default) or Off.
PCI Slots
The settings are Enabled (default) and Disabled.
Serial Port 1 and Serial Port 2
The settings are Off and Auto (default). (Serial Port 2 appears as an option if you have a serial port card installed.)
Auto automatically configures a connector to a particular designation (COM1 or COM3 for Serial Port 1; COM2 or COM4 for Serial Port 2).
If you set a serial connector to Auto and then add a card that is also set to Auto, the computer automatically remaps the integrated port to the next available connector designation that shares the same IRQ setting as follows:
COM1 (I/O address 3F8h), which shares IRQ4 with COM3, is remapped to COM3 (I/O address 3E8h).
COM2 (I/O address 2F8h), which shares IRQ3 with COM4, is remapped to COM4 (I/O address 2E8h).
NOTE: When two COM connectors share an IRQ
setting, you can use either connector as necessary, but
you may not be able to use both connectors at the same
time.
Parallel Port
The settings are Mode, I/O Address, and DMA Channel:
Mode settings are PS/2 (default), EPP, ECP, AT, or Off. Set the Mode option according to the type of device connected to the parallel connector. To determine the correct mode to use, see the documentation that came with the device.
I/O Address settings are 378h (default), 278h, or 3BCh. The settings are not available when Mode is set to Off.
NOTE: You cannot set the parallel connector to 3BCh
if Mode is set to EPP.
DMA Channel appears only when Mode is set to ECP. Settings are DMA 1, DMA 3, or Off.
IDE Drive Interface
The settings are Off and Auto (default).
Auto turns off the IDE interface (when necessary) to accommodate a controller card installed in an expansion slot.
Diskette Interface
The settings are Auto (default), Read Only, and Off.
Auto turns off the integrated floppy drive controller when necessary to accommodate a controller card installed in an expansion slot.
Read Only prevents the computer's integrated floppy drive controller from writing to floppy drives and also activates the Auto setting.
PC Speaker
The settings are On (default) and Off.
Primary Video Controller
The settings are Auto (default) and Onboard.
Auto (default) — If only an AGP card is installed, the computer uses the AGP card; if only a PCI card is installed, the computer uses the PCI card; if both AGP and PCI cards are installed, the computer uses both cards.
Onboard — The computer uses the AGP card.
Onboard Video Buffer
The settings are 1 MB (default) and 8 MB.
Power Management
Suspend Mode
The options are S1 or S3.
AC Power Recovery
Determines what happens when AC power is restored to the computer.
Off (default) — The computer remains off when AC power is restored.
On — The computer starts when AC power is restored.
Last — The computer returns to the AC power state existing at the time that AC power was lost.
Low Power Mode
The settings are Enabled and Disabled.
See "Power Problems" in your Owner's Manual for more information.
System Security
Display system security options when you press <Enter>.
Keyboard NumLock
The settings are On and Off (these settings do not apply to 84-key keyboards).
On (default)
Activates the rightmost bank of keys so that they provide the mathematical and numeric functions shown at the top of each key.
Off
Activates the rightmost bank of keys so that they provide the cursor-control functions shown by the label on the bottom of each key.
Report Keyboard Errors
Displays keyboard errors when set to Report. The default setting is Report.
Auto Power On
Sets time and days of week to automatically turn on the computer. Choices are every day or every Monday through Friday.
Time is kept in a 24-hour format (hours:minutes). Change the start-up time by pressing the right- or left-arrow key to increase or decrease the numbers, or type numbers in both the date and time fields.
The default setting is Disabled.
This feature does not work if you turn off your computer using a power strip or surge protector.
Fastboot
On (default)
Your computer starts more quickly, skipping certain configurations and tests.
Off
Your computer does not skip certain configurations and tests during the boot process.
OS Install mode
Turns the OS Install mode on and off. The default setting is Off.
IDE Hard Drive Acoustics Mode
The acoustics mode field may contain the following options:
Quiet
The hard drive operates in its quietest setting.
Performance
The hard drive operates at its maximum speed.
NOTE: Switching to performance mode may cause the
drive to be noisier, but its performance is not affected.
Bypass (default)
Your computer does not test or change the current acoustics mode setting.
Suggested
The hard drive operates at the level suggested by the hard drive manufacturer.
NOTE: Changing the acoustics setting does not alter
your hard drive image.
System Event Log
Displays the system event log when you press <Enter>.
Asset Tag
Displays the customer-programmable asset tag number for the computer if an asset tag number is assigned.
Boot Sequence
This feature allows you to change the boot sequence for devices.
Option Settings
Normal — (Available only for the current boot process) The computer attempts to boot from the sequence of devices specified in system setup.
Diskette Drive — The computer attempts to boot from the floppy drive. If the floppy disk in the drive is not bootable, or if no floppy disk is in the drive, the computer generates an error message.
Hard Drive — The computer attempts to boot from the primary hard drive. If no operating system is on the drive, the computer generates an error message.
CD Drive — The computer attempts to boot from the CD drive. If no CD is in the drive, or if the CD has no operating system, the computer generates an error message.
PXE — (Available only for the future boot process) As the computer boots, it prompts the user to press <Ctrl><Alt><b>. Pressing this key combination causes a menu to display that allows you to select a method for booting from a network server. If a boot routine is not available from the network server, the system attempts to boot from the next device in the boot sequence list.
USB Flash Device — Insert the memory device into a USB port and restart the computer. When F12 = Boot Menu appears in the upper-right corner of the screen, press <F12>. The BIOS detects the device and adds the USB flash option to the boot menu.
NOTE: To boot to a USB device, the device must be bootable. To make sure your device is
bootable, check the device documentation.
Changing Boot Sequence for the Current Boot
You can use this feature, for example, to restart your
computer from a USB device, such as a floppy drive, memory key, or CD-RW drive.
Turn on (or restart) your computer.
When F2 = Setup, F12 = Boot Menu appears in the upper-right corner of the
screen, press <F12>.
If you wait too long and the operating system logo appears, continue to wait until you see the Microsoft Windows desktop. Then shut down your computer and try again.
The Boot Device Menu appears, listing all available boot devices. Each device has a number next to it.
At the bottom of the menu, enter the number of the device that is to be used for the
current boot only.
