Using the System Setup Program
Viewing the System Setup Screens
Overview
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NOTE: Your operating system may automatically configure most of the options available in system setup, thus overriding options that you set through system setup. (An exception is the External Hot Key option, which you can disable or enable only through system setup.) For more information on configuring features for your operating system, see the Windows Help and Support Center. |
You can use system setup as follows:
- To set or change user-selectable features—for example, your computer password
- To verify information about the computer’s current configuration, such as the amount of system memory
After you set up the computer, run system setup to familiarize yourself with your system configuration information and optional settings. You may want to write down the information for future reference.
The system setup screens display the current setup information and settings for your computer, such as:
- System configuration
- Boot order
- Boot (start-up) configuration and docking-device configuration settings
- Basic device-configuration settings
- System security and hard-drive password settings
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NOTICE: Unless you are an expert computer user or are directed to do so by Dell technical support, do not change the system setup settings. Certain changes might make your computer work incorrectly. |
Viewing the System Setup Screens
- Turn on (or restart) your computer.
- When the DELL™ logo appears, press <F2> immediately. If you wait too long and the Windows logo appears, continue to wait until you see the Windows desktop. Then shut down your computer and try again.
System Setup Screen
The System Setup screen consists of three panes. The left pane contains a menu of control categories. To show or hide subcategories, select a category (such as System, Onboard Devices, or Video) and press the <Enter> key. The right pane displays information about the category or subcategory.
The bottom pane describes how to control system setup with key functions. Use the keys to select a category, modify settings, or exit system setup.
Commonly Used Options
Certain options require that you reboot the computer for new settings to take effect.
Changing the Boot Sequence
The boot sequence, or boot order, tells the computer where to look to find the software needed to start the operating system. You can control the boot sequence and enable/disable devices using the Boot Order page of system setup.
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NOTE: To change the boot sequence on a one-time-only basis, see “Performing a One-Time Boot.” |
The Boot Order page displays a general list of the bootable devices that may be installed in your computer, including but not limited to the following:
During the boot routine, the computer starts at the top of the list and scans each enabled device for the operating system start-up files. When the computer finds the files, it stops searching and starts the operating system.
To control the boot devices, select (highlight) a device by pressing the down-arrow or up-arrow key, and then enable or disable the device or change its order in the list.
- To enable or disable a device, highlight the item and press the space bar. Enabled items appear as white and display a small triangle to the left; disabled items appear blue or dimmed without a triangle.
- To reorder a device in the list, highlight the device and then press <u> or <d> (not case-sensitive) to move the highlighted device up or down.
Boot sequence changes take effect as soon as you save the changes and exit system setup.
Performing a One-Time Boot
You can set a one-time-only boot sequence without entering system setup. (You can also use this procedure to boot the Dell Diagnostics on the diagnostics utility partition on your hard drive.)
- Shut down the computer through the Start menu.
- If the computer is connected to a docking device (docked), undock it. See the documentation that came with your docking device for instructions.
- Connect the computer to an electrical outlet.
- Turn on the computer. When the DELL logo appears, press <F12> immediately. If you wait too long and the Windows logo appears, continue to wait until you see the Windows desktop. Then shut down your computer and try again.
- When the boot device list appears, highlight the device from which you want to boot and press <Enter>.
The computer boots to the selected device.
The next time you reboot the computer, the previous boot order is restored.
Changing Printer Modes
Set the Parallel Mode option according to the type of printer or device connected to the parallel connector. To determine the correct mode to use, see the documentation that came with the device.
Setting Parallel Mode to Disabled disables the parallel port and the port’s LPT address, which frees computer resources for another device to use.
Changing COM Ports
Serial Port allows you to map the serial port COM address or disable the serial port and its address, which frees computer resources for another device to use.
Enabling the Infrared Sensor
- Under Onboard Devices, select Fast IR.
- Press <Enter> to select the Fast IR setting, and use the right-arrow or left-arrow keys to change the setting to a COM port.
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NOTE: The default setting is Off. |
After you enable the infrared sensor, you can use it to establish a link to an infrared device. To set up and use an infrared device, see the infrared device documentation and the Windows Help and Support Center.