Dell Precision 390 - Manual (Page 9)

Boot Sequence
This feature allows you to change the boot sequence for devices.
Option Settings
l Onboard or USB Floppy 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.
l Onboard 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.
l Onboard or USB 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.
l USB 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.
Changing Boot Sequence for the Current Boot
You can use this feature, for example, to tell the computer to boot from the CD drive so that you can run the Dell Diagnostics (see Dell Diagnostics ) on the
Drivers and Utilities CD, but you want the computer to boot from the hard drive when the diagnostic tests are complete. You can also use this feature to restart
your computer to a USB device such as a floppy drive, memory key.
1. If you are booting to a USB device, connect the USB device to a USB connector.
2. Turn on (or restart) your computer.
3. 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 (see
Turn Off Your Computer ) and try again.
The Boot Device Menu appears, listing all available boot devices. Each device has a number next to it.
4. At the bottom of the menu, enter the number of the device that is to be used for the current boot only.
For example, if you are booting to a USB memory key, highlight USB Flash Device and press <Enter>.
Changing Boot Sequence for Future Boots
1. Enter system setup (see Entering System Setup ).
2. Use the arrow keys to highlight the Boot Sequence menu option and press <Enter> to access the pop- up menu.
3. Press the up- and down-arrow keys to move through the list of devices.
4. Press the spacebar to enable or disable a device (enabled devices have a checkmark).
5. Press plus (+) or minus (–) to move a selected device up or down the list.
Clearing Forgotten Passwords
press <F1> to continue or press <F2> to enter system setup. When set to Do Not Report (disabled), if an error is detected during
POST, the BIOS will not display the error message and will continue booting the computer.
POST Hotkeys Determines whether the sign -on screen displays a message stating the keystroke sequence that is required to enter system
setup or the Quickboot feature. Setup and Boot Menu displays both messages (F2=Setup and F12=Boot Menu). Setup displays the
setup message only (F2=Setup). Boot Menu displays the Quickboot message only (F12=Boot Menu). None displays no message.
NOTE: To boot to a USB device, the device must be bootable. To make sure your device is bootable, check the device documentation.
NOTE: If you are booting to a USB floppy drive, you must first set the floppy drive to OFF in system setup.
NOTE: To boot to a USB device, the device must be bootable. To make sure your device is bootable, check the device documentation.
NOTE: Write down your current boot sequence in case you want to restore it.