Commonly used options, Changing the boot sequence, Performing a one-time boot – Dell Latitude D500 User Manual

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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 using the Boot Order page of the system setup program.

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:

Diskette Drive

Modular bay HDD

Internal HDD

CD/DVD/CD-RW drive

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

or

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

. Enabled items appear as white and

display a small triangle to their left; disabled items appear blue or dimmed without a triangle.

To reorder a device in the list, highlight the device and then press

or

(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 the system setup program.

Performing a One-Time Boot

You can set a one-time-only boot sequence without entering the system setup program. (You can also use this procedure to

boot the Dell Diagnostics on the diagnostics utility partition on your hard drive.)

1. Shut down the computer.

2. Connect the computer to an electrical outlet.

3. Turn on the computer. When the DELL logo appears, press

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.

4. When the boot device list appears, highlight the device from which you want to boot and press

.

The computer boots to the selected device.

The next time you reboot the computer, the normal boot order is restored.

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