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Dell™ PowerVault™ 715N Systems
User's Guide
Entering the BIOS Setup Utility
BIOS Setup Options
Updating the BIOS
Disabling a Forgotten Password
You can use the BIOS Setup utility as follows:
- To change the system configuration information after you add, change, or remove any
hardware in your system
- To set or change user-selectable options—for example, the time or date on your
system
- To enable or disable all integrated devices in your system
After you set up your system, run the BIOS Setup utility to become familiar with your system configuration information and optional settings. Dell recommends that you record the information for future reference.
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NOTE: To use the BIOS Setup utility, you must use the console redirection function on the serial
port. See "Entering the BIOS Setup Utility" for information about connecting to the system
through console redirection.
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To enter the BIOS Setup utility, perform the following steps:
- Using a null modem serial cable, connect the client system to the appliance.
- Turn on the client system and set up a Hyperterminal connection.
- Click the Start button and point to Programs—>Accessories—>Hyperterminal
—>Hyperterminal.
- Select 115200 for the Bits per second, 8 for Data Bits, None for Parity, 1 for Stop
Bits, and Xon\Xoff for Flow control.
- Restart the appliance.
- Press <F2> immediately after you see the following message:
Press <F2> to enter the Function Select menu
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NOTE: If you use a version of Microsoft® Windows® 2000 earlier than Service Pack 2,
the function keys do not work. You must press <Esc><2>.
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If you wait too long and your operating system begins to load into memory, allow the system to complete the load operation, and then shut down the appliance and try again.
- When the Function Select menu appears, press 6 to run the BIOS Setup utility.
If an error message appears on your screen while the system is booting, make a note of the message. Next, before entering the BIOS Setup utility, see "System Beep Codes" and "System Messages" in your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for an explanation of the message and suggestions for correcting any errors.
Table 2-1 lists the basic keys used to view or change information in the screens and to exit the program. The keys used to navigate screens in the appliance differ, depending on the version of the operating system installed on your console redirection client system.
Because of ANSI limitations, not all keys can be used with console redirection. Table 2-2 shows keystroke combinations used for the version of Windows on your client system.
Table 2-1. BIOS Setup Navigation Keys (Normal Operation)
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Keys
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Action
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Down arrow | Moves to the next field. |
Up arrow | Moves to the previous field. |
Space bar | Cycles through the settings in a field. In many fields, you can also type the appropriate value. |
<Esc> | Exits the BIOS Setup utility and reboots the system if any changes were made.
For most of the options, any changes you make are recorded but do not take effect until the next time you boot the system. For some options (as noted in the Help area), the changes take effect immediately. |
Table 2-2. Console Redirection Keys
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Normal Keys (As They Appear on the Keyboard)
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Keys Used for Windows 2000 Prior to Service Pack 2
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Keys Used for All Other Windows Operating Systems
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Home | <Esc><h> | <Esc><h> |
End | <Esc><k> | <Esc><k> |
Insert | <Esc><+> | <Esc><+> |
Delete | <Esc><-> | <Esc><-> |
Page Up | < Esc><?> | <Page Up> |
Page Down | <Esc></> | <Page Down> |
F1 | <Esc><1> | <F1> |
F2 | <Esc><2> | <F2> |
F3 | <Esc><3> | <F3> |
F4 | <Esc><4> | <F4> |
F5 | <Esc><5> | <Esc><5> |
F6 | <Esc><6> | <Esc><6> |
F7 | <Esc><7> | <Esc><7> |
F8 | <Esc><8> | <Esc><8> |
F9 | <Esc><9> | <Esc><9> |
F10 | <Esc><0> | <Esc><0> |
F11 | <Esc><!> | <Esc><!> |
F12 | <Esc><@> | <Esc><@> |
Up arrow | <Esc><w> | Up arrow |
Right arrow | <Esc><a> | Right arrow |
Left arrow | <Esc><d> | Left arrow |
Down arrow | <Esc><x> | Down arrow |
<Ctrl><Alt><Delete> | <Esc><Shift><r> <Esc><r> <Esc><Shift><r> OR <Esc><Shift><b> | <Esc><Shift><r> <Esc><r> <Esc><Shift><r> OR <Esc><Shift><b> |
This section provides information about using the BIOS Setup utility to change the default settings on your system.
When the BIOS Setup utility starts, the main program screen appears. The following options or information fields appear on the main BIOS Setup screen.
- Standard CMOS Setup — sets basic information, such as the date and time, the IDE
devices, and the diskette drives.
- Advanced CMOS Setup — enables you to make some changes to the basic operation
of the system, such as primary and secondary boot device and password check.
- Advanced Chipset Setup — enables you to make advanced changes to SDRAM,
DRAM, and memory size.
- Power Management Setup — sets parameters for power management operation.
- PCI/Plug and Play Setup — sets how the system handles plug-and-play devices and
PCI bus devices.
- Peripheral Setup — sets parameters for peripheral items on the system.
- Hardware Monitor Setup — sets hardware monitoring parameters so that the system
can warn you when critical parameters are exceeded. You can also view your system's
asset tag on this screen.
- Change Supervisor Password — enables you to set a supervisor password. See
"Updating the BIOS" for more information.
- Auto Configuration with Default Settings — automatically assigns the optimal
setting for all items in the BIOS Setup utility.
- Save Settings and Exit — saves any changes that you made in the BIOS Setup utility
and exits.
- Exit Without Saving — exits the BIOS Setup utility and does not save any changes
you made.
Use this screen to view and set basic information, such as date, time, and primary or secondary drives.
- Date and Time — sets the correct date and time for the system.
- Primary/Secondary Master/Slave — displays the characteristics of IDE 0 and IDE 1,
which are the first two drives of the system. The system automatically detects most
modern hard disks using the Auto-Detect Hard Disks option from the main menu.
See "Advanced CMOS Setup Screen," found later in this section, for information
about how this feature works.
If the system does not automatically detect a drive, find a preset type from 1 through 46 that matches your hard drive. If a preset does not exist, set the type to User and enter the characteristics of the drive in the specified columns.
- Boot Sector Virus Protection — provides protection against viruses that attack the
boot sector of a hard drive.
- Base/Extd Memory — displays the total amount of base and extended memory on
your system. The fields are display only.
Use this screen to make changes to the basic operation of your system.
- Clear DMI event logs — when set to Yes, clears the DMI event log, which is a log of
system events.
- Event Logging — enables the DMI event log.
- Mark DMI events as read — marks the events as read after you open them in the
event log.
- Memory Test — when enabled, verifies the amount of memory on your system when
you boot.
- 1st/2nd/3rd/4th Boot Device — determines where and in which order the system looks
for a bootable operating system each time it is started.
Use this screen to make changes to the system's memory settings.
- DRAM Integrity Mode — when enabled, allows BIOS to perform a parity/ECC check
to the POST memory tests.
Use this page to set parameters for system power management operation.
- Power Management/APM — allows operating systems that have advanced power
management (APM) to control some of the power management operations on the
system.
- System Thermal — when enabled, the system shuts down after exceeding the
Thermal Active Temperature threshold of 75°C or 167°F.
- Thermal Active Temperature — the temperature at which the system automatically
shuts down if System Thermal is enabled. This field is display only.
- Restore on AC/Power Loss — sets the power state after a shutdown caused by an
unexpected interruption of AC power. When the value is set to ON, the system turns
back on. If the value is set to OFF, the system remains off after the power interruption.
If the value is set to KEEP LAST, the system returns to the last power state.
Use this screen to set how the system handles plug-and-play devices and PCI bus devices.
- Clear NVRAM — when set to Yes, this option removes information in the
Non-Volatile Random Access Memory (NVRAM) about the configuration of
plug-and-play devices. The system creates new configuration information the next
time you boot.
- PCI Latency Timer (PCI Clocks) — allows the chipset to use an embedded, 32-bit
posted write buffer to support timed delay transaction cycles.
Use this screen to set parameters for peripheral items on the system.
- Onboard Serial Port 1 and Serial Port 2 — disables the serial ports or assigns a port
address and name to the ports. Dell recommends that you set the items to Auto so the
system can dynamically assign port addresses and names.
- Onboard IDE — enables or disables the primary and secondary IDE channels
installed on the system board.
- Console Redirect — enables and selects the serial port for console redirection. Use
C.R. Baud Rate to set a specific baud rate for the serial port and use C.R. Mode to
assign the console redirection function working only on POST or runtime mode.
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NOTE: Console redirection is enabled by default. However, if you disable it in the BIOS
Setup utility, you can re-enable it only by pressing the console redirection button on the
system board. See your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for information about
enabling console redirection.
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This screen, which is display only, shows the hardware monitoring parameters and the system's asset tag and service tag number. The system warns you when the monitoring parameters are exceeded.
Use this screen to set a supervisor password for the BIOS Setup utility. A supervisor has access to all features in the BIOS Setup utility.
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NOTE: The system password is disabled by default. Because the password is required to enter
the BIOS Setup utility, do not enable it unless security is a concern.
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To change a supervisor password, perform the following steps:
- Highlight Change Supervisor Password and press <Enter>.
- Enter a password in the dialog box that appears.
You can enter no more than six letters or numbers.
- Press <Enter>.
- To confirm, enter the password again in the dialog box that appears.
- Press <Enter>.
The password is required at boot time or when the user enters the BIOS Setup utility.
To install default settings for all features in the BIOS Setup utility, highlight this menu item and press <Enter>. When asked if you want to install default settings for all the items in the BIOS Setup utility, press <Y> and then press <Enter> to install the settings.
Highlight this item and press <Enter> to save any changes that you have made in the BIOS Setup utility and exit. When asked if you want to save the changes, press <Y> to save the changes and exit, or press <N> to return to the main menu.
Highlight this item and press <Enter> to discard any changes you made in the BIOS Setup utility and exit. When asked if you want to discard the changes, press <Y> to discard changes and exit, or press <N> to return to the main menu.
You should occasionally see http://support.dell.com to check if an updated BIOS is available for your system.
To upgrade the BIOS, perform the following steps:
- Download the most recent BIOS from http://support.dell.com.
- Using a null modem serial cable, connect the client system to the appliance.
- Turn on the client system and set up a Hyperterminal connection.
- Click the Start button and point to Programs—>Accessories—>Hyperterminal
—>Hyperterminal.
- Select 115200 for the Bits per second, 8 for Data Bits, None for Parity, 1 for Stop
Bits, and Xon\Xoff for Flow control.
- Restart the appliance.
- Press <F2> immediately after you see the following message:
Press <F2> to enter the Function Select menu
|
NOTE: If you use a version of Windows 2000 earlier than Service Pack 2, the function
keys do not work. You must press <Esc><2>.
|
If you wait too long and your operating system begins to load into memory, allow the system to complete the load operation, and then shut down the system and try again.
- When the Function Select menu appears, press 5 to update the BIOS Flash ROM.
- When a message appears asking if you want to update the BIOS, press <y>.
- When the message Flash System BIOS appears in the HyperTerminal window,
click Transfer, and then select Send File.
- When the Send File dialog appears, click Browse and select the downloaded BIOS file.
- Select XModem on the Protocol menu, and then click Send.
The client system sends the file to the appliance and automatically updates the BIOS. The appliance beeps four times, and then reboots.
If you forget your supervisor password, you cannot operate your system or change settings in the BIOS Setup utility until a trained service technician opens the system chassis, changes the password jumper setting to disable the password, and erases the existing password.
To disable the password, perform the following steps.
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CAUTION: See "Protecting Against Electrostatic Discharge" in the safety instructions of
your System Information document.
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- Turn off the system, including any attached peripherals, and disconnect the system
from the electrical outlet.
- Remove the cover, and then remove the battery.
See your Installation and Troubleshooting Guide for more information about removing the battery.
- Move the jumper plug from jumpers 1-2 and move it to jumpers 2-3 for no less than
5 seconds.
The jumpers are located next to the battery, with jumper 1 being closest to the battery and jumper 3 being the farthest from the battery.
- Move the jumper plug back to jumpers 1-2.
- Replace the battery and system cover.
- Reconnect the appliance to an electrical outlet and to the client system.
- Turn on the appliance.
The appliance beeps twice to indicate that the password has been cleared.
- If you want, enter a new supervisor password.
For information about assigning a password, see "Change Supervisor Password."
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