Re: Boot to BIOS

James Harris wrote:
This may be the wrong group to address this issue, but I have a family
member who has requested help--his computer is in a semi-paralyzed
state. He has a Dell Dimension E521 with Phoenix Award BIOS. The
problem is that he cannot enter anything from the keyboard. I
suggested a first attempt at a repair reinstall from his Windows XP
installation disk. He needs to set the boot sequence to boot from his
CD/DVD drive so he can boot from the installation disk. He says he
cannot get the computer to enter the BIOS System Setup from boot. He
has tried pressing F2 before the Dell splash screen, which should be
the correct key to press to interrupt the normal Windows boot
process. Any other suggestions as to how to get the computer into the
System Setup or a more relevant group to address this issue? Could
the USB keyboard and/or drivers be at fault and not even accepting
the F2 keystroke during boot?

I assume your family member is named Rob. :-)

According to the Owner's Manual, you need to press F12:

"When the DELLT logo appears, press <F12> immediately."

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/dime521/en/index.htm


.

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