Boot to BIOS

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?

Thanks,
JamesH

What type of keyboard is connected? Some BIOSes can not be accessed by USB
(square) keyboards unless the BIOS is set up for "use legacy USB..." / 'Use
USB keyboard..." If the PC has a PS/2 (round) connector in the back, then you
may have to get a compatible keyboard for this.

On 26/03/2008 "James Harris" <msn@NOSPAMblackwoodconservation.org> 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?
>
>Thanks,
>JamesH
>
>
>
>
>
>

James Harris added these comments in the current discussion du jour
....

> 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?
>
On my PC, I have to press "Del" during a POST to get to BIOS setup.

--
HP, aka Jerry

"And, that's all I'm going to say about that" - Forrest Gump

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?
>
> Thanks,
> JamesH
>
>
>
>
>
>

What do you mean by "semi-paralyzed state"? Does it boot up normally
and permit mouse operations, but not accept *any* keyboard input?

Does he see the F2 prompt *after* the Dell logo is displayed and then
press F2 quickly? Note that this prompt may only appear on a cold start
(from power off), not on a warm re-boot.

If he "cannot enter anything from the keyboard" including the F2 needed
to get to the BIOS setup, that sounds like a bad keyboard or cable
(assuming nothing else of note has happened recently).

• Visually inspect the keyboard's connector and the jack on the computer
case for physical damage.
• Ensure that the keyboard cable is firmly connected to the computer.
• Shut down the computer, reconnect the keyboard cable and then restart
the computer.
• Try using different a USB jack (front vs. back of case)
• Remove keyboard extension cables and connect the keyboard directly to
the computer.

and finally,

• Connect a known working keyboard to the computer, and try using the
keyboard.


--
Lem -- MS-MVP

To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm

"HEMI-Powered" <none@none.en> wrote:

>On my PC, I have to press "Del" during a POST to get to BIOS setup.

Is your PC a Dell? I believe Dell computers do it differently.

Thanks for the initial suggestions. This is a Dell E521, and <F2> should
boot to BIOS, according to the manual which I found at the Dell Tech Support
site. This is an awkward discussion as I must call the computer owner by
phone and try to address all the troubleshooting suggestions and questions
offered. I will check if he can connect an old PS2 keyboard to the box as an
alternative keyboard and to do all the checks suggested on the current USB
keyboard. I believe he is using a Dell USB keyboard that shipped with the
system. He can boot normally into Windows, but can only input to the system
with the mouse. He can connect to the internet, but then cannot do any
interaction using the keyboard, so that is why I got involved as an
intermediary.

I'll respond more when I can get a response back from the computer owner.

Thanks again,
JamesH

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/edoc...1/en/index.htm

Daave wrote:
> 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/edoc...1/en/index.htm
>
>

Actually, F12 gives the boot menu (not a bad suggestion, because one
could select the CD drive to boot from by this technique, rather than
having to go into the BIOS), while F2 will enter the BIOS setup utility
(which was what the OP was suggesting his friend do).

In either case the user has to turn off the computer; turn it on; wait
until "F2 = Setup, F12 = Boot Menu" appears; and then press the
appropriate key.

--
Lem -- MS-MVP

To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm

I get the feeling either USB keyboard is broken or the USB port where KB is
connected to is faulty. Try a different USB port or different keyboard.

"James Harris" <msn@NOSPAMblackwoodconservation.org> wrote in message
news:%23GwA$E3jIHA.6032@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...
> Thanks for the initial suggestions. This is a Dell E521, and <F2> should
> boot to BIOS, according to the manual which I found at the Dell Tech
> Support site. This is an awkward discussion as I must call the computer
> owner by phone and try to address all the troubleshooting suggestions and
> questions offered. I will check if he can connect an old PS2 keyboard to
> the box as an alternative keyboard and to do all the checks suggested on
> the current USB keyboard. I believe he is using a Dell USB keyboard that
> shipped with the system. He can boot normally into Windows, but can only
> input to the system with the mouse. He can connect to the internet, but
> then cannot do any interaction using the keyboard, so that is why I got
> involved as an intermediary.
>
> I'll respond more when I can get a response back from the computer owner.
>
> Thanks again,
> JamesH
>

PD43 added these comments in the current discussion du jour ...

>>On my PC, I have to press "Del" during a POST to get to BIOS setup.
>
> Is your PC a Dell? I believe Dell computers do it differently.
>
Nope, I just made the comment in case the OP's PC used other than F2
seeing how they said they thought the keyboard wasn't working.

--
HP, aka Jerry

"And, that's all I'm going to say about that" - Forrest Gump