 |
Main Screen | |
Power Screen |
|
Advanced Screen | |
Boot Screen |
|
Security Screen | |
Exit Screen |
Main Screen
Table 1. Main Screen Options
| Option | Function |
| System Time | Sets the computer to the time you specify (usually the current time) in 24-hour format. Type the appropriate information. Use the tab key to move between the hours, minutes, and seconds fields. This option is useful if you travel between time zones. |
| System Date | Sets the computer to the date you specify (usually the current date). Type the appropriate information. Use the tab key to move between the month, day, and year fields. |
| Diskette A, Diskette B | Identifies the primary 3.5-inch diskette drive installed in the external media bay or attached to the parallel port. Diskette Drive B identifies a second 3.5-inch diskette drive, if installed. |
| IDE Adapter 0 Master | Identifies the hard-disk drive installed in your computer. No user-selectable settings are available for this option. |
| IDE Adapter 1 Master | Identifies an integrated drive electronics (IDE) device (such as a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive) attached to the media bay connector through the media bay cable. |
| PS/2 Pointing Device | Auto Detect (the default) allows the basic input/output system (BIOS) to detect and enable an external Personal System (PS)/2 mouse (if attached) or enable the touch pad. Enabled enables the touch pad only.Disabled allows the use of a serial mouse. |
| Summary Screen | When Summary Screen is Enabled (the default), a Phoenix BIOS Setup Utility summary screen appears during system boot after the power-on self-test (POST). The summary screen lists many of the system setup settings. When this option is set to Disabled, the summary screen does not appear. |
| Quiet Boot | When this option is set to Enabled (the default), the POST messages and summary screen do not appear at system start-up, and you cannot choose a boot device as the system initializes. When this option is set to Disabled, the POST messages and summary screen do appear at system start-up. |
| System Memory | Displays the base amount of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) installed in the computer. Each computer has 640 kilobytes (KB) of base memory. This option has no user-selectable settings. |
| Extended Memory | Displays the total amount of memory above 1 megabyte (MB). Each computer comes with at least 64 MB of memory installed. This option has no user-selectable settings. |
Advanced Screen
Table 2. Advanced Screen Options
| Option | Function |
| I/O Device Configuration | Select this option and press <Enter> to display the I/O Device Configuration submenu. |
| L2 Cache | Sets the level-2 (L2) cache to Enabled (the default) or Disabled. |
| Plug & Play O/S | Options are Yes (the default) and No. Set this option to Yes unless your computer is running a non-Microsoft operating system such as Linux. |
| Large Disk Access Mode | Options are DOS (the default) and Other. Set this option to DOS unless your computer is running a non-Microsoft operating system such as Linux. |
| External Hot-Key | Lets you use the <Scroll Lock> key on the external keyboard the same way you use the <Fn> key on the computer's keyboard. Set this option to Scroll Lock (the default) if you are using an external keyboard. Set this option to Disabled to disable this function on the external keyboard. |
| Display Device Selection | Specifies whether the screen image will appear on the computer display, an attached external monitor, or both. Options are LCD (the display), CRT (an external monitor), and LCD/CRT. If this option is set to CRT but no external monitor is connected, the screen image appears on the computer display. |
| Display Mode | Allows you to switch between Standard and Expanded mode. Under Expanded mode, resolutions other than 800 x 600 expand to fill the screen. |
I/O Device Configuration Submenu
Table 3. I/O Device Configuration Submenu Options
| Option | Function |
| Serial port A | Lets you map
the address of the serial port to avoid address conflicts with other
devices or disable the port for security. Dell recommends that you
retain Auto (the default) to allow the operating system
or the BIOS to configure the port automatically. Other options are Disabled,
which disables the serial port, and Enabled.
To enter a custom configuration, set Serial port A to Enabled and then configure Base I/O Address. |
| Serial port: Base I/O Address | Appears only
if Serial port A is set to Enabled.
Allows you to configure the base address and interrupt request (IRQ).
Options are:
|
| Parallel port | Controls
whether the computer's parallel port acts as an advanced technology
(AT)-compatible unidirectional, a PS/2-compatible bidirectional, an
Enhanced Parallel Port (EPP)-compatible, or an Extended Capabilities
Port (ECP)-compatible port. Dell recommends that you retain Auto
(the default) to allow the operating system or the BIOS to configure the
port automatically. Other options are Disabled, which
disables the parallel port, and Enabled.
To enter a custom configuration, set Parallel Port to Enabled and then configure Mode, Base I/O Address, and DMA channel. |
| Parallel port: Mode | Appears only
if Parallel port is set to Enabled or Auto.
Lets you specify the operating mode of the parallel port. Options are:
If you select ECP mode, you can also select the DMA Channel. |
| Parallel port: Base I/O Address | Appears only
if Parallel port is set to Enabled.
Lets you configure the base address and IRQ. Options are:
|
| Parallel Port: DMA Channel | If Parallel
port: Mode is set to ECP, you can use Parallel
port: DMA Channel to select the DMA channel. Options are:
|
| Local bus IDE controller | Enables the integrated local-bus IDE interface. Options are Both (the default), Disabled, Primary, or Secondary. If Both is selected, you can access both the hard-disk drive and an external IDE storage device attached to the media bay connector. If Primary is selected, only the hard-disk drive is accessible. |
| Modem | Options are Auto (the default) and Disabled. Setting Modem to Auto automatically configures the internal modem. |
| LAN | Options are Auto (the default) and Disabled. Setting LAN to Auto automatically configures the integrated network interface controller (NIC). |
Security Screen
Table 4. Security Screen Options
| Option | Function |
| HD Password is: | Indicates whether a password has been assigned for the hard-disk drive. Settings are Set and Clear. This option has no user-selectable settings. |
| User Password is: | Indicates whether a user password has been assigned. Settings are Set and Clear. This option has no user-selectable settings. |
| Supervisor Password is: | Indicates whether a supervisor password has been assigned. Settings are Set and Clear. This option has no user-selectable settings. |
| Set HD Password | To set a hard-disk drive password, select Set HD Password and press <Enter>. Enter the new password and confirm it by entering it a second time as instructed. |
| Set User Password | To set a user password, select Set User Password and press <Enter>. Enter the new password and confirm it by entering it a second time as instructed. |
| Set Supervisor Password | To set a supervisor password, select Set Supervisor Password and press <Enter>. Enter the new password and confirm it by entering it a second time as instructed. |
| Password on Boot | To prompt for a password at system startup, select Enabled (the default). Otherwise, select Disabled. |
| Diskette access | Specifies which level of password is required to access the diskette drive. Select Supervisor or User. |
Power Screen
 |
NOTE:In the Microsoft® Windows® 98 operating system, if you change settings in the Power Management Properties window in the Control Panel, you override settings in the Power screen of the system setup program. You must enable power management and set timeouts in the Power Management Properties window, not in the system setup program. |
Table 5. Power Screen Options
| Option | Function |
| Power Switch Mode | Allows you to
specify whether the power button operates in On/Off or Suspend/Resume
mode.
When set to On/Off, the power button turns the computer on and off. When set to Suspend/Resume, the power button suspends or resumes the computer. |
| PM Control | Enables or disables all power management features for the battery only or for both the battery and the AC power adapter.AC/Battery enables the power management features regardless of power source. Battery Only (the default) enables power management features only while the computer is running on battery power. Disabled completely disables the power management features. |
| Power Management | Allows you to
select from three power management timeout strategies:
|
| Video Timeout | Sets an
inactivity timeout period for the keyboard, touch pad, and PS/2
mouse.After the specified period of inactivity (if one is set) the
display and backlight power down. The display and backlight power up
again at the first attempt to access the keyboard, touch pad, PS/2
mouse, or display memory. Settings are Off, 30
Minutes, 20 Minutes, 15 Minutes,
10 Minutes, 5 Minutes, 2
Minutes.
NOTE:You can set this timeout only if Power Management is set to Customized. |
| Hard Disk Timeout | Sets an
inactivity timeout period for the hard-disk drive. After the specified
period of inactivity (if one is set) the hard-disk spindle motor powers
down. The motor starts up again at the first attempt to access the
hard-disk drive. Settings are Off, 30 Minutes,
20 Minutes, 10 Minutes, 5
Minutes, and 2 Minutes.
NOTE:You can set this timeout only if Power Management is set to Customized. |
| Auto Suspend Timeout | Specifies how
long the computer remains idle before before activating suspend-to-disk
(S2D) mode. Settings are Off, 30 Minutes,
20 Minutes, 10 Minutes, 5
Minutes, 2 Minutes, and 1 Minute.
NOTE:You can set this timeout only if Power Management is set to Customized. |
| Battery Low Suspend | Sets the computer to enter |
| Suspend Mode | Lets you
select one of two suspend modes: Save to RAM and Save
to Disk.
Save to RAM conserves battery power by stopping almost all computer activity, but leaves the computer ready to resume operations in seconds when the power button is pressed.Save to Disk saves all system data to your hard-disk drive and then turns off all power. Use Save to Disk to conserve battery power or (in conjunction with Battery Low Suspend) to preserve system data quickly if you are about to run out of battery power. |
| Resume on Modem Ring | Sets the
computer to resume normal operation when an incoming call is detected by
the modem and the computer is in
NOTE:To use this option, you must set Suspend Mode to Save to RAM. If Suspend Mode is set to Save to Disk, Resume on Modem Ring does not function. |
| Resume On Time | Sets the
computer to resume operation at a time you specify in the Resume
Time option. (Resume Time appears on the
screen only when Resume On Time is set to On.)
Settings are On and Off.
NOTE:To use this option, you must set Suspend Mode to Save to RAM. If Suspend Mode is set to Save to Disk, Resume on Time does not function. |
| Resume Time | Resume
Time appears on the screen only when Resume On Time
is set to On. Use this option to specify a time for the
computer to resume operation from
NOTE:To use this option, you must set Suspend Mode to Save to RAM. If Suspend Mode is set to Save to Disk, Resume Time does not function. Use <Tab> or <Shift><Tab> to move between fields in the time setting. Either enter the time or use the spacebar to increase/descrease the numbers. |
| Auto Dim | Extends battery life by setting the computer to automatically decrease the brightness of the display when running on battery power. Options are Enabled (the default) and Disabled. |
| Lid Close | Specifies how
the computer will respond when the display lid is closed:
|
Boot Screen
The Boot Screen defines the order of the devices from which the computer attempts to boot when you turn it on (see Table 6).
The boot device options appear in a list on the screen. When you turn on the computer, it attempts to boot from the first option on the list. If no bootable files are present on the first option, the computer tries to boot from the second option, and so on down the list (except where noted in the following table).
To arrange the boot sequence, use the up- or down-arrow key to select a device, and then press <F6> or the plus key (<+>) to move the device up the list or <F5> or the minus key (<–>) to move it down the list.
The term boot refers to the computer's start-up procedure. When you turn on the computer, it "bootstraps" itself into an operational state by loading into memory a small program, which in turn loads the necessary operating system.
Table 6. Boot Screen Options
| Option | Function |
| Removable Devices | If this option appears first on the list, the computer attempts to boot first from a bootable diskette or SuperDisk. If there is a diskette present but it does not contain the required boot files, an error message appears. |
| Hard Disk | If this option appears first on the list, the computer boots only from the hard-disk drive. |
| ATAPI CD-ROM Drive | If this option appears first on the list, the computer attempts to boot first from a bootable CD. If it does not detect a bootable CD in the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, the computer tries to boot from the next device on the list. If there is a CD present but it does not contain the required boot files, an error message appears. |
| Boot to LAN | If this option appears first on the list, the computer to attempt to boot first from a local area network (LAN). |
Exit Screen
Table 7. Exit Screen Options
| Option | Function |
| Exit Saving Changes | Saves the any changes you made and exits the system setup program. |
| Exit Discarding Changes | Discards any changes you made and exits the system setup program. |
| Load Setup Defaults | Discards any changes you made and reverts all options to their defaults, without exiting the system setup program. |
| Discard Changes | Returns any options you changed during the current session to their previous values. |
| Save Changes | Saves any changes you made, but does not exit the system setup program. |