Commonly Used Options; Changing The Boot Sequence - Dell Inspirion 510m Owner's Manual

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 and enable/disable devices using the
Boot Order page of system setup.
NOTE:
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
NOTE:
drive. You cannot boot from one of these modules if it is installed in the module bay.
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 down-arrow or up-arrow 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 the space bar. Enabled items
appear as white and display a small triangle to the left; disabled items appear blue or dimmed
without a triangle.
• To reorder a device in the list, highlight the device, and then press <u> or <d> (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 system setup.
Performing a One-Time Boot
You can set a one-time-only boot sequence without entering system setup. (You can also use this
procedure to boot the Dell Diagnostics on the diagnostics utility partition on your hard drive.)
Shut down the computer through the Start menu.
1
If the computer is connected to a docking device (docked), undock it. See the documentation
2
that came with your docking device for instructions.
Connect the computer to an electrical outlet.
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Appendix
To change the boot sequence on a one-time-only basis, see "Performing a One-Time Boot."
You can only boot (start up) your computer from a CD, CD-RW, or DVD drive installed as a fixed