Bios Setup; Starting Setup; Recording Your Setup Settings - Dell 3250 Product Manual

BIOS Setup

This section describes the BIOS Setup Utility, which is used to change the server configuration
defaults. You can run the utility with or without an operating system present on the server. Setup
stores most of the configuration values in battery-backed CMOS and the rest in flash memory. The
values take effect when you boot the server. POST uses these values to configure the hardware. If
selected values and the hardware do not agree, POST generates an error message and you must then
run Setup to specify the correct configuration.
Run Setup to view or modify such server board features as:
•
Serial port configuration
•
Time/date (to be stored in RTC)
•
IDE settings (DVD/CD-ROM, etc.)
•
SCSI BIOS
•
Default CMOS settings and fail safe settings
•
Password security
•
Advanced chip set settings for boot up
•
Information on system configuration, version, peripheral population, RAM size, and cache size

Starting Setup

To start Setup during the power-on sequence, follow these steps:
1. Press the power button on the front control panel of the server.
2. When POST shows the message "Press <F2> if you want to run SETUP," press
<F2>. If the server has an administrator password configured, the system prompts you to enter
the password. If the server does not have a password configured, the main screen of the BIOS
Setup Utility appears.

Recording Your Setup Settings

Before you make any changes, record the current values. If the default values need to be restored
later, such as after a CMOS clear, you must run Setup again. Referring to recorded original settings
could make your task easier.
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