Post And The Bios Setup Utility; Power-On Self-Test (Post); Temporarily Changing The Boot Device Priority - Intel SE7501BR2 - Server Board Motherboard Product Manual

3 POST and the BIOS Setup Utility

This chapter describes the Power-On Self-Test (POST) and the BIOS Setup utility.

Power-On Self-Test (POST)

Each time you turn on the system, the BIOS begins executing the Power-On Self-Test (POST),
which is stored in flash memory. POST discovers, configures, and tests the processors, memory,
keyboard, and most installed peripheral devices. During the memory test, POST displays the
amount of memory that it is able to access and test. The time needed to test memory depends on
the amount of memory installed.
1. Turn on your server and monitor. After a few seconds, POST begins to run and displays a
splash screen.
2. While the splash screen is displayed do one of the following:
Press <F2> to enter the BIOS Setup
Press <Esc> to view POST diagnostic messages and change the boot device priority for this
boot only (see "Temporarily Changing the Boot Device Priority" below).
3. If you do not press <F2> or <Esc> and do NOT have a device with an operating system loaded,
the boot process continues and the system beeps once. The following message is displayed:
Operating System not found
What appears on the screen after this depends on whether you have an operating system loaded and
if so, which one.
If the system halts before POST completes running, it emits a beep code indicating a fatal system
error that requires immediate attention. If POST can display a message on the video display screen,
it causes the speaker to beep twice as the message appears.
Write down both the screen display and the beep code you hear; this information is useful for your
service representative. For a listing of common beep codes and error messages that POST can
generate, see the "Solving Problems" chapter in this manual.

Temporarily Changing the Boot Device Priority

During POST, you can change the boot device priority for the current boot process. The changes
are not saved for the next boot process.
1. Boot the server.
2. At any time during POST, press <Esc>. When POST completes, a popup Boot menu displays.
3. Use the arrow keys to highlight the device you want the server system to boot from first. For
example, if you want the server system to boot from the CD-ROM first, you select "ATAPI
CD-ROM Drive."
NOTE
One of the selections on the popup Boot menu is "Enter Setup." Selecting this
option brings you into the BIOS Setup.
4. Press <Enter> and the boot process continues.
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