Accessing BIOS on XP Home Version

  • Thread starter Thread starter Fred
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F

Fred

How do you access the BIOS setup menu with XP? I tried hitting delete
during boot, but this doesn't work with. Tried all the usual function keys,
etc.

Thanks, fellers!

Fred
 
Fred said:
How do you access the BIOS setup menu with XP? I tried hitting delete
during boot, but this doesn't work with. Tried all the usual function keys,
etc.
Click to expand...

Read the manual for the computer. This has nothing to do with the
Operating System but is completely hardware-related.
 
What king of motherboard do you have? If Del key does not work, try F2.
Intel boards are set up like that.
 
No idea - nothing in the manual on BIOS or hardware descriptions. I'll try
contacting the factory.... I mean importer.
 
Fred said:
How do you access the BIOS setup menu with XP? I tried hitting delete
during boot, but this doesn't work with. Tried all the usual function keys,
etc.
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to be an ass, Fred, but all your questions, this morning,
are brand and model specific, not OS.

WHAT BRAND? WHAT MODEL?

Notan
 
Nothing to do with XP. Watch the screen when booting for a message to press
a key or combination of keys to enter Setup. Mine is the Del key, many
Compaq's are F10. Check m/b manual if you have it, it will tell you there
as well.
 
Fred--

No need to contact the factory/importer for this. You can do it in
seconds. When you see the Firmware Screen or what is called the Post Screen
before you see the Windows Splash Screen it will say at the top or bottom of
the screen what key to tap. If you can't see that screen for reasons I
can't fathom, then...

Just download the Belarc Advisor, and it'll tell you who the Bios
Manufacturer is and you can go to their site or site below.and you won't be
on hold for a year and a day waiting for 55 operators to patch you through
to 55 people who will patch you through to 55 other people. Tech Support is
pretty much the world's largest oxymoron.

If you don't have that screen or a manual, and don't know, you can use this
to find out who makes the bios--hit the red download hyperlink:

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

After you download this, clicking the icon will give you a listing of your
hardware and software and you'll know the bios maker. Then you can use one
of these to find out what key to tap when you turn on your computer. See if
pressing the button will give you the firmware screen or start any screen at
all and tap the key these advise to use:

http://www.usbman.com/Guides/bios_update_sites.htm

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_b.htm

Best,

Chad Harris
____________________________________


No idea - nothing in the manual on BIOS or hardware descriptions. I'll try
contacting the factory.... I mean importer.
 
Greetings --

The operating system is immaterial. Only you know what
motherboard and BIOS you have, so only you know the answer to your
question. ;-}

In the extremely unlikely event that your PC's manual or the
motherboard manufacturer's web site doesn't contain the needed
information, try one or more of the following:

How do I access my computer's setup (BIOS)
http://www.iomega.com/support/documents/2157.html

Wim's BIOS Page
http://www.wimsbios.com/

Accessing Motherboard BIOS
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm


Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. - RAH
 
Actually, it is the BIOS manufacturer that determines what key is
pressed. I have seen all of these: DEL, F1, F2, F8, F12, and even ESC.

To access the BIOS, these buttons must be pressed right after powering
on the computer. It does not work when Windows is loading or anything
like that. Also, there should be a message that comes up and tells you
what button to press to enter setup.
 
Also, just a note that I didn't see mentioned. There are only a few
select motherboards that offer the ability to change BIOS settings from
within Windows. You most likely do not have one of these motherboards
and even if you do, I would not recommend you play around with it. :)
 
Thanks, Chad. You're right - I was waiting too long. Hitting delete at the
pre-Windows spalsh screen, just after booting got me in.
 
Thanks, Nolan, but all my questions were actually software-related - not
hardware. And now all are fixed, thanks to the others who helped out.
 
Thanks Bruce. No, none of the documentation that came with the computer had
anything on the BIOS, etc., like most other computers I've had usually have.
But I got thru to tech support, though, and they worked me thru it pretty
quick. (Calif tech support -- not India.)
 
As I said, regardless of who manufactures the bios, one of the keys to tap,
but not all of the possible key combos that gets into setup *is always going
to be clearly written on the POST or firmware screen*, so unless you have a
dead box you can get into setup from that. You don't need a thing else but
that screen to get into bios setup. To use it intelligently, then other
resources come into play.

Also if you would say *whatever your software problem was at the outset*,
people would be glad to help with that.

A high percent of people can't find their manuals a week after they buy the
computer, and a high percent of those computer manufacturers put the manual
on their website. The quality of the site and information varies grately.

You can always use Belarc, Sysoft Sandra, or Everest from Lavalys to get the
bios manufacturer and a lot of useful hardware software information as well
as typing msinfo /32 into the run box to get it. A high percent of people
who want to get into the bios only ever go there to do one thing--change the
boot order to boot from the CD for one reason or another, often to do a
repair or inplace install.

Most of the info was in Kelly's disucssion and her special bios page that
hitting the link above would have given you, including a list of
manufacturers and their key combination, that link again was this one

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_b.htm

and further links to add to your collection are

http://www.usbman.com/Guides/bios_update_sites.htm

Phoenix BIOS FAQ

http://www.phoenix.com/en/customer+services/bios/bios+faq/default1.htm#Q10

Bios Commands
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_b.htm

BIOS Explained from Kelly's XP Site
http://www.phoenix.com/en/customer+services/bios/bios+faq/default1.htm#Q10

from Kelly's Troubleshooting Windows XP, Tweaks and Fixes
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp.htm

Bios Info Guide
http://www.sonal.co.uk/y2k10120.htm

List of Bios Manufacture Web Sites
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=243909

Chad Harris
__________________________________

Thx.

The Unknown P said:
http://www.lavalys.com/products.php?lang=en
Download the free Home Edition and then run it. This free program will give
you all the information you could ever want about your system as well as
links to many of the manufacturers sites for the drivers and updates.
If you don't want to install a third party software then use XP's own
information tool. go>start\run and type in msinfo32 and click ok or hit enter
on your keyboard and this will give you all the information but none of the
extras like benchmarking or links. Good luck. {]:~)
Click to expand...
 
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