Question Cannot boot to BIOS in very old Dell PC

[kdbriggs]

I have an old Dell Studio 540 that I purchased in 2009 (Intel Core 2 Quad CPU Q9400). Originally came with Vista but I upgraded to Windows 7 shortly thereafter. I also added an SSD drive years ago. I know I've booted into the BIOS in the past but now I can't get to it. On a cold boot I see the Dell logo and in the bottom right corner is says F2 for setup and F12 for boot options. Pressing F12 (once or multiple times) does nothing, it just boots to Windows 7 normal. Pressing F2 brings up the Windows Boot Manager where my only options are to boot normally, run a Windows memory test, or press F8 for other options, which just contain other boot options. Nothing in there about the BIOS. I also just replaced the CR2032 battery in case that made any difference (it did not). The keyboard is the original wireless Dell keyboard). How do I get to my BIOS menu?

 

[rgd1101]

try unplug the hdd or ssd to boot to bios

 

[kdbriggs]

try unplug the hdd or ssd to boot to bios

Unplugging the ssd worked (using F2 key), thanks. But why did that work?

 

[rgd1101]

probably boot too fast for your keypress

 

[ex_bubblehead]

Unplugging the ssd worked (using F2 key), thanks. But why did that work?

With Dells (and HP's) timing is everything. You have to start spamming the F2, F10, F12 (whatever it is that enters BIOS on that machine) before you even see the logo, and continue until you either see "entering BIOS" in the lower portion of the screen or it enters straight in. It can be a balancing act. And, at least on more recent Dell's you'll see something akin to "setup" or "enter setup" on the boot menu below all the other options. That will take you straight to BIOS.