System Setup

Dell™ OptiPlex™ 760 Service Manual

Overview

Entering System Setup

System Setup Options

Boot Sequence

Booting to a USB Device

Password Protection

Jumper Settings

Clearing Forgotten Passwords

Clearing CMOS Settings

Deploying Citrix® Provisioning Server (Dell) With Client Static IP Configuration

Overview

Use System Setup as follows:

To change the system configuration information after you add, change, or remove any hardware in your computer
To set or change a user-selectable option such as the user password
To read the current amount of memory or set the type of hard drive installed

Before you use System Setup, it is recommended that you write down the System Setup screen information for future reference.

CAUTION: Unless you are an expert computer user, do not change the settings for this program. Certain changes can make your computer work incorrectly.

Entering System Setup

Turn on (or restart) your computer.
When the DELL™ logo is displayed, you must watch for the F12 prompt to appear.
Once the F12 prompt appears, press <F12> immediately. The Boot Menu appears.
Use the up and down arrow keys to select System Setup and then press <Enter>.

NOTE: The F12 prompt indicates that the keyboard has initialized. This prompt can appear very quickly, so you must watch for it to display, and then press <F12>. If you press <F12> before you are prompted, this keystroke will be lost.

If you wait too long and the operating system logo appears, continue to wait until you see the Microsoft^® Windows^® desktop. Then, shut down your computer and try again.

System Setup Screen

The System Setup screen displays current or changeable configuration information for your computer. Information on the screen is divided into two areas: the menu, and the main window.

Options List — This field appears on the left side of the system setup window. The field is a scrollable list containing features that define the configuration of your computer, including installed hardware, power conservation, and security features.

Option Field — This field contains information about each option. In this field you can view your current settings and make changes to your settings.

Use the Tab and Up/Down arrow keys on your keyboard to navigate or click to navigate using the mouse.

System Setup Options

NOTE: Depending on your computer and installed devices, the items listed in this section may not appear, or may not appear exactly as listed.

WARNING: eSATA is designed to function only if the SATA Operation mode in system Setup (BIOS) is set to either IRRT or AHCI. If it is set to ATA, the eSATA functionality is lost though the connector can still be used as a USB port.

General

System Board

Displays the following information:

System information: Displays BIOS Info, System Info, and the Service Tag.
Memory information: Displays Installed Memory, Usable Memory, Memory Speed, Memory Channel Mode, and Memory Technology.
Processor information: Displays the Processor Type, Processor Speed, Processor Bus Speed, Processor L2 cache, Processor ID.
PCI information: Displays available slots on the system board.

Date/Time

Displays the system date and time. Changes to the system date and time take effect immediately.

Boot Sequence

Specifies the order in which the computer attempts to find an operating system from the devices specified in this list.

Drives

Diskette drive

Identifies and defines the floppy drive attached to the FLOPPY connector on the system board as:

Disable
USB
Internal (default)
Read Only

SATA Operation

Configures the operating mode of the integrated hard drive controller to:

AHCI (default)
ATA
Legacy

S.M.A.R.T. Reporting

Enables or disables integrated drive errors to be reported during system startup.

This option is disabled by default.

Drives

Enables or disables the SATA or ATA drives connected to the system board.

System Configuration

Integrated NIC

Enables or disables the integrated network card. You can set the integrated NIC to:

Enable (default)
Disable
Enable with PXE
Enable with ImageSever

USB Controller

Enables or disables the integrated USB controller. You can set the USB controller to:

Enable (default)
Disable
No boot

Parallel Port

Identifies and defines the parallel port settings. You can set the parallel port to:

Disable
AT
PS/2 (default)
EPP
ECP No DMA
ECP DMA 1
ECP DMA 3

Parallel Port Address

Sets the base I/O address of the integrated parallel port.

Serial Port #1

Identifies and defines the serial port settings. You can set the serial port to:

Disable
Auto (default)
COM1
COM3

NOTE: Auto, the default setting, automatically configures a connector to a particular designation (COM1 or COM3).

Miscellaneous Devices

Enables or disables the following onboard devices:

Front USB
Rear Dual USB
Rear Quad USB
PCI slots
Audio

Video

Primary Video

Specifies which video controller is primary when two video controllers are present on the computer.

Auto (default)
Onboard/PEG

Performance

Multi Core Support

Specifies whether one or all the cores of the processor will be enabled.

NOTE: The performance of some applications improve with additional cores.

Intel® SpeedStep™

Enables or disables the Intel SpeedStep mode.

This option is disabled by default.

Limit CPUID Value

Enables or disables the CPUID limit.

This option is disabled by default.

HDD Acoustic Mode

Sets the performance speed and noise level of your hard drive to:

Bypass (default)
Quiet
Suggested
Performance

Virtulization Support

VT for Direct I/O

Enables or disables the Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) from utilizing the additional hardware capabilities provided by Intel Virtulization technology for direct I/O.

Security

Administrative Password

Provides restricted access to the computer's system setup program in the same way that access to the system can be restricted with the System Password option.

This option is not set by default.

System Password

Displays the current status of the system's password security feature and allows a new system password to be assigned and verified.

This option is not set by default.

Password Changes

Enables or disables the user from changing the system password without the administrative password.

This option is enabled by default.

TPM Security

Enables or disables the trusted platform module (TPM) security.

You can set the TPM security to:

Deactivate (default)
Activate
Clear

NOTE: When TPM Security is set to Clear the system setup program clears the user information stored in the TPM.

CPU XD Support

Enables or disables the execute disable mode of the processor.

This option is enabled by default.

Computrace(R)

Enables or disables the optional Computrace® service designed for asset management.

You can set this option to:

Deactivate (default)
Disable
Activate

SATA-0 Password

Displays the current status of the password set for the hard drive connected to the SATA-0 connector on the system board.

You can also set a new password. This option is not set by default.

NOTE: The system setup program displays a password for each of the hard drives connected to your system board.

Power Management

AC Recovery

Determines how the system responds when AC power is re-applied after a power loss. You can set the AC Recovery to:

Power Off (default)
Power On
Last State

Auto On Time

Sets time to automatically turn on the computer.

Time is kept in the standard 12-hour format (hours:minutes:seconds).

Change the startup time by typing the values in the time and AM/PM fields.

NOTE: This feature does not work if you turn off your computer using the switch on a power strip or surge protector or if Auto Power On is set to disabled.

Low Power Mode

Enables or disables low power mode.

This option is disabled by default.

NOTE: When low power mode is enabled, the integrated network card is disabled.

Remote Wakeup

Allows the system to power up when a network interface controller receives a wake up signal. You can set Remote Wakeup to:

Disable (default)
Enable
Enable with Boot NIC

Suspend Mode

Sets the power management suspend mode to:

S1
S3 (default)

Fan Control Override

Controls the speed of the system fan.

NOTE: When enabled, the fan runs at full speed.

Maintenance

Service Tag

Displays the Service Tag of your computer.

Asset Tag

Allows you to create a system asset tag if an asset tag is not already set.

This option is not set by default.

SERR Messages

Controls the SERR Message mechanism.

This option is enabled by default.

Some graphics cards require the SERR Message mechanism be disabled.

Image Server

Lookup Method

Specifies how the ImageServer looksup the server address.

Static IP
DNS

NOTE: You must set the Integrated NIC to Enable with ImageServer to set the Lookup Method.

ImageServer IP

Specifies the primary static IP address of the ImageServer with which the client software communicates.

The default IP address is 255.255.255.255

NOTE: You must set the Integrated NIC to Enable with ImageServer to set the ImageServer IP.

ImageServer Port

Specifies the primary IP port of the image server with which the client software communicates.

The default IP port is 06910.

Client DHCP

Specifies how the client obtains the IP address.

Static IP
DHCP (default)

Client IP

Specifies the static IP address of the client.

The default IP address is 255.255.255.255

NOTE: To set Client IP you must set Client DHCP to Static IP

Client SubnetMask

Specifies the subnet mask for the client.

The default setting is 255.255.255.255

NOTE: To set Client SubnetMask you must set Client DHCP to Static IP

Client Gateway

Specifies the gateway IP address for the client.

The default setting is 255.255.255.255

NOTE: To set Client SubnetMask you must set Client DHCP to Static IP

License Status

Displays the current license status.

Post Behavior

Fast Boot

When enabled (default), your computer starts more quickly because it skips certain configurations and tests.

NumLock LED

Enables or disables the NumLock feature when your computer starts.

When enabled (default), this option activates the numeric and mathematical features shown at the top of each key. When disabled, this option activates the cursor-control functions labeled on the bottom of each key

POST Hotkeys

Allows you to specify the function keys to display on the screen when the computer starts.

Enable F2 = Setup (enabled by default)
Enable F12 = Boot menu (enabled by default)

Keyboard Errors

Enables or disables keyboard error reporting when the computer starts.

This option is enabled by default.

System Logs

BIOS Events

Displays the system event log and allows you to:

Clear Log
Mark all Entries

Boot Sequence

This feature allows you to change the Boot Device Property for devices.

Option Settings

Onboard USB Floppy Drive — The computer attempts to boot from the floppy drive.
Onboard SATA Hard Drive — The computer attempts to boot from the hard drive.
USB Device — The computer attempts to boot from a removable device, such as a USB key.
CD/DVD — The computer attempts to boot from the disc drive.

Changing the Boot Sequence for the Current Boot

You can use this feature, for example, to restart your computer to a USB device, such as a floppy drive, memory key, or optical drive.

If you are booting to a USB device, connect the USB device to a USB connector.
Turn on (or restart) your computer.
When F12 = Boot Menu appears in the upper-right corner of the screen, press <F12>.

If you wait too long and the operating system logo appears, continue to wait until you see the Microsoft Windows desktop, then shut down your computer and try again.

The Boot Menu appears, listing all available boot devices.
Use the arrow keys to select the appropriate device (for the current boot only).

NOTE: To boot to a USB device, the device must be bootable. To ensure that a device is bootable, check the device documentation.

Changing the Boot Sequence for Future Boots

Enter System Setup (see Entering System Setup).
Click to expand SystemBoard and then click Boot Sequence.
Highlight the appropriate device from the list of devices on the right and then click the up or down arrows to move the item you want to change.
Click Apply to save the changes and then click Exit to exit System Setup and resume the boot process.

Booting to a USB Device

NOTE: To boot to a USB device, the device must be bootable. To ensure that your device is bootable, check the device documentation.

Memory Key

Insert the memory key into a USB port and restart the computer.
When F12 = Boot Menu appears in the upper-right corner of the screen, press <F12>.

The BIOS detects the device and adds the USB device option to the boot menu.

From the boot menu, select the number that appears next to the USB device.

The computer boots to the USB device.

Floppy Drive

In system setup, set the Diskette Drive option to USB.
Save and exit system setup.
Connect the USB floppy drive, insert a bootable floppy, and re-boot the computer.

Password Protection

CAUTION: Although passwords provide security for the data on your computer, they are not foolproof. If your data requires more security, it is your responsibility to obtain and use additional forms of protection, such as data encryption programs.

System Password

CAUTION: If you leave your computer running and unattended without having a system password assigned, or if you leave your computer unlocked so that someone can disable the password by changing a jumper setting, anyone can access the data stored on your hard drive.

Option Settings

You cannot change or enter a new system password if either of the following two options is displayed:

Set — A system password is assigned.
Disabled — The system password is disabled by a jumper setting on the system board.

You can only assign a system password when the following option is displayed:

Not Set — No system password is assigned and the password jumper on the system board is in the enabled position (the default setting).

Assigning a System Password

To exit without assigning a system password, press <Esc> at any time (before you press the OK button in step 4).

Enter system setup (see Entering System Setup).
Select System Password, and verify that Password Status is set to Not Set.
Type your new system password.

You can use up to 32 characters. To erase a character when entering your password, press <Backspace>. The password is case sensitive.

Certain key combinations are not valid. If you enter one of these invalid combinations, the speaker emits a beep.

As you press each character key (or the spacebar for a blank space), a placeholder appears.

Type your new password a second time to confirm and press OK button.

The password setting changes to Set.

Typing Your System Password

When you start or restart your computer, the following prompt appears on the screen.

If Password Status is set to Locked:

Type the password and press <Enter>.

If you have assigned an administrator password, the computer accepts your administrator password as an alternate system password.

If you type a wrong or incomplete system password, the following message appears on the screen:

** Incorrect password. **

If you again type an incorrect or incomplete system password, the same message appears on the screen. The third and subsequent times you type an incorrect or incomplete system password, the computer displays the following message:

** Incorrect password. **
Number of unsuccessful password attempts: 3
System halted! Must power down.

Even after your computer is turned off and on, the previous message is displayed each time you type an incorrect or incomplete system password.

NOTE: You can use Password Status in conjunction with System Password and Admin Password to further protect your computer from unauthorized changes.

Deleting or Changing an Existing System Password

Enter system setup (see Entering System Setup).
Go to Security® System Password and press <Enter>.
When prompted, type the system password.
Press <Enter> twice to clear the existing system password. The setting changes to Not Set.

If Not Set is displayed, the system password is deleted. If Not Set is not displayed, press <Alt><b> to restart the computer, and then repeat steps 3 and 4.

To assign a new password, follow the procedure in Assigning a System Password.
Exit system setup.

Administrator Password

Option Settings

You cannot change or enter a new administrator password if either of the following two options is displayed:

Set — An administrator password is assigned.
Disabled — The administrator password is disabled by a jumper setting on the system board.

You can only assign an administrator password when the following option is displayed:

Not Set — No administrator password is assigned and the password jumper on the system board is in the enabled position (the default setting).

Assigning an Administrator Password

The administrator password can be the same as the system password.

NOTE: If the two passwords are different, the administrator password can be used as an alternate system password. However, the system password cannot be used in place of the administrator password.

Enter system setup (see Entering System Setup) and verify that Admin Password is set to Not Set.
Select Admin Password and press <Enter>.
Type your new administrator password.

You can use up to 32 characters. To erase a character when entering your password, press <Backspace>. The password is case sensitive.

Certain key combinations are not valid. If you enter one of these invalid combinations, the speaker emits a beep.

As you press each character key (or the spacebar for a blank space), a placeholder appears.

Type your new password a second time to confirm and press OK button. The password setting changes to Set.
Exit system setup.

A change to Admin Password becomes effective immediately (no need to restart the computer).

Operating Your Computer With an Administrator Password Enabled

When you enter system setup, the Admin Password option is highlighted, prompting you to type the password.

If you do not type the correct password, the computer lets you view, but not modify, system setup options.

NOTE: You can use Password Status in conjunction with Admin Password to protect the system password from unauthorized changes.

Deleting or Changing an Existing Administrator Password

To change an existing administrator password, you must know the administrator password.

Enter system setup (see Entering System Setup).
Type the administrator password at the prompt.
Highlight Admin Password and press the left- or right-arrow key to delete the existing administrator password.

The setting changes to Not Set.

To assign a new administrator password, perform the steps in Assigning an Administrator Password.

Exit system setup.

Disabling a Forgotten Password and Setting a New Password

To reset system and/or administrator passwords, see Clearing Forgotten Passwords.

Jumper Settings

Mini Tower

Desktop

Small Form Factor

Ultra Small Form Factor

Jumper

Setting

Description

PSWD

Password features are enabled (default setting).

Password features are disabled.

RTCRST

The real-time clock has not been reset.

The real-time clock is being reset (jumpered temporarily).

jumpered unjumpered

Clearing Forgotten Passwords

WARNING: Before working inside your computer, read the safety information that shipped with your computer. For additional safety best practices information, see the Regulatory Compliance Homepage at www.dell.com/regulatory_compliance.

CAUTION: This process erases both the system and administrator passwords.

Follow the procedures in Working on Your Computer.
Remove the computer cover.
Locate the 2-pin password jumper (PSWD) on the system board, and remove the jumper to clear the password. See Password Protection.
Replace the computer cover (see Replacing the Computer Cover).
Connect your computer and monitor to electrical outlets, and turn them on.
After the Microsoft® Windows® desktop appears on your computer, shut down your computer.
Turn off the monitor and disconnect it from the electrical outlet.
Disconnect the computer power cable from the electrical outlet, and press the power button to ground the system board.
Open the computer cover.
Locate the 2-pin password jumper on the system board and attach the jumper to reenable the password feature.
Replace the computer cover (see Replacing the Computer Cover).

CAUTION: To connect a network cable, first plug the cable into the network wall jack and then plug it into the computer.

Connect your computer and devices to electrical outlets, and turn them on.

NOTE: This procedure enables the password feature. When you enter system setup (see Entering System Setup), both system and administrator password options appear as Not Set—meaning that the password feature is enabled but no password is assigned.

Assign a new system and/or administrator password.

Clearing CMOS Settings

Follow the procedures in Working on Your Computer.
Remove the computer cover.
Reset the current CMOS settings:
1. Locate the password (PSWD) and CMOS (RTCRST) jumpers on the system board (see Password Protection).
1. Remove the password jumper plug from its pins.
2. Place the password jumper plug on the RTCRST pins and wait approximately 5 seconds.
3. Remove the jumper plug from the RTCRST pins and place it back on the password pins.
Replace the computer cover (see Replacing the Computer Cover).

CAUTION: To connect a network cable, first plug the cable into the network wall jack and then plug it into the computer.

Connect your computer and devices to electrical outlets, and turn them on.

Deploying Citrix® Provisioning Server (Dell) With Client Static IP Configuration

In a secure environment where no DHCP service exists to assign IP addresses to clients and allow the clients to boot to the Provisioning Server, manually program static IP addresses for those clients in the system BIOS:

During boot, press <F2> to open System Setup.
Select ImageSever from the list of boot options.
Set Client DHCP to Static IP.
Select Accept in the window that opens asking you to confirm changing the Client DHCP option.
Set the Client IP with your desired IP address. The default is 255.255.255.255.
Set the Client Subnet Mask to the address assigned to the client. The default address is 255.255.255.255.
Set the Client Gateway to the gateway address assigned to the client. The default address is 255.255.255.255.
Change the Lookup Method to Static IP.
Set the ImageServer IP with the primary Provisioning Server IP address. The default address is 255.255.255.255.
Save the settings and reboot the system.

Back to Contents Page

General
System Board	Displays the following information: System information: Displays BIOS Info, System Info, and the Service Tag. Memory information: Displays Installed Memory, Usable Memory, Memory Speed, Memory Channel Mode, and Memory Technology. Processor information: Displays the Processor Type, Processor Speed, Processor Bus Speed, Processor L2 cache, Processor ID. PCI information: Displays available slots on the system board.
Date/Time	Displays the system date and time. Changes to the system date and time take effect immediately.
Boot Sequence	Specifies the order in which the computer attempts to find an operating system from the devices specified in this list.

Drives
Diskette drive	Identifies and defines the floppy drive attached to the FLOPPY connector on the system board as: Disable USB Internal (default) Read Only
SATA Operation	Configures the operating mode of the integrated hard drive controller to: AHCI (default) ATA Legacy
S.M.A.R.T. Reporting	Enables or disables integrated drive errors to be reported during system startup. This option is disabled by default.
Drives	Enables or disables the SATA or ATA drives connected to the system board.

Performance
Multi Core Support	Specifies whether one or all the cores of the processor will be enabled. NOTE: The performance of some applications improve with additional cores.
Intel® SpeedStep™	Enables or disables the Intel SpeedStep mode. This option is disabled by default.
Limit CPUID Value	Enables or disables the CPUID limit. This option is disabled by default.
HDD Acoustic Mode	Sets the performance speed and noise level of your hard drive to: Bypass (default) Quiet Suggested Performance

Virtulization Support
VT for Direct I/O	Enables or disables the Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) from utilizing the additional hardware capabilities provided by Intel Virtulization technology for direct I/O.

Security
Administrative Password	Provides restricted access to the computer's system setup program in the same way that access to the system can be restricted with the System Password option. This option is not set by default.
System Password	Displays the current status of the system's password security feature and allows a new system password to be assigned and verified. This option is not set by default.
Password Changes	Enables or disables the user from changing the system password without the administrative password. This option is enabled by default.
TPM Security	Enables or disables the trusted platform module (TPM) security. You can set the TPM security to: Deactivate (default) Activate Clear NOTE: When TPM Security is set to Clear the system setup program clears the user information stored in the TPM.
CPU XD Support	Enables or disables the execute disable mode of the processor. This option is enabled by default.
Computrace(R)	Enables or disables the optional Computrace® service designed for asset management. You can set this option to: Deactivate (default) Disable Activate
SATA-0 Password	Displays the current status of the password set for the hard drive connected to the SATA-0 connector on the system board. You can also set a new password. This option is not set by default. NOTE: The system setup program displays a password for each of the hard drives connected to your system board.

Maintenance
Service Tag	Displays the Service Tag of your computer.
Asset Tag	Allows you to create a system asset tag if an asset tag is not already set. This option is not set by default.
SERR Messages	Controls the SERR Message mechanism. This option is enabled by default. Some graphics cards require the SERR Message mechanism be disabled.

Image Server
Lookup Method	Specifies how the ImageServer looksup the server address. Static IP DNS NOTE: You must set the Integrated NIC to Enable with ImageServer to set the Lookup Method.
ImageServer IP	Specifies the primary static IP address of the ImageServer with which the client software communicates. The default IP address is 255.255.255.255 NOTE: You must set the Integrated NIC to Enable with ImageServer to set the ImageServer IP.
ImageServer Port	Specifies the primary IP port of the image server with which the client software communicates. The default IP port is 06910.
Client DHCP	Specifies how the client obtains the IP address. Static IP DHCP (default)
Client IP	Specifies the static IP address of the client. The default IP address is 255.255.255.255 NOTE: To set Client IP you must set Client DHCP to Static IP
Client SubnetMask	Specifies the subnet mask for the client. The default setting is 255.255.255.255 NOTE: To set Client SubnetMask you must set Client DHCP to Static IP
Client Gateway	Specifies the gateway IP address for the client. The default setting is 255.255.255.255 NOTE: To set Client SubnetMask you must set Client DHCP to Static IP
License Status	Displays the current license status.

Post Behavior
Fast Boot	When enabled (default), your computer starts more quickly because it skips certain configurations and tests.
NumLock LED	Enables or disables the NumLock feature when your computer starts. When enabled (default), this option activates the numeric and mathematical features shown at the top of each key. When disabled, this option activates the cursor-control functions labeled on the bottom of each key
POST Hotkeys	Allows you to specify the function keys to display on the screen when the computer starts. Enable F2 = Setup (enabled by default) Enable F12 = Boot menu (enabled by default)
Keyboard Errors	Enables or disables keyboard error reporting when the computer starts. This option is enabled by default.