How can I get to the BIOS?

I keep getting an early chipset initialization. I can not get to the bios. the lights on the drives keep flickering but no video, no keyboard, just a black screen! I have taken the battery out of the cmos and then reinstalled it and that didn't work. I switched jumpers and that didn't work either.It is a msi BOARD windows XP video on board, 512 mb ram MSI video card geforce4.

This question was answered on June 21, 2004. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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Before you do anything to your BIOS, it's always a good idea to record the settings on a sheet of paper that can be kept in a safe place.

The BIOS can normally be accessed when you start your computer You may see a reference to "setup" when you turn your computer on That's your opportunity to get into the BIOS It usually requires the push of a function key, such as F10, to get access to it That "F" key varies between computers Sometimes it's the ESC key or DEL key.

If a logo screen - like HP or DELL - is displayed during the start up process instead, then you may want to check with your computer maker for a command to turn off that screen and display the start up information, which is listed when a computer is powered on.

Here is a list of key sequences for various brand name computers If yours is not there check with your manufacturer or watch for info flashed on-screen when your computer first starts It may say "For setup hit ..." That's the info on how to get into the BIOS on your machine.

Acer: - Ctrl Alt Esc

ALR PC: (F2) or (Ctrl)(Alt)Esc)

AMI BIOS: (Del), (F1) or (F2)

AST, Advantage, Award, Tandon: - Ctrl Alt Esc

Award BIOS: (Del) or (Ctrl)(Alt)(Esc)

Compaq: (F10) (do this when the cursor is in the upper right corner of the screen blinking)

Dell: - F1 or Del.

Dell: - Some require pressing reset twice

Dell: - Ctrl Alt Enter

DTK BIOS: (Esc)

Gateway 2000: - F1

Hewlett Packard: - F1

IBM:

Older Models - In order to get into the configuration of the IBM setup screen (CMOS) screen you need to hold down both mouse buttons during bootup

Aptiva - Press F1

IBM PS/2: (Ctrl)(Alt)(Ins) after (Ctrl)(Alt)(Del)

IBM PS/2 with reference partition: - Press Ins during boot

Some PS/2s, such as 75 and 90: - Ctrl Alt ?

Some PS/2s when pointer at top right of screen: - Ctrl Ins

NEC: - F2

Packard Bell: - F1 or F2

Phoenix BIOS: (F1), (F2), or (Ctrl)(Alt)(Esc)

Phoenix BIOS: - Ctrl Alt S

Phoenix BIOS: - Ctrl S

Phoenix BIOS: - Ctrl Alt Ins

Sony: (F3) while you are starting the PC, then (F2) or (F1)

Tandon computers: - Hold down the key after turning on power

Tandon: - Ctrl Shift Esc

Toshiba Laptops: - Toshiba Utility

Toshiba: - Press Esc during boot

Toshiba, Phoenix, late model PS/1 Value Point and 330s: - Press F1 during boot

Olivetti PC Pro: - Shift Ctrl Alt Num Pad Del

Miscellaneous PC's: - Ctrl Esc or Ctrl and Alt and

Zenith: - Ctrl Alt Ins

About the author

Posted by Raymond of Katharine Gibbs School - New York on June 21, 2004

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