Thanks Chuck,
I've filed your gleaning process away. No, don't know whether Dell and POS
are one of two words. If only because I've worked on Packard Hell, HP,
Compaq, Dell, IBM, and Xerox PCs and many/most of them were in the "POS"
category! LOL! I'll accept your one-word Southern aphorism. I do
understand........ :)
Thanks,
Duncan
At 07:10 05/17/2007 -0400, you wrote:
----- Original Message ----- From: "DHSinclair" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Hardware Group" <hardware@hardwaregroup.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 16, 2007 11:00 PM
Subject: [H] Dell Help
I know how we all really like Dell, but I have a Dell POS that I need to
view BIOS.
I've tried the DEL key, the F2 key, and the F10 key.
How does one get to Dell bios? Maybe the HOME key?
Also can not get Win-ME to give me SAFE Mode either. Is it possible?
I have formatted and clean installed on many of those 4100's. As with most
any computer, holding the proper key (F8 or F10 for lots of Compaqs and
often F1 for HP's, but Delete for Dell) does not work but repeatedly
tapping it works. As others mentioned, start tapping as soon as you hit
the Power Switch. Nobody knows when the correct time to hit the proper key
is, thus the reason for the tapping. Often the P.O.S.T. screen will tell
you which key to hit. This is the perfect time if you see this.
As for Safe Mode, yes it will go there. I have not seen a computer that
would not allow Safe Mode. Again, we do not know the timing on hitting the
F8 key. We do know it is sometime past P.O.S.T. but before the GUI shows
up (the black background screen that has the version of Windows in bright
color graphics).
Here is a tip for the rookie technicians. When diagnosing a computer I
first gather and write down lots of information about it. I write down the
Make, Model and type of CPU as shown on the front. I record the version of
Windows and Product Key as shown on the COA. I open the case and write
down the wattage of its power supply and the MB and speed of its RAM. I go
into the BIOS and glean valuable information there, such as the hard drive
make and model etc. While there I correct any settings that the computer
manufacturer did not set correctly. Example: I enable S.M.A.R.T. so it can
tell the customer if the hard drive starts going bad.
I boot into Safe Mode so I can get around in Windows without the speed
being slowed down to a crawl by the loading of devices and crapware. While
in Safe Mode I back up the customer's important data to an external hard
drive. I go into Device Manager and write down the type of video, modem,
NIC and audio so I will know what I need drivers for when I do a clean
install. What if this is not a format and reinstall job? I write it down
anyway. The next time the computer comes in, Windows may not be bootable.
Yes, I keep good records. If you get a computer in that will not load
Windows and you do not know what drivers you need for a clean install,
email me the Make and Model Number of the computer. Most likely I have
worked on the same model and can tell you what video. modem, NIC and audio
is has. Usually the internal modem is as simple as pulling the modem card
to look. It is the onboard video, NIC and audio that you may not know
about. It seems that 99% of audio nowadays is AC '97 or SoundMax (Seems
like they are both the same.)
"Dell POS" Is that one word or two? Back in the days of southern pride
kids were grown before they found out that damn yankee was two words. Now
Dell and POS are one word for people who really know computers.
Chuck
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