Disable Intel Boot Agent Help

Mayhemm,

I've kind of run out of ideas at this point.  Of all the things we have tried thus far, at least one usually corrects the problem.  Since Dell replaced the motherboard, you might want to give them a call on it.  Possibly it's a indication of a problem with the new board.

Mayhem,

Just curious - did you ever come up with a solution to the Intel Boot Agent problem?  A couple of days ago a Dell contractor replaced the mainboard on a Vostro 200 that was DOA.  When I booted the repaired machine, I was surprised to see the Intel Boot Agent screen.  I have setup quite a few Vostros, but have never seen this before.  Doesn't seem to do any harm but it adds about a minute to the boot time.  I'd like to disable it, but can't figure out how to do that.

Steve 

Yes, I was able to disable the the Intel Boot agent from the Bios.  I don't remember how to get into the bios menu, but look for "Integrated Peripherals."  Once in the Integrated Peripherals menu, look for LAN Boot or DHCP Boot and then disable it.  Also, I had to change my boot order so that it did not include a Floppy drive since my Computer doesn't have one.

Hope this helps.

Tom,

Thanks for the tip.  Unfortunately, on my Vostro 200 disabling LAN boot in the Integrated Peripherals section of the BIOS did not stop the Intel Boot Agent from executing at startup.  I also made sure the boot order showed the hard drive first, but that seems to have no impact.  I have communicated with a couple of Dell tech support reps about the issue, but they didn't know how to fix it.  I guess I just need to start thinking of it as an annoying but relatively harmless little piece of malware that's no worth worrying any more about.

Steve 

Steve,

Unfortunately, I was never able to resolve the Boot Agent issue through traditional means (disabling LAN Boot ROM, changing the boot order, disabling everything but the hard drive, resetting the CMOS, updating firmware, etc, ad nausium)

There seems to be two versions of this problem. The first can be fixed simply by doing one or a combination of the things I mentioned above. The other type will not go away no matter what you do. I had the second type and I fear you do as well.

Strangely, my problem also started after my motherboard was replaced. The only way I was able to make the problem go away was to have my motherboard replaced AGAIN. There must be one Vostro motherboard with this problem that Dell keeps reusing on people who need a new motherboard. Then, when they report the Boot Agent problem, Dell replaces it and sends the faulty motherboard on to the next sap. I bet you have the same motherboard I returned! *puts on his tinfoil hat*

Seriously though. As you mentioned, this Boot Agent thing is little more than annoying....at first glance. The reason I was determined to get rid of it is because it prevented me from using a bootable CD/DVD such as a Windows installation disc or an anti-virus rescue disc. If a situation occurred where I needed one of these discs, I would be out of luck.

If you have a bootable disc, I suggest you go into the BIOS and make your DVD-ROM the first boot device, then restart and try to boot from that disc. If you're like me, the Boot Agent will appear anyway and you will not see a "PRESS ANY KEY TO BOOT FROM CD/DVD..." screen. This makes it impossible to use a bootable disc.

If you're concerned by this, I would call Dell and tell them you need a new motherboard (again). As far as I know, it's the only way to rid yourself of "The Agent".

Mayhemm,

Thanks for the very useful information.  I will try to boot from the DVD.  If the Boot Agent prevents that, as I suspect it will, then I'll need to follow your advice and contact Dell about getting yet another mainboard.  A computer that can't be booted from a bootable CD or DVD is simply unacceptable.  Perhaps I should put an unobtrusive identifier on the mainboard so it could be tracked as it makes its way from one disgruntled Dell customer to the next.

Thanks again for your help.  You saved me from being stuck with a crippled machine.

Steve

Mayhemm,

I requested yet another mainboard from Dell and they sent one out right away.  When the service technician arrived he expressed surprise that the computer needed another new mainboard.  He said the replacement he received was exactly the same as the one he had installed for me a little over a week ago.  When I explained the Intel Boot Agent problem to him, he said "Oh, that's easy to fix".  He simply entered the BIOS setup and selected Load Defaults.  He also made sure that under Integrated Peripherals the Onboard LAN Boot ROM was disabled.  That was it.  After saving those two changes, the computer booted with no sign of the Intel Boot Agent.  So it turns out that I didn't need a new mainboard afterall. 

It's too bad that the support people I contacted at Dell didn't know about this simple solution.  It would have saved a lot of time and money.  I also feel a little stupid for not having tried Load Defaults.  I tried everything else I could think of but I thought I was trying to correct a problem in the system't default settings.  Oh well, live and learn.

Hmmm....that's very interesting. The most annoying problems often have simple solutions. The trick is finding them. After that you think I can't believe I was stumped by this for so long!

There still must be a glitch involved, since I performed all the actions that the load defaults command would, but I don't think I actually ever hit load defaults itself. Perhaps it acts at a lower level than changing the settings back manually? Who knows? I'm just glad it worked.

Hopefully, Dell will document this solution to save money and headaches in the future.

This is an old thread but the issue is the Intel Boot agent and having improper settings - including not displaying the setup prompts to let you know that it exists.

Reboot your computer and keep hitting Ctrl+S - sometime before you see the Initializing Intel Boot Environment message.  This means you pretty much have to keep hitting Ctrl+S when you see the Dell logo until you enter the Boot Agent where you will be able to configure the Intel Boot Agent.

Once inside the Intel Boot Agent, make sure the default boot is Local and the Local Boot option is enabled.

You can also choose between ACPI and APM for Power Management if you are getting an error about ACPI from the Boot Agent.