Bios issue

ANTONIO.ADEB,

The T3500 does not have the UEFI bios. 

Keystrokes

The Precision has several keystroke options availalbe during the POST process at the Dell Logo screen. These keystroks make several options avaiable.

Keystroke	Function	Description
< F2>	Enter System Setup	Use System Setup to make changes to the user-definable settings.
< F12> or	Enter Boot Menu	One-time boot and diagnostics utility menu
< F3>	Network Boot	Bypass the BIOS boot sequence and boot directly to the network

Boot Menu

As with previous workstation platforms, the T3500 includes a one-time boot menu. This feature gives users a quick and convenient mechanism to bypass the System Setup-defined boot device order and boot directly to a specific device (e.g., floppy, CD-ROM, or hard drive).

The boot menu enhancements introduced on previous platforms are as follows:

• Easier access - Although the keystroke still exists and can be used to call up the menu, simply press during system boot to access the menu.
• User prompting - Not only is the menu easy to access, but the user is prompted to use the keystroke on the BIOS splash screen. The keystroke is no longer "hidden" from the user.
• Diagnostics options - The boot menu includes two diagnostic options, IDE Drive Diagnostics (90/90 Hard Drive Diagnostics) and Boot to the Utility Partition. The benefit here is that the user does not have to remember the and

Dell Diagnostics

Factory-installed Dell Precision platforms include 32-bit system diagnostics on the installed utility partition. Access these diagnostics using the keystroke during system boot and select Diagnostics.

After pressing the keystroke, the appropriate modules load and the PSA diagnostics run. If this passes, the standard Dell™ Diagnostics main menu appears. When exiting the diagnostics, the system reboots and returns to the installed operating system. Restarting the computer with the keystroke also returns the system to the normal boot sequence as well.

Drives sent for service replacement do not have the utility partition and therefore do not have this capability. If pressed, the keystroke is ignored on these drives.

Timing Key Sequences

The keyboard is not the first device initialized by Setup. As a result, if you press a keystroke too early, you lock out the keyboard. When this happens, a keyboard error message appears on the monitor, and you cannot restart the system with the keys.

To avoid this scenario, wait until the keyboard is initialized before pressing the keystroke. There are two ways to know that this has happened:

• The keyboard lights flash.
• The "F2=Setup" prompt appears in the top right-hand corner of the screen during boot.

The second method is good if the monitor is already warmed up. If it is not, the system often passes the window of opportunity before the video signal is visible. If this is the case, rely on the first method—the keyboard lights—to know the keyboard is initialized.