BIOS Boot Menu IF set as your example:

Hi Terry, This is mine with A12.  I had the two power ups required problem that fixed itself after a few days but Windows Boot Manager is gone and I can not Add Device at all. It just opens the window for adding a device but closes on any attempt to add a "file name" when the enter key is hit. F2 and F12 stopped soon as I went A11 ----> A12   and C73 made no difference.  I am getting along quite well getting into BIOS with SHIFT + START etc. and the Repair Disk DVD is my access to the BIOS should the C drive stop working, as it automatically goes to Advanced Startup Options after booting UEFI in mode off the DVD.

I see exactly what Bill Alsip is seeing - HD drive listed twice.  When I get the Chance I'll post screen shots of that.

Also, I tried the same thing entering "Microsoft Boot Manager" selecting the 1st drive listed in the list and I was able to actually get to Folders and point to the correct efi/Microsoft/boot/bootmg.efi file needed for boot manager... Not sure of exact path/filename as I have to Windows Advance Boot into BIOS, but did research on what should be here, found the file.  When I add it, sure enough it appears, BUT next boot and next look at BIOS it's gone with UEFI: NETWORK BOOT as the only option in priority list.

Bill that moving around of the cursor in those fields for me was very picky going between tabbing and entering combinations I was able to navigate to the Filename field and get something to appear.

I'm also quite sure I have 2 HD listings and not a CD/DVD listing.

I apologize - still not at machine but maybe my response not clear either! Bill but if you indeed have that window from selecting Add Boot Device, the interface stinks. CyberMaxX360 is correct as usual.

Let's assume you want to boot to a USB thumb drive. After you select Add Boot Device and the window appears:

1. Make sure desired device to add is already plugged in before getting into BIOS
2. In BIOS, under Add Boot Device, select Enter
3. Tab until any item in the list in the center of the window is highlighted. When in the list, navigate using only arrow keys.
4. Arrow key up or down to navigate amongst listed items
5. Arrow key right or left to move along any of the listed devices' gobbledygook descriptions
6. At the end of any of those descriptions, you will see HDD, CD, USB, etc.
7. Once you have confirmed that the device is indeed represented in the list, make sure your cursor is in that item description
8. Press Shift+Tab to get back to the Device Name field. 
9. Type in a name that makes sense to you
10. Then Tab until you get to OK or Add or whatever it says at the bottom of the window that confirms your entry.
11. To be safe, make sure that the desire device is still highlighted in the list.
12. Confirm by pressin OK or Add or whatever it says at the bottom
13. The device, with your name should appear in the boot list.

Hi staggerwing7,

Thanks for the help but I guess I did not explain everything. When I use the down arrow on Add Device it does nothing - it just sits on filename.  So I am  totally unable to add a device . It just closes the window when I hit enter and nothing is added  since nothing else in the Add Device window was accessible other than the filename. In fact the only device shown was the HD twice, with no DVD in the list under the filename. I have tried this several times.  Whatever is getting lost in the BIOS it seems to have some variations in symptoms with different machines.

Oh that's what I did! Now I remember I used the Freaking Arrow keys to navigate around.

You would think tabbing into fields as one normally thinks and does would work.  NOPE, I had to spend time putzin around with different navigation techniques to finally get it to where I can select things.  

The Score now Stands - DELL 7720 BIOS [3] CyberMaxX360 [0]

Fantastic staggerwing17.  I never thought of the Tab key.  I can get it to add a device now, save it, I then move   to another Tab and back and it is still there. I then Save & Exit BIOS + Yes. Then, I look in the BIOS again  and it is not there anymore.  In other words I think it is ignoring me because the Windows Boot Manager is not listed and therefore not  communicating  properly with Win 8? I kind of think there is some failsafe BIOS  code that always chooses HDD 1 should the Windows Boot Manager link be broken.  I used to do two power-ups (1st was a "hang") when it first started happening after loading A12. Then,  after about 10 boots like this, it went to single power-up but I could not boot DVD's or use F2 or  F12 unless going through Windows 8 Advanced Startup Options using  tile "Setting".

CyberXMax360:  Put a DVD disk like the Repair Disk in the drive and you will get the three entries. I am sure if we put an SSD, mSATA, or even another HD in HDD bay 2 it would add an entry for each. It seems to need to see a live device. I am not sure why it gives two entries for HDD 1.

Thanks staggerwing17, I really appreciate your help.  I disabled Secure Boot and they still disappeared. I was able to identify device but using up/down arrow keys.  Here is a snapshot,  the drives I added are HDD_1 and CD_DVD. The picture is right after the configuration before saving, Yes, and Exit. There is an actual DVD in the drive to get third entry option. Soon as I re-enter the BIOS all additions are GONE!

I have to go out for a couple of hours but I am addicted to this thing now.

Bill so a couple of things. First, I did not have Windows Boot Manager showing and I was able to add devices in the manner described above. In your boot options, is the Secure Boot On or is it Off (Enabled or Disabled)? If Secure Boot is Enabled, that may be why you are losing the saved item. Try setting the Secure Boot option to Disable. This will not affect Legacy ROM nor will it affect UEFI. The Secure Boot On was always the most problematic for me.

BTW were you able to successfully identify the device you wanted to add using the right and left arrow keys?

Please understand I am not being at all sarcastic - just know that I spent a great deal of time on this and am only bringing up mistakes I repeatedly made! Hope this helps!!

I'm going to see if I can add Windows Boot Manager by first disabling Secure Boot as stagerwing17 pointed out. I know what file you need to point to in order to make it work, it's pretty well documented on how the GPT partitions must be created, default paths, and what .efi file Boot Manager is looking for.  I'll post back in a few minutes... need to boot to the BIOS take a picture move it to PC and upload.  After that I'll turn Secure Boot back on and see if what I did "Sticks" or if it's striped out once again.

Meanwhile - MSDN information,  in order for these units to be Windows 8 Logo Certified they must adhere to being in Secure Boot mode.  One thing running it this way protects the system from bootkits & rootkits so if you are thinking about leaving it this way you may want to reconsider.  System should be fixed to boot in Secure Boot mode with out having issues.

Cheers all and good work tracking this down..

Link: msdn.microsoft.com/.../hh848062(v=vs.85).aspx

Sorry it was late and I forgot to "Roll Camera"

But.. I tried putting my BIOS into Secure Boot Disable and Adding description "Microsoft Boot Manager", to see if I can get that entry back into the BIOS so I pointed that to my HD1, to the path EFI\WINDOWS\BOOT then pointed to the filename "bootmgfw.efi" - again this is all well documented for Windows Boot Manager and UEFI.  I was successful in adding this, I then changed the Boot Priority Order - used the [+] key to move it above UEFI: Network Boot. Saved Changes and Rebooted...

System booted with out issues, I then did a "Shift + Restart" got the Windows Advanced Boot  Screen, Selected Setup, got back into BIOS.  BIOS was still set to Secure Boot Disabled, but Windows Boot Manager was once again removed.

Here's a good PDF about it... www.uefi.org/events/UEFI-Plugfest-WindowsBootEnvironment.pdf

@Dell Terry-B can you add this to the list of what needs to be fixed in the 7720's BIOS please (we either need access as a user to turn this on, or engineering needs to enable it or explain why it's turned off, and why as a consumer we are not alerted to the fact)

Truly sorry about being the vocal squeaky wheel on all of this but I do have legitimate business concerns in regards to this.

So what gives now?
Here's the problem - I do not have access to enable AES instructions which is a feature that my i7-3630QM processor supports 
For that matter it even supports AES-NI. The processor is reporting that AES is not part of it's instruction set to the OS and it's more then likely not enabled in the BIOS but I can't tell because I'm locked out of my OWN unit.

AES FLAG MISSING IN "INSTRUCTIONS" 

Can someone from Engineering please step into this thread and please for the life of me explain these decisions? The Logic behind it?
I need to know because if this is the case with Dell going forward then I will have to drive my clients away from DELL in regards to the recent decisions I'm seeing being made.  Nowhere was it documented at the time of purchase that this feature was not available all 3rd Generation Intel Processors support this.
This was a decision by DELL to disable this. I did my research I know at Intel's ARK site as the link above shows that the processor in my 17R SE 7720 Supports this feature. 

I'm truly getting tired of having to surf the web when something that I expect to work to find out and educate myself to what in the world is going on.

Sorry to say that I'm just about ready to move onto some other choices, each day I go to do some work and prepare a prototype for my clients and it's one thing after another. I enjoy my work but to be honest I'm not here to debug the hardware for you, I don't get paid by Dell to do such.

This is now borderline sales deception in my opinion.  If it's an honest mistake that will be corrected that's one thing, if it's some business decision by Dell to not enable this feature perhaps driving business consumers to your higher end business lines well then that's another thing. As a consumer I would reasonably expect that when I purchase something the manufacture would make it very clear that certain known features are not available in certain models. 

My Business Reasons:

I find out daily that what should be features to which I should be entitled to are being disabled by the OEM along with the OEM not giving me as the OWNER the ability to turn the feature on.

I work in the Medical Field as a technology consultant, I review products for clients, I perform installation work, I perform support work for them.

There are laws that are now enacted within the Medical Health Field here in the US which by the End of 2014 my clients must comply with or face penalties.

A rather recent legislation is moving them onto the electronic platform of storing patient medical records—called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or the ARRA. This legislation is aimed at creating more funding and a network of incentives that can be directly resourced towards healthcare professionals or physicians who are ready to adopt EMR and abide by the concept of "meaningful use" of Electronic Medical Records by 2014.

The year 2014 is also significant from the perspective that from 2015 onwards, penalties are likely to be levied on entities dealing with patient healthcare data unable to upgrade themselves to electronic record technologies. Legislations like the ARRA and the entire campaign promoting EMR is based on the principle that electronic records provide the combined benefit of securing patient information and cutting down healthcare costs—two irrefutable advantages.

This for any Health Provider who accepts Federally backed Medicare and Medicaid patients .

Background Research:

Why AES-NI is important to this field  Intel White Paper

In the healthcare sector, we find acts like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) mandating the encryption of PHI (Personal Health Information) at rest and in motion [See HIPAA Security Rule - “Implement a mechanism to encrypt and decrypt EPHI.” Rule 164.312(e)(2)(ii), 164.312(a)(2)(iv)]. However, the adoption of such security solutions, even though mandatory, is sometimes circumvented by end users and organizations due to disk encryption solutions not being transparent enough and slowing down the host system significantly.

It's imperative for them to have this feature especially those that must comply with these Federal  Laws.
I bought what I thought was a decent i7 laptop to prototype with, it sounded like it had excellent features for what I needed and at a good cost to boot. Obvious it's starting to not look like a good choice, problem is I don't know if this was an engineering mistake or some kind of Dell business decision.

I know I have said this before so once again, Thanks Terry for sticking with this thread and offering us a line of contact to the engineering team. I know their working on the BIOS issues and I really am sorry that I'm tossing all this your way, but it does fit with the topic of BIOS Issues.
 
I'm really hoping Dell can work this out and get it corrected, past jobs I was pretty happy with Dell I'd like to stay that way.

Cheers

CyberMaxX360

The Inspiron 17r SE was designed primarily as a home and entertainment system with some additional power to be able to play games.   The type of encryption that AES N1 provides isn't generally needed by the average home user.  

I believe that Dell does offer AES N1 support in the BIOS in a number of our new business Latitude systems with Ivy Bridge processors.   I will check with engineering but I will be surprised if they are planning this type of support for a future BIOS rev on the Inspiron 17r SE.

If this is a requirement for you and it seems that it is, I can discuss with you possible options via private message.  

I am sorry for the inconvenience.

TB

Hi Terry,

I  personally know myself being in your shoes once as I've worked support long enough myself. So, trust me when I say I know you are probably frustrated as much as we are (I am) with the way things work in a business environment. Enough for me that after 25 years behind a desk for some major corporation doing first support work, then engineering work, even managing a small team I had to go off and start my own business just get out of that insanity.  

I think Dell Marketing needs to get together with Dell Engineering and Dell Management to target the Dell lines correctly.

So, nothing to be sorry about... yes it's an inconvenience.

But, the real inconvenience is actually the Dell web page where one goes to shop for units if things like this aren't clearly marked how can consumers make any type of decisions.
 
Let me point out a few things and maybe you can bring this as an example to Engineering and Management and Marketing as to why there is a fault in Dells Business Decision to limit this functionality that or show them that perhaps it's an oversight and may be it needs to be corrected because of these following facts posted by a consumer in the Dell public Forums...

OK.... Now, no where on the Dell web pages where a consumer shops to gain knowledge of Dells product offerings is it clearly marked or disclaimed that certain features of a CPU that are included with certain units being offered will be disabled in those specific lines. (Obvious, Dell wouldn't be selling much of anything with those statements clearly marked). 

I can understand and I'm sure well educated consumers would understand and reasonably assume the business decision to limit access to the Unit in such that Dell does not allow any customers who have units under warranty the ability to overclock their CPU's and GPU's. Well educated consumers and they are if they know they want to do this understand that this may cause instability or damage to the unit, there would be no need to disclaim or clearly state that this is being done. But, disabling a known feature which does no such thing and not clearly stating as such... well any backwoods lawyer could have a field day in court with it.

Though Dell states the 17R SE 7720 is "designed primarily for home & entertainment with additional power to play games" which if that was truly the case and is the marketing direction Dell is positioning the unit, why isn't it just offered under the "Home" Category section of the Dell Website?? Me shopping for a Business Unit wouldn't be looking under that category of offerings.

But here's the problem Dell is putting themselves into with all this...

The unit is also listed in the Small Business / Home Office category as well, clearly under the Inspirion line as a "High Performance" Ultimate Multimedia Business Center unit. And, under this category it happens to be the ONLY reasonably priced unit offered with an i7 Gen 3 CPU and a 17 inch Screen the other 2 units that fall within those specs and under the same marketing category are 2 units in the Mobile Precision line at nearly 2 times the cost (that line should be in your Medium Business Category in my opinion) but wait it gets even better...

Not only is the 17R SE 7720 targeted to the Small Business / Home Office category it's also marketed in the Medium Business Category where I was shopping and spec'd out the unit that I now have as the ONLY 17 inch i7 Gen 3 CPU unit available for this category. Dell doesn't even have the 2 Higher End Mobile Precision Line units that fell under the 17 inch display i7 Gen 3 CPU specs that the Small Business / Home Office category listed.

So how as a consumer shopping the Dell Site for Medium class Business Units or even Small Business / Home Office units as one that is knowledgeable about or did their home work on available processors and their features supposed to know that this unit which has an i7 Gen 3 CPU on an Ivy Bridge Architecture which has baked in AES-NI support by Intel which in some cases is a legitimate Business Need know that the feature has been disabled by the manufacture in the unit being advertised in not only Home use but 2 categories of business use. And not only is it disabled, but I as the consumer and owner of the unit can not even access the setting in my BIOS to turn it on. 

I basically bought something which I reasonably assumed had features as clearly advertised by Intel and placed in unit marketed as a  Medium Business Class unit with the feature crippled. The feature is well documented at the Intel ARK site for the i7-3630QM processor.

I hope you can make whoever needs to be aware of this that their decision could possibly lead to a class action lawsuit for deceptive sales practices or even a bait and switch scheme. If this is being done in all other lines where the CPU supports this and the feature is being disabled by Dell with no disclaimer stating otherwise, it will be huge.

As a consumer I should be able to reasonably assume that what I am purchasing is indeed what it claims to be... that is an i7 Gen 3 CPU with all its features that it offers which happens to come in a Dell Unit which is being marketed in not only the Home Category but in both the Small Business / Home Office and Medium Business category lines, that I would be able to perform Business type functions.  That being in some cases Encryption/Decryption of my data using the technology that I bought and paid for. 

I'll give Dell an easy out here - just call it an engineering oversight and during the next BIOS refresh for any unit this is being done to and for all CPU's that have the feature just enable it or give the consumer the ability to enable it or disable it in their own BIOS for that model line. No Harm / No Foul in my opinion.

I'll shoot you a PM over this after I can gather my thoughts on what I would like to do, probably not until sometime this weekend. 
I seriously need to get some of my own clients business work done first.

Thanks for understanding and supporting all of us in this, again hopefully it will get resolved not just for me but others as well.

Cheers.

Edit:

One more thing I would point out (cause it popped up while I was closing down the Dell Shopping Site) any takers on what the outcome would be if I took that annoying Sales Chat floating popup that appears while shopping the Dell Site and asked the sales rep:

Hi I'm looking for a Medium Business Class laptop that has at least a 17 inch screen using an i7 Gen 3 CPU  that I would be directed to my exact same model that I purchased?