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DELL--user
13 Posts
0
4663
November 18th, 2016 07:00
Changing Boot Order without a VDU or Keyboard
I want to boot an Optiplex machine using a USB Flash drive. Is there a simple way to do it? The unit isn't connected to a screen or keyboard and as such I am unable to change the boot sequence or hit F12 etc. At the moment if I plug in a bootable USB Flash drive the system still boots straight off the hard disk. Will a hard reset of the BIOS settings change the boot order to allow me to boot off the USB first?
DELL--user
13 Posts
3605
0
Posted November 19th, 2016 14:00
Does anyone know the priority usb port which gives priority to booting from usb on an Optiplex 790?
DELL--user
13 Posts
3605
0
Posted November 21st, 2016 04:00
Anyone know how I can reset the boot order on this machine to boot from USB or PXE first?
It boots straight off the HDD despite having a bootable Linux USB stick plugged in.
DELL--user
13 Posts
3605
0
Posted November 21st, 2016 16:00
System is a DELL Optiplex 790 SFF.
DELL--user
13 Posts
3605
2
Posted November 21st, 2016 16:00
I had to manually disconnect the SATA interface cable in order to boot the device with Linux from a USB stick over SSH. Then OMG after all that searching I found this gem, literally a needle in a haystack:
www.dell.com/.../DriversDetails
I was able to run the RHEL binaries on a Debian x86_64 system without any problems. Some of the config and library files needed placing at the right places. Then running ldconfig to refresh the libraries' configuration.
The mission was accomplished by finally running:
# sudo /opt/dell/toolkit/bin/cctk bootorder --sequence=usbdev,embnic,cdrom,floppy,hdd
DELL, this is what the default boot order sequence ought to be in the first place for all systems by default.
Not bad for taking command of a base unit without a screen or keyboard. All was done over SSH.