I have a M1730 XPS laptop with dead graphics cards (don't get me started).  Even though the graphics cards are dead I have been able to access it from another computer on my home network by using Windows Remote Desktop.  I have used it this way for over a year. But now I would like to replace Windows with Linux. I have already found info on how I can create a headless Linux install CD that will automatically connect to another computer on my home network using VNC. So now all I need to do is to get the laptop to boot a CD.

I found documentation on how to perform a one-time-only boot sequence change without entering setup.  To do this I cold boot the computer and when the DELL logo appears, press immediately. I can't see the logo but I can guess at about when the logo appears and press F12.  Then when the boot device list appears, select the boot device.  But since the graphics cards are dead I can't see the boot device list. I have tried pressing the down arrow various amounts followed by pressing the enter key but so far I have not been successful.

Can someone with a working M1730 give me the key sequences necessary to boot to the CD after pressing F12 for a one-time-only boot sequence change? Thank you in advance.