XPS 17 9720 Service Manual

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System setup options

NOTE:Depending on this computer and its installed devices, the items that are listed in this section may or may not be displayed.

Table 1. System setup options—System information menu
The following table describes the System information menu options in the System setup program.
Overview for XPS 17 9720

	BIOS Version	Displays the BIOS version number.
	Service Tag	Displays the Service Tag of the computer.
	Asset Tag	Displays the Asset Tag of the computer.
	Manufacture Date	Displays the manufacture date of the computer.
	Ownership Date	Displays the ownership date of the computer.
	Express Service Code	Displays the express service code of the computer.
	Ownership Tag	Displays the ownership tag of the computer.
	Signed Firmware Update	Displays whether the signed firmware update is enabled. Default: Enabled
	Battery	Displays the battery health information.
	Primary	Displays the primary battery.
	Battery Level	Displays the battery level.
	Battery State	Displays the battery state.
	Health	Displays the battery health.
	AC Adapter	Displays whether an AC adapter is connected. If connected, the AC adapter type.
	PROCESSOR
	Processor Type	Displays the processor type.
	Maximum Clock Speed	Displays the maximum processor clock speed.
	Minimum Clock Speed	Displays the minimum processor clock speed.
	Current Clock Speed	Displays the current processor clock speed.
	Core Count	Displays the number of cores on the processor.
	Processor ID	Displays the processor identification code.
	Processor L2 Cache	Displays the processor L2 Cache size.
	Processor L3 Cache	Displays the processor L3 Cache size.
	Microcode Version	Displays the microcode version.
	Intel Hyper-Threading Capable	Displays whether the processor is Hyper-Threading (HT) capable.
	64-Bit Technology	Displays whether 64-bit technology is used.
	MEMORY
	Memory Installed	Displays the total computer memory installed.
	Memory Available	Displays the total computer memory available.
	Memory Speed	Displays the memory speed.
	Memory Channel Mode	Displays single or dual channel mode.
	Memory Technology	Displays the technology that is used for the memory.
	DIMM SLOT 1	Displays the memory card installed in slot 1
	DIMM SLOT 2	Displays the memory card installed in slot 2
	DEVICES
	Panel Type	Displays the Panel Type of the computer.
	Video Controller	Displays the integrate graphics information of the computer.
	Video Memory	Displays the video memory information of the computer.
	Wi-Fi Device	Displays the Wi-Fi device installed in the computer.
	Native Resolution	Displays the native resolution of the computer.
	Video BIOS Version	Displays the video BIOS version of the computer.
	Audio Controller	Displays the audio controller information of the computer.
	Bluetooth Device	Displays whether a Bluetooth device is installed in the computer.
	Pass Through MAC Address	Displays the MAC address of the video pass-through.

Table 2. System setup options—Boot Configuration menu
The following table describes the Boot Configuration menu options in the System setup program.
Boot Configuration
	Boot Sequence
	Boot Mode: UEFI only	Displays the boot mode of this computer.
	Boot Sequence	Displays the boot sequence.
	Secure Digital (SD) Card Boot	Enables or disables Secure Digital (SD) Card boot.
	Secure Boot
	Enable Secure Boot	Enables or disables checking of boot software (including firmware drivers and the operating system).
	Secure Boot Mode	Modifies the behavior of Secure Boot to allow evaluation or enforcement of UEFI driver signatures. By default, Deployed Mode is selected.
	Expert Key Management
	Enable Custom Mode	Enables or disables custom mode to allow keys in the PK, KEK, db, and dbx security key databases to be modified. Default: OFF

Table 3. System setup options—Integrated Devices menu
The following table describes the Integrated Devices menu options in the System setup program.
Integrated Devices
	Date/Time
	Date	Sets the computer date in MM/DD/YYYY format. Changes to the date take effect immediately.
	Time	Sets the computer time in HH/MM/SS 24-hour format. You can switch between 12-hour and 24-hour clock. Changes to the time take effect immediately.
	Thunderbolt Adapter Configuration
	Enable Thunderbolt Technology Support	Enables or disables the Thunderbolt Technology feature and associated ports and adapters. Default: ON
	Enable Thunderbolt Boot Support	Enables or disables Thunderbolt adapter features during pre-boot. Default: OFF
	Enable Thunderbolt (and PCIe behind TBT) pre-boot modules	Enables or disables the setting that allows PCIe devices that are connected via a Thunderbolt adapter. Default: OFF
	Thunderbolt Security level	Sets the Thunderbolt adapter security level within the operating system. By default, User Authorization is selected.
	Camera
	Enable Camera	Enables or disables the camera. By default, Enable Camera is selected.
	Audio
	Enable Audio	Enables or disables all integrated audio controller. Default: ON
	Enable Microphone	Enables or disables microphone. By default, Enable Microphone is selected.
	Enable Internal Speaker	Enables or disables internal speaker. By default, Enable Internal Speaker is selected.
	USB Configuration	Enables or disables booting from USB mass storage devices such as external hard drive, optical drive, and USB drive. By default, Enable USB Boot Support is selected. By default, Enable External USB Ports is selected.
	Miscellaneous Devices
	Enable Fingerprint Reader Device	Enables or disables the Fingerprint Reader Device. By default, Enable Fingerprint Reader Device is selected.
	Enable Fingerprint Reader Single Sign On	Enables or disables the Fingerprint Reader Single Sign On capability. By default, Enable Fingerprint Reader Single Sign On is selected.

Table 4. System setup options—Storage menu
The following table describes the Storage menu options in the System setup program.
Storage
	SATA Operation	Configures operating mode of the integrated SATA hard drive controller. Default: RAID On. SATA is configured to support RAID (Intel Rapid Restore Technology).
	Storage Interface
	Port Enablement	Enables the selected onboard drives. SATA-4 Default: ON M.2 PCIe SSD-0 Default: ON M.2 PCIe SSD-1 Default: ON
	Drive Information	Displays the information of various onboard drives.
	Enable SMART Reporting	Enables or disables Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (SMART). Default: OFF
	Enable MediaCard	Enables to switch all media cards On/Off or set the media card to read-only state. By default, Enable Secure Digital (SD) Card is selected.

Table 5. System setup options—Display menu
The following table describes the Display menu options in the System setup program.
Display
	Display Brightness
	Brightness on battery power		Sets the screen brightness when the computer is running on battery power. Default: 50
	Brightness on AC power		Sets the screen brightness when the computer is running on AC power. Default: 0
	Touch Screen		Enables or disables the touch screen for the OS. NOTE:The touch screen will always work in the BIOS setup irrespective of this setting.
	Full Screen Logo		Enabled or disabled the computer to display full screen logo if the image match screen resolution. Default: OFF
	Direct Graphics Controller Direct Output Mode		When enabled, all graphics output ports directly to the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), bypassing Intel Integrated graphics outputs for HDMI, Thunderbolt, and mDP ports. Default: OFF NOTE:This feature is supported only on computers with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 discrete graphics card installed.

Table 6. System setup options—Connection menu
The following table describes the Connection menu options in the System setup program.
Connection
	Wireless Device Enable	Enable or disable internal WLAN/Bluetooth devices. By default, WLAN is selected. By default, Bluetooth is selected.
	Enable UEFI Network Stack
	Enable UEFI Network Stack	When enabled, UEFI networking protocols are installed and available, allowing pre-OS and early OS networking features to use any enabled NICs. This may be used without PXE turned on. Default: ON
	Wireless Radio Control
	Control WLAN radio	Enables to sense the connection of the computer to a wired network and subsequently disable the selected wireless radios (WLAN and/or WWAN). Upon disconnection from the wired network, the selected wireless radios are re-enabled. Default: OFF

Table 7. System setup options—Power menu
The following table describes the Power menu options in the System setup program.
Power
	Battery Configuration	Enables the computer to run on battery during power usage hours. Use the below options to prevent AC power usage between certain times of each day. By default Adaptive is selected.
	Advanced Configuration
	Enable Advanced Battery Charge Configuration	Enables Advanced Battery Charge Configuration from the beginning of the day to a specified work period. Advanced Battery Charged maximizes battery health while still supporting heavy use during the work day. Default: OFF
	Peak Shift	Enables the computer to run on battery during peak power usage hours. Default: OFF
	Thermal Management	Sets cooling fan and processor heat management to adjust system performance, noise, and temperature. By default, Optimized is selected.
	USB Wake Support
	Wake on Dell USB-C Dock	Enables connecting a Dell USB-C Dock to wake the computer from Standby. Default: ON
	Block Sleep	Blocks the computer from entering Sleep (S3) mode in the operating system. Default: OFF NOTE:If enabled, the computer will not go to sleep, Intel Rapid Start will be disabled automatically, and the operating system power option will be blank if it was set to Sleep.
	Lid Switch
	Enable Lid Switch	Enables or disables the lid switch. Default: ON
	Power On Lid Open	Enables the computer to power up from the off state whenever the lid is opened. Default: ON
	Intel Speed Shift Technology	Enables or disables the Intel Speed Shift Technology support. Setting this option to enable allows the operating system to select the appropriate processor performance automatically. Default: ON

Table 8. System setup options—Security menu
The following table describes the Security menu options in the System setup program.
Security
	TPM 2.0 Security On	Select whether or not the Trusted Platform Model (TPM) is visible to the OS. Default: ON
	PPI Bypass for Enable Commands	Enables or disables the OS to skip BIOS Physical Presence Interface (PPI) user prompts when issuing TPM PPI enabled and activate commands. Default: OFF
	PPI Bypass for Disable Commands	Enables or disables The OS to skip BIOS PPI user prompts when issuing TPM PPI Disable and Deactivate commands. Default: OFF
	PPI Bypass for Clear Commands	Enables or disables the operating system to skip BIOS Physical Presence Interface (PPI) user prompts when issuing the Clear command. Default: OFF
	Attestation Enable	Enables to control whether the TPM Endorsement Hierarchy is available to the OS. Disabling this setting restricts the ability to use the TPM for signature operations. Default: ON
	Key Storage Enable	Enables to control whether the TPM Endorsement Hierarchy is available to the OS. Disabling this setting restricts the ability to use the TPM for storing owner data. Default: ON
	SHA-256	Enables or disables the BIOS and the TPM to use the SHA-256 hash algorithm to extend measurements into the TPM PCRs during BIOS boot. Default: ON
	Clear	Enables or disables the computer to clear the PTT owner information, and returns the PTT to the default state. Default: OFF
	TPM State	Enables or disables the TPM. This is the normal operating state for the TPM when you want to use its complete array of capabilities. Default: Enabled
	Intel Software Guard Extensions
	Intel SGX	Enables or disables the Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX) to provide a secured environment for running code/storing sensitive information. By default, Software Control is selected.
	SMM Security Mitigation
	SMM Security Mitigation	Enables or disables additional UEFI SMM Security Mitigation protections. Default: OFF NOTE:This feature may cause compatibility issues or loss of functionality with some legacy tools and applications.
	Data Wipe on Next Boot
	Start Data Wipe	When enabled, the BIOS will queue up a data wipe cycle for storage device(s) connected to the motherboard on the next reboot. Default: OFF
	Absolute
	Absolute	Enables, disables or permanently disable the BIOS module interface of the optional Absolute Persistence Module service from Absolute Software. By default, Enable Absolute is selected.
	UEFI Boot Path Security
	UEFI Boot Path Security	Controls whether the system will prompt the user to enter the admin password (if set) when booting to a UEFI boot path device from the F12 boot menu. By default, Always Except Internal HDD is selected.

Table 9. System setup options—Passwords menu
The following table describes the Passwords menu options in the System setup program.
Passwords
	Admin Password	Sets, changes, or deletes the administrator password (sometimes called the "setup password"). The administrator password enables several security features.
	Password Configuration
	Upper Case Letter	When enabled, password must contain at least one upper case letter. Default: OFF
	Upper Case Letter	When enabled, password must contain at least one lower case letter. Default: OFF
	Digit	When enabled, password must contain at least one digit number. Default: OFF
	Special Character	When enabled, password must contain at least one special character. Default: OFF
	Minimum Characters	Sets the minimum number of characters allowed for passwords. Default: 04
	Password Bypass
	Password Bypass	When enabled, the system and the hard drive passwords are prompted when the computer is powered on from the Off state. By default, Disabled is selected.
	Password Changes
	Enable Non-Admin Password Changes	When On, users can change the system and the hard drive password without the need for administrator password. Default: ON
	Admin Setup Lockout
	Enable Admin Setup Lockout	Enables or disables the user from entering BIOS Setup when an administrator password is set. Default: OFF
	Master Password Lockout
	Enable Master Password Lockout	Enables or disables the master password support. Default: OFF

Table 10. System setup options—Update Recovery menu
The following table describes the Update Recovery menu options in the System setup program.
Update Recovery
	UEFI Capsule Firmware Updates
	Enable UEFI Capsule Firmware Updates	Controls whether this computer allows BIOS updates via EUFI capsule update packages. Default: ON
	BIOS Recovery from Hard Drive
	BIOS Recovery from Hard Drive	Enables the computer to recover from a bad BIOS image, as long as the Boot Block portion is intact and functioning. Default: ON NOTE:BIOS recovery is designed to fix the main BIOS block and cannot work if the Boot Block is damaged. In addition, this feature cannot work in the event of EC corruption, ME corruption, or a hardware issue. The recovery image must exist on an unencrypted partition on the drive.
	BIOS Downgrade
	Allow BIOS Downgrade	Controls flashing of the system firmware to previous revisions. Default: ON
	SupportAssist OS Recovery
	SupportAssist OS Recovery	Enables or disables the boot flow for SupportAssist OS Recovery tool in the event of certain system errors. Default: ON
	BIOSConnect
	BIOSConnect	Enables or disables cloud Service OS recover if the main operating system fails to boot with the number of failures equal to or greater than the value specified by the Auto OS Recovery Threshold setup option. Default: ON
	Dell Auto OS Recovery Threshold	Controls the automatic boot flow for SupportAssist System Resolution Console and for Dell operating system Recovery tool. By default, 2 is selected.

Table 11. System setup options—System Management menu
The following table describes the System Management menu options in the System setup program.
System Management
	Service Tag	Displays the Service Tag of the computer.
	Asset Tag	Creates a system Asset Tag that can be used by an IT administrator to uniquely identify a particular system. Once set in BIOS, the Asset Tag cannot be changed.
	AC Behavior
	Wake on AC	Enables the computer to turn on and go to boot when AC power is supplied to the computer. Default: OFF
	Wake on LAN/WLAN
	Wake on LAN/WLAN	Enables or disables the computer to turn on by a special LAN/WLAN signal. By default, Disabled is selected.

Table 12. System setup options—Keyboard menu
The following table describes the Keyboard menu options in the System setup program.
Keyboard
	Numlock Enable
	Enable Numlock	Enables or disables Numlock when the computer boots. Default: ON
	Fn Lock Options
	Fn Lock Options	Enables or disables the Fn lock option. Default: ON
	Lock Mode	Default: Lock Mode Secondary. Lock Mode Secondary = If this option is selected, the F1-F12 keys scan the code for their secondary functions.
	Keyboard Illumination
	Keyboard Illumination	Configures the operating mode of the keyboard illumination feature. By default, Bright is selected.
	Keyboard Backlight Timeout on AC
	Keyboard Backlight Timeout on AC	Configures the timeout value for the keyboard when an AC adapter is connected to the computer. The keyboard backlight timeout value is only effect when the backlight is enabled. By default, 1 minute is selected.
	Keyboard Backlight Timeout on Battery
	Keyboard Backlight Timeout on Battery	Configures the timeout value for the keyboard when the computer is running on battery. The keyboard backlight timeout value is only effect when the backlight is enabled. By default, 1 minute is selected.
	OROM Keyboard Access	Enables or disables the option to enter Option ROM configuration screens via hotkeys during boot. By default, Enabled is selected.
	OROM Keyboard Access

Table 13. System setup options—Pre-Boot Behavior menu
The following table describes the Keyboard menu options in the System setup program.
Pre-Boot Behavior
	Adapter Warnings
	Enable Adapter Warnings	Enables or disables the computer to display adapter warning messages when adapters with too little power capacity are detected. Default: ON
	Warnings and Errors
	Warnings and Errors	Selects an action on encountering a warning or error during boot. By default, Prompt on Warnings and Errors is selected. NOTE:Errors deemed critical to the operation of the computer hardware will always halt the computer.
	USB-C Warnings
	Enable Dock Warning Messages	Enables or disables dock warning messages. Default: ON
	Fastboot
	Fastboot	Configures the speed of the UEFI boot process. By default, Thorough is selected.
	Extend BIOS POST Time
	Extend BIOS POST Time	Configures the BIOS POST (Power-On Self-Test) load time. By default, 0 seconds is selected.
	MAC Address Pass-Through
	MAC Address Pass-Through	Replaces the external NIC MAC address (in a supported dock or dongle) with the selected MAC address from the computer. By default, System Unique MAC Address is selected.
	Sign of Life
	Early Logo Display	Displays Logo Sign of Life. Default: ON

Table 14. System setup options—Virtualization menu
The following table describes the Virtualization Support menu options in the System setup program.
Virtualization
	Intel Virtualization Technology
	Intel Virtualization Technology	Enables or disables the computer to run a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Default: ON
	VT for Direct I/O
	Enable Intel VT for Direct I/O	Enables or disables the computer to perform Virtualization Technology for Direct I/O (VT-d). VT-d is an Intel method that provides virtualization for memory map I/O. Default: ON

Table 15. System setup options—Performance menu
The following table describes the Keyboard menu options in the System setup program.
Performance
	Multi-Core Support
	Active Cores	Changes the number of CPU cores available to the operating system. The default value is set to the maximum number of cores. By default, All Cores is selected.
	Intel SpeedStep
	Enable Intel SpeedStep Technology	Enables or disables the Intel SpeedStep Technology to dynamically adjust processor voltage and core frequency, decreasing average power consumption and heat production. Default: ON
	C-States Control
	Enable C-State Control	Enables or disables the CPU's ability to enter and exit low-power states. Default: ON
	Enable Adaptive C-States for Discrete Graphics	Allows the computer to dynamically detect high usage of a discrete graphics and adjust the computer parameters for higher performance during that time period. Default: ON
	Intel Turbo Boost Technology
	Enable Intel Turbo Boost Technology	Enabled or disabled the Intel TurboBoost mode of the processor. If enabled, the Intel TurboBoost driver increases the performance of the CPU or graphics processor. Default: ON
	Intel Hyper-Threading Technology
	Enable Intel Hyper-Threading Technology	Enabled or disabled the Intel Hyper-Threading mode of the processor. If enabled, the Intel Hyper-Threading increases the efficiency of the processor resources when multiple threads run on each core. Default: ON
	Dynamic Tuning:Machine Learning
	Enable Dynamic Tuning:Machine Learning	Enables or disables OS capability to enhance dynamic power tuning capabilities based on detected workloads. Default: OFF

Table 16. System setup options—System Logs menu
The following table describes the System Logs menu options in the System setup program.
System Logs
	BIOS Event Log
	Clear Bios Event Log	Select keep or clear BIOS events. By default, Keep is selected.
	Thermal Event Log
	Clear Thermal Event Log	Select keep or clear Thermal events. By default, Keep is selected.
	Power Event Log
	Clear POWER Event Log	Select keep or clear Power events. By default, Keep is selected.