# How to get rid of POST pause "Strike F1 to continue"



## Alex Ethridge (Apr 10, 2000)

Two Dell computers: Optiplex GX270 and Dimension 8400

I bought two replacement boards from Dell this week and installed one yesterday and one today. Both boards pause indefinitely in the POST and ask me to "Strike F1 to continue, F2 to enter Setup" and goes no further until I make a choice.

How do I get them to bypass this "Strike F1" thing?

I have been through the BIOS and I cannot find a setting that changes this condition.


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## Pandemonium009 (Oct 25, 2006)

Usually this can be fixed by flashing your bios. Goto the mb manufacturer's website and download the latest bios to flash.


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## Alex Ethridge (Apr 10, 2000)

I think you're right. These two computers have identical BIOS menus. I just discovered the 8400 will respond; but, the GX270 will not, with the same settings.

I've been fighting it with this 270 all this time and just now tried the 8400 and it worked as I thought it should.


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## technik733 (Oct 23, 2006)

I just have to point out that I find it rather unusual for any bios to be programmed to tell you to "strike" anything. I find that mildly amusing, heehee.

Hmm something productive to say... There might be a setting under the basic setup menu or something, that says halt system on: and it probably says all errors. You can try setting this to nothing or never.


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## Alex Ethridge (Apr 10, 2000)

"strike" is an old term in BIOS history and most have quit using it; however, this one uses that word.

'Halt on no errors' doesn't change the behavior; I've already tried that. Besides, there are no errors to halt on, anyway.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

You may simply have to enter the BIOS configuration and then save. That prompt is typically when the machine finds the CMOS checksum is invalid.


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## Rich-M (May 3, 2006)

Double check boot hard drive is the right one indicated. Dells have trouble with changed drives
in seeing the new one or adding a drive they get the order messed up.


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## Alex Ethridge (Apr 10, 2000)

BIOS update fixed it.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Part of a BIOS update was clearing the parameters, which would have also fixed it.


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## Alex Ethridge (Apr 10, 2000)

Well, I went quite a long way to diagnose possible differences between the two boards' BIOS settings. I usually have only one monitor on the work bench, a 19-inch on a 4-port KVM switch; but, I grabbed another off the shelf so I could do a side-by-side and eliminate possible mistakes in comparison. 

The BIOSes appeared identical and I compared page by page and didn't see any differences in settings. This sounds like a lot of trouble; but, this kind of elaboration, even over what others would say wasn't worth it, is the way I've learned what little I know. I work alone here and don't have anyone much to bounce ideas off of. I concluded from this comparison that the boards were different in a way that didn't show up in the BIOS screens.

I couldn't find a BIOS update on the Dell site so I called tech support. They gave me a link to a file they said I should use. After flashing and rechecking the settings, it booted without displaying "Strike F1".

I guess I could have missed something; but, for myself, I'm satisfied I didn't and that there was something wrong with the BIOS. This wouldn't be the first time Dell sent me a board that 'wasn't ready for prime time'. I got one a few months ago where they required me to press undocumented key combinations proprietary to only Dell systems. It was obvious these were Dell in-house combinations that Dell builders knew and used when building new systems.

I guess it's possible a CMOS clear could have done it; but, that's something I didn't think to try.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Hey, you got it fixed, that was the desired result.


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## Alex Ethridge (Apr 10, 2000)

Yup, an lernt sumpm too.


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