# Solved: Window 2000 BIOS access



## Preston1 (Dec 7, 2006)

Hello All,

My old company recently were closing and said we could take a few PC's and so on.
So i took a few, and was hoping to re install XP on a particular one.

However it is an old Dell Optiplex GX260 with Windows 2000 installed on it.
I cannot access BIOS at all during start up. Nothing seems to work, the PC just takes a while to boot and then eventually loads Windows 2000.

There is no screen saying press ABC to access BIOS, i have tried pressing the following keys during start up:
ESC
ESC & C
F4
F6
F8
Delete
Ctrl + Alt + Enter
Prt Scr
Pause

Pretty much every button on the keyboard...sometimes i get a few beeps but nothing further.
The only thing that happens is a splash screen for Win 2000 is displayed with a progress bar.

Can i try anything else to access BIOS?
Thanks in advance for any help


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

on most dell's the bios is access by F2; I've got a pile of GX260's here at work, and they all use F2.


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## Preston1 (Dec 7, 2006)

Thanks for the quick reply, have tried pressing F2 until my finger comes off now...
No luck, but sometimes even on boot the keyboard lights dont come as they should


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

dunno........I know from Dell's own site that that model uses F2 to get into the setup.


Entering System Setup



> 1. Turn on or restart your computer.
> 
> 2. When Press <F2> to Enter Setup appears in the upper-right corner of the screen, press <F2> immediately.
> 
> If you wait too long and the Microsoft® Windows® logo appears, continue to wait until you see the Windows desktop, then shut down your computer and try again.


does it show you the options to hit _anything_ as it's booting, and prior to the splash screen?


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## Preston1 (Dec 7, 2006)

No i never get any screen telling me to hit F2, the screen stays black until the splash screen is displayed.
PC is connected to an LCD TV and not a CRT screen (as i know setup screens can be missed due to CRT's starting so thats not the case).

I also just keep pressing F2 until something happens, but nothing does and then the splash screen takes over.


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

do you have another monitor you can hook it to besides the television?


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## Preston1 (Dec 7, 2006)

Well...this is clearly my fault 
PC monitor showed the PC Set up F2 option screen...and displayed a keyboard failure message...thats why is wasnt working

But on the 5th attempt it has gone into BIOS...all about the screen...embarrassing...we will keep this between us 

Thanks for the help!


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

de nada, happens all the time, trust me. 

if you are satisfied, you can mark this solved by hitting the 'solved' button on the upper left.

thanks, 

v


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## Preston1 (Dec 7, 2006)

Will do, thanks for the help again...appreciate it


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

sorta what we're here for.


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## valis (Sep 24, 2004)

btw, that keyboard failure issue generally occurs if you hit any key TOO many times, and 99% of time, if you wait about 30 seconds, it will clear itself. Done that one enough times on my own.


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## Preston1 (Dec 7, 2006)

Ok cool, thanks for the help...in the process of installing XP now so all is going ok


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