Dell PowerEdge R740

BIOS and UEFI Reference Guide

Regulatory Model: E38S Series

Regulatory Type: E38S001
March 2022
Rev. A03
Notes, cautions, and warnings

NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid
the problem.

WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.

© 2017 - 2022 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries.
Other trademarks may be trademarks of their respective owners.
 Contents

Chapter 1: Pre-operating system management applications...........................................................4

Options to manage the pre-operating system applications...................................................................................... 4
System Setup....................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Viewing System Setup..................................................................................................................................................4
System Setup details.................................................................................................................................................... 5
System BIOS................................................................................................................................................................... 5
iDRAC Settings utility................................................................................................................................................. 27
Device Settings............................................................................................................................................................ 27
Dell Lifecycle Controller................................................................................................................................................... 27
Embedded system management.............................................................................................................................. 27
Boot Manager.....................................................................................................................................................................27
Viewing Boot Manager............................................................................................................................................... 27
Boot Manager main menu......................................................................................................................................... 28
One-shot UEFI boot menu........................................................................................................................................ 28
System Utilities............................................................................................................................................................ 28
PXE boot............................................................................................................................................................................. 28

Contents 3
 1
Pre-operating system management
applications
You can manage basic settings and features of a system without booting to the operating system by using the system firmware.
Topics:
• Options to manage the pre-operating system applications
• System Setup
• Dell Lifecycle Controller
• Boot Manager
• PXE boot

Options to manage the pre-operating system

applications
Your system has the following options to manage the pre-operating system applications:
● System Setup
● Dell Lifecycle Controller
● Boot Manager
● Preboot Execution Environment (PXE)

System Setup
By using the System Setup screen, you can configure the BIOS settings, iDRAC settings, and device settings of your system.
NOTE: Help text for the selected field is displayed in the graphical browser by default. To view the help text in the text
browser, press F1.
You can access system setup by one of the following:
● Standard graphical browser—The browser is enabled by default.
● Text browser—The browser is enabled by using Console Redirection.

Viewing System Setup

To view the System Setup screen, perform the following steps:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.
2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message:

F2 = System Setup

NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then
restart your system and try again.

4 Pre-operating system management applications

System Setup details
The System Setup Main Menu screen details are explained as follows:

Option Description
System BIOS Enables you to configure BIOS settings.
iDRAC Settings Enables you to configure the iDRAC settings.
The iDRAC settings utility is an interface to set up and configure the iDRAC parameters by using UEFI
(Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). You can enable or disable various iDRAC parameters by using
the iDRAC settings utility. For more information about this utility, see Integrated Dell Remote Access
Controller User’s Guide at www.dell.com/poweredgemanuals.

Device Settings Enables you to configure device settings.

System BIOS
You can use the System BIOS screen to edit specific functions such as boot order, system password, and setup password, set
the SATA and PCIe NVMe RAID mode, and enable or disable USB ports.

Viewing System BIOS

To view the System BIOS screen, perform the following steps:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.
2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message:

F2 = System Setup

NOTE: If the operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then
restart the system and try again.

3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS.

System BIOS Settings details

About this task
The System BIOS Settings screen details are explained as follows:

Option Description
System Provides information about the system such as the system model name, BIOS version, and Service Tag.
Information
Memory Settings Provides information and options related to the installed memory.
Processor Provides information and options related to the processor such as speed and cache size.
Settings
SATA Settings Provides options to enable or disable the integrated SATA controller and ports.
NVMe Settings Provides options to change the NVMe settings. If the system contains the NVMe drives that you want
to configure in a RAID array, you must set both this field and the Embedded SATA field on the
SATA Settings menu to RAID mode. You might also need to change the Boot Mode setting to UEFI.
Otherwise, you should set this field to Non-RAID mode.
Boot Settings Provides options to specify the Boot mode (BIOS or UEFI). Enables you to modify UEFI and BIOS boot
settings.

Pre-operating system management applications 5

Option Description
Network Settings Provides options to manage the UEFI network settings and boot protocols.
Legacy network settings are managed from the Device Settings menu.

Integrated Provides options to manage integrated device controllers and ports, specifies related features and
Devices options.
Serial Provides options to manage the serial ports, their related features and options.
Communication
System Profile Provides options to change the processor power management settings, and memory frequency.
Settings
System Security Provides options to configure the system security settings, such as system password, setup password,
Trusted Platform Module (TPM) security, and UEFI secure boot. It also manages the power button on the
system.
Redundant OS Sets the redundant OS information for redundant OS control.
Control
Miscellaneous Provides options to change the system date and time.
Settings

System Information
You can use the System Information screen to view system properties such as Service Tag, system model name, and BIOS
version.

Viewing System Information

To view the System Information screen, perform the following steps:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.
2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message:

F2 = System Setup

NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then
restart your system and try again.

3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS.

4. On the System BIOS screen, click System Information.

System Information details

About this task
The System Information screen details are explained as follows:

Option Description
System Model Specifies the system model name.
Name
System BIOS Specifies the BIOS version installed on the system.
Version
System Specifies the current version of the Management Engine firmware.
Management
Engine Version

6 Pre-operating system management applications

Option Description
System Service Specifies the system Service Tag.
Tag
System Specifies the name of the system manufacturer.
Manufacturer
System Specifies the contact information of the system manufacturer.
Manufacturer
Contact
Information
System CPLD Specifies the current version of the system complex programmable logic device (CPLD) firmware.
Version
UEFI Compliance Specifies the UEFI compliance level of the system firmware.
Version

Memory Settings
You can use the Memory Settings screen to view all the memory settings and enable or disable specific memory functions,
such as system memory testing and node interleaving.

Viewing Memory Settings

To view the Memory Settings screen, perform the following steps:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.
2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message:

F2 = System Setup

NOTE: If the operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then
restart the system and try again.

3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS.

4. On the System BIOS screen, click Memory Settings.

Memory Settings details

About this task
The Memory Settings screen details are explained as follows:

Option Description
System Memory Specifies the memory size in the system.
Size
System Memory Specifies the type of memory that is installed in the system.
Type
System Memory Specifies the system memory speed.
Speed
System Memory Specifies the system memory voltage.
Voltage
Video Memory Specifies the amount of video memory.

Pre-operating system management applications 7

Option Description
System Memory Specifies whether the system memory tests are run during system boot. Options are Enabled and
Testing Disabled. This option is set to Disabled by default.
Dram Refresh By enabling the CPU memory controller to delay running the REFRESH commands, you can improve
Delay the performance for some workloads. By minimizing the delay time, it is ensured that the memory
controller runs the REFRESH command at regular intervals. For lntel-based servers, this setting only
affects systems configured with DIMMs which use 8 Gb density DRAMS.

Memory Specifies the memory operating mode. The options available are Optimizer Mode, Single Rank Spare
Operating Mode Mode, Multi Rank Spare Mode, Mirror Mode, and Dell Fault Resilient Mode. This option is set to
Optimizer Mode by default.
NOTE: The Memory Operating Mode option can have different default and available options based
on the memory configuration of your system.

NOTE: The Dell Fault Resilient Mode option establishes an area of memory that is fault resilient.
This mode can be used by an operating system that supports the feature to load critical applications
or enables the operating system kernel to maximize system availability.

NOTE: Only Optimizer Mode should be selected when Intel DC Optane Persistent Memory is
installed.

Current State Specifies the current state of the memory operating mode.
of Memory
Operating Mode
Fault Resilient Select to define the percent of total memory size that must be used by the fault resilient mode when
Mode Memory selected in the Memory Operating mode. When Fault Resilient Mode is not selected, this option is
Size [%] grayed out and not used by Fault Resilient Mode.

Node Interleaving Specifies if Non-Uniform Memory Architecture (NUMA) is supported. If this field is set to Enabled,
memory interleaving is supported if a symmetric memory configuration is installed. If this field is set
to Disabled, the system supports NUMA (asymmetric) memory configurations. This option is set to
Disabled by default.
ADDDC Setting Enables or disables ADDDC Setting feature. When Adaptive Double DRAM Device Correction (ADDDC)
is enabled, failing DRAMs are dynamically mapped out. When set to Enabled it can have some impact to
system performance under certain workloads. This feature is applicable for x4 DIMMs only. This option is
set to Enabled by default.
Native tRFC Enables 16 Gb density DIMMs to operate at their programmed Row Refresh Cycle Time (tRFC). Enabling
Timing for 16Gb this feature may improve system performance for some configurations. However, enabling this feature
DIMMs has no effect on configurations with 16 Gb 3DS/TSV DIMMs. This option is set to Enabled by default.
Opportunistic Enables or disables opportunistic self-refresh feature. This option is set to Disabled by default and is not
Self-Refresh supported when DCPMMs are in the system.
Correctable Error Enables or disables logging of correctable memory threshold error. This option is set to Disabled by
logging default.
DIMM Self Enable/Disable Post Package Repair (PPR) on Uncorrectable Memory Error. This option is set to Enabled
Healing (Post by default.
Package Repair)
on Uncorrectable
Memory Error
Persistent This field controls Persistent Memory on the system. This option is only available if the persistent memory
Memory module is installed in the system.

Persistent Memory details

About this task

The Persistent Memory screen details can be found in the NVDIMM-N User 's Guide and PMem User's Guide at https://
www.dell.com/poweredgemanuals.

8 Pre-operating system management applications

Processor Settings
You can use the Processor Settings screen to view the processor settings and perform specific functions such as enabling
virtualization technology, hardware prefetcher, logical processor idling.

Viewing Processor Settings

To view the Processor Settings screen, perform the following steps:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.
2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message:

F2 = System Setup

NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then
restart your system and try again.

3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS.

4. On the System BIOS screen, click Processor Settings.

Processor Settings details

About this task
The Processor Settings screen details are explained as follows:

Option Description
Logical Processor Enables or disables the logical processors and displays the number of logical processors. If this option is
set to Enabled, the BIOS displays all the logical processors. If this option is set to Disabled, the BIOS
displays only one logical processor per core. This option is set to Enabled by default.

CPU Enables you to govern the frequency of the communication links among the processors in the system.
Interconnect NOTE: The standard and basic bin processors support lower link frequencies.
Speed
The options available are Maximum data rate, 10.4 GT/s, and 9.6 GT/s. This option is set to Maximum
data rate by default.
Maximum data rate indicates that the BIOS runs the communication links at the maximum frequency that
is supported by the processors. You can also select specific frequencies that the processors support,
which can vary.
For best performance, you should select Maximum data rate. Any reduction in the communication link
frequency affects the performance of non-local memory accesses and cache coherency traffic. Besides, it
can slow access to non-local I/O devices from a particular processor.
However, if power-saving considerations outweigh performance, you might want to reduce the frequency
of the processor communication links. If you do this, you should localize memory and I/O accesses to the
nearest NUMA node to minimize the impact to system performance.

Virtualization Enables or disables the virtualization technology for the processor. This option is set to Enabled by
Technology default.
Adjacent Cache Optimizes the system for applications that need high utilization of sequential memory access. This option
Line Prefetch is set to Enabled by default. You can disable this option for applications that need high utilization of
random memory access.
Hardware Enables or disables the hardware prefetcher. This option is set to Enabled by default.
Prefetcher
DCU Streamer Enables or disables the Data Cache Unit (DCU) streamer prefetcher. This option is set to Enabled by
Prefetcher default.

Pre-operating system management applications 9

Option Description
DCU IP Enables or disables the Data Cache Unit (DCU) IP prefetcher. This option is set to Enabled by default.
Prefetcher
Sub NUMA Sub NUMA Clustering (SNC) is a feature for breaking up the LLC into disjoint clusters based on address
Cluster range, with each cluster bound to a subset of the memory controllers in the system. It improves average
latency to the LLC. Enables or disables the Sub NUMA Cluster. This option is set to Disabled by default.
UPI Prefetch Enables you to get the memory that is read started early on DDR bus. The Ultra Path Interconnect (UPI)
Rx path will spawn the speculative memory that is read to Integrated Memory Controller (iMC) directly.
This option is set to Enabled by default.
LLC Prefetch Enables or disables the LLC Prefetch on all threads. This option is set to Disabled by default.
Dead Line LLC Enables or disables the Dead Line LLC Alloc. This option is set to Enabled by default. You can enable this
Alloc option to enter the dead lines in LLC or disable the option to not enter the dead lines in LLC.
Directory AtoS Enables or disables the Directory AtoS. AtoS optimization reduces remote read latencies for repeat read
accesses without intervening writes. This option is set to Disabled by default.
Logical Processor Enables you to improve the energy efficiency of a system. It uses the operating system core parking
Idling algorithm and parks some of the logical processors in the system which in turn allows the corresponding
processor cores to transition into a lower power idle state. This option can only be enabled if the
operating system supports it. It is set to Disabled by default.
Intel SST-BF Enable Intel SST-BF. This option is displayed if Performance Per Watt (operating system) or Custom
(when OSPM is enabled) system profiles are selected. It is set to Disabled by default.
Intel SST-CP Enable Intel SST-CP. This option is displayed if Performance Per Watt (operating system) or Custom
(when OSPM is enabled) system profiles are selected. It is set to Disabled by default.
Configurable TDP Enables you to configure the TDP level. The available options are Nominal, Level 1, and Level 2. This
option is set to Nominal by default.
NOTE: This option is only available on certain stock keeping units (SKUs) of the processors.

x2APIC Mode Enables or disables the x2APIC mode. This option is set to Enabled by default.
Dell Controlled Controls the turbo engagement. Enable this option only when System Profile is set to Disabled.
Turbo NOTE: Depending on the number of installed processors, there might be up to two processor listings.

Dell AVX Scaling Enables you to configure the Dell AVX scaling technology. This option is set to 0 by default.
Technology
AVX ICCP Pre- Allows the system to select between different AVX ICCP transition levels offered by Intel. The default
Grant level is 128 Heavy.
Number of Cores Controls the number of enabled cores in each processor. This option is set to All by default.
per Processor
Processor Core Specifies the maximum core frequency of the processor.
Speed
Processor Bus Displays the bus speed of the processor.
Speed
Processor n NOTE: Depending on the number of processors, there might be up to two processors listed.

The following settings are displayed for each processor that is installed in the system:

Option Description
Family-Model- Specifies the family, model, and stepping of the processor as defined by Intel.
Stepping
Brand Specifies the brand name.
Level 2 Cache Specifies the total L2 cache.
Level 3 Cache Specifies the total L3 cache.
Number of Cores Specifies the number of cores per processor.

10 Pre-operating system management applications

Option Description

Option Description
Maximum Specifies the maximum memory capacity per processor.
Memory Capacity
Microcode Specifies the microcode.

SATA Settings
You can use the SATA Settings screen to view the settings of SATA devices and enable SATA and PCIe NVMe RAID mode on
your system.

Viewing SATA Settings

To view the SATA Settings screen, perform the following steps:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.
2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message:

F2 = System Setup

NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then
restart your system and try again.

3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS.

4. On the System BIOS screen, click SATA Settings.

SATA Settings details

About this task
The SATA Settings screen details are explained as follows:

Option Description
Embedded SATA Enables the embedded SATA option to be set to AHCI Mode, or RAID Mode. This option is set to AHCI
Mode by default.
Security Freeze Enables you to send Security Freeze Lock command to the embedded SATA drives during POST. This
Lock option is applicable only for AHCI mode. This option is set to Enabled by default.
Write Cache Enables or disables the command for the embedded SATA drives during POST. This option is set to
Disabled by default.
Port n Enables you to set the drive type of the selected device.
For AHCI Mode or RAID Mode, BIOS support is always enabled.

Option Description
Model Specifies the drive model of the selected device.
Drive Type Specifies the type of drive attached to the SATA port.
Capacity Specifies the total capacity of the drive. This field is undefined for removable media
devices such as optical drives.

Pre-operating system management applications 11

NVMe Settings

The NVMe settings enable you to set the NVMe drives to either RAID mode or Non-RAID mode.
NOTE: To configure these drives as RAID drives, you must set the NVMe drives and the Embedded SATA option in the
SATA Settings menu to RAID mode. If not, you must set this field to Non-RAID mode.

Viewing NVMe Settings

To view the NVMe Settings screen, perform the following steps:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.
2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message:

F2 = System Setup

NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then
restart your system and try again.

3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS.

4. On the System BIOS screen, click NVMe Settings.

NVMe Settings details

About this task
The NVMe Settings screen details are explained as follows:

Option Description
NVMe Mode Enables you to set the NVMe mode. This option is set to Non RAID by default.

Boot Settings
You can use the Boot Settings screen to set the boot mode to either BIOS or UEFI. It also enables you to specify the boot
order.
● UEFI: The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a new interface between operating systems and platform
firmware. The interface consists of data tables with platform related information, boot and runtime service calls that are
available to the operating system and its loader. The following benefits are available when the Boot Mode is set to UEFI:
○ Support for drive partitions larger than 2 TB.
○ Enhanced security (e.g., UEFI Secure Boot).
○ Faster boot time.
NOTE: You must use only the UEFI boot mode in order to boot from NVMe drives.
● BIOS: The BIOS Boot Mode is the legacy boot mode. It is maintained for backward compatibility.

Viewing Boot Settings

To view the Boot Settings screen, perform the following steps:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.

12 Pre-operating system management applications

2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message:

F2 = System Setup

NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then
restart your system and try again.

3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS.

4. On the System BIOS screen, click Boot Settings.

Boot Settings details

About this task
The Boot Settings screen details are explained as follows:

Option Description
Boot Mode Enables you to set the boot mode of the system.
CAUTION: Switching the boot mode may prevent the system from booting if the operating
system is not installed in the same boot mode.
If the operating system supports UEFI, you can set this option to UEFI. Setting this field to BIOS enables
compatibility with non-UEFI operating systems. This option is set to UEFI by default.

NOTE: Setting this field to UEFI disables the BIOS Boot Settings menu.

Boot Sequence Enables or disables the Boot Sequence Retry feature. If this option is set to Enabled and the system
Retry fails to boot, the system re-attempts the boot sequence after 30 seconds. This option is set to Enabled
by default.

Hard-Disk Specifies the drive that is booted in the event of a drive failure. The devices are selected in the Hard-
Failover Disk Drive Sequence on the Boot Option Setting menu. When this option is set to Disabled, only the
first drive in the list is attempted to boot. When this option is set to Enabled, all drives are attempted to
boot in the order selected in the Hard-Disk Drive Sequence. This option is not enabled for UEFI Boot
Mode. This option is set to Disabled by default.
Generic USB Enables or disables the USB boot option. This option is set to Disabled by default.
Boot
Hard-disk Drive Enables or disables the Hard-disk drive placeholder option. This option is set to Disabled by default.
Placeholder
BIOS Boot Enables or disables BIOS boot options.
Settings NOTE: This option is enabled only if the boot mode is BIOS.

UEFI Boot Enables or disables UEFI Boot options.

Settings
The Boot options include IPv4 PXE and IPv6 PXE. This option is set to IPv4 by default.

NOTE: This option is enabled only if the boot mode is UEFI.

UEFI Boot Enables you to change the boot device order.

Sequence
Boot Options Enables you to select the enabled or disabled boot devices.
Enable/Disable

Choosing system boot mode

System Setup enables you to specify one of the following boot modes for installing your operating system:
● BIOS boot mode is the standard BIOS-level boot interface.
● UEFI boot mode (the default), is an enhanced 64-bit boot interface.

Pre-operating system management applications 13

1. From the System Setup Main Menu, click Boot Settings, and select Boot Mode.
2. Select the UEFI boot mode you want the system to boot into.
CAUTION: Switching the boot mode may prevent the system from booting if the operating system is not
installed in the same boot mode.
3. After the system boots in the specified boot mode, proceed to install your operating system from that mode.
NOTE: Operating systems must be UEFI-compatible to be installed from the UEFI boot mode. DOS and 32-bit operating
systems do not support UEFI and can only be installed from the BIOS boot mode.

NOTE: For the latest information about supported operating systems, go to www.dell.com/ossupport.

Changing boot order

About this task
You may have to change the boot order if you want to boot from a USB key or an optical drive. The following instructions may
vary if you have selected BIOS for Boot Mode.

Steps
1. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS > Boot Settings > UEFI/BIOS Boot Settings > UEFI/
BIOS Boot Sequence.
2. Click Boot Option Settings > BIOS > Boot Sequence.
3. Click Exit, and then click Yes to save the settings on exit.

Network Settings
You can use the Network Settings screen to modify UEFI PXE, iSCSI, and HTTP boot settings. The network settings option is
available only in the UEFI mode.
NOTE: BIOS does not control network settings in the BIOS mode. For the BIOS boot mode, the option ROM of the network
controllers handles the network settings.

Viewing Network Settings

To view the Network Settings screen, perform the following steps:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.
2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message:

F2 = System Setup

NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then
restart your system and try again.

3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS.

4. On the System BIOS screen, click Network Settings.

14 Pre-operating system management applications

Network Settings screen details
The Network Settings screen details are explained as follows:

About this task

Option Description
UEFI PXE
Settings Options Description
PXE Device n (n Enables or disables the device. When enabled, a UEFI PXE boot option is created
= 1 to 4) for the device.

PXE Device n Enables you to control the configuration of the PXE device.
Settings(n = 1 to
4)
UEFI HTTP
Settings Options Description
HTTP Device (n = Enables or disables the device. When enabled, a UEFI HTTP boot option is created
1 to 4) for the device.

HTTP Device n Enables you to control the configuration of the HTTP device.
Settings (n = 1 to
4) Table 1. HTTP Device n Settings screen details
Option Description
Interface Specifies the NIC interface used for this device.
Protocol Enables you to select protocol IPv4 or IPv6. This
is set to IPv4 by default.
VLAN Enables or Disable VLAN. This is set to Disabled
by default.
VLAN ID This is set to 1.
VLAN Priority This is set to 0.
URI (will obtain from DHCP server if not
specified)

UEFI iSCSI Enables you to control the configuration of the iSCSI device.
Settings
Table 2. UEFI iSCSI Settings screen details
Option Description
Connection 1 Specifies the name of the iSCSI initiator in IQN
format.
Connection 2 Enables or disables the iSCSI device. When
disabled, a UEFI boot option is created for
the iSCSI device automatically. This is set to
Disabled by default.
Connection 1 Settings Enables you to control the configuration of the
iSCSI device.
Connection 2 Settings Enables you to control the configuration of the
iSCSI device.
Connection order

TLS View and/or modify this device's boot TLS authentication mode. None means the HTTP server and
Authentication the client will not authenticate each other for this boot. One way means the HTTP server will be
Configuration

Pre-operating system management applications 15

Option Description
authenticated by the client, while the client will not be authenticated by the server. This option is set to
None by default.

Integrated Devices
You can use the Integrated Devices screen to view and configure the settings of all integrated devices including the video
controller, integrated RAID controller, and the USB ports.

Viewing Integrated Devices

To view the Integrated Devices screen, perform the following steps:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.
2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message:

F2 = System Setup

NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then
restart your system and try again.

3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS.

4. On the System BIOS screen, click Integrated Devices.

Integrated Devices details

About this task
The Integrated Devices screen details are explained as follows:

Option Description
User Accessible Configures the user accessible USB ports. Selecting Only Back Ports On disables the front USB ports;
USB Ports selecting All Ports Off disables all front and back USB ports; selecting All Ports Off (Dynamic)
disables all front and back USB ports during POST and front ports can be enabled or disabled dynamically
by an authorized user or authorized users without resetting the system.
The USB keyboard and mouse function in certain USB ports during the boot process, depending on the
selection. After the boot process is complete, the USB ports will be enabled or disabled as per the setting.

Internal USB Port Enables or disables the internal USB port. This option is set to On or Off. This option is set to On by
default.
NOTE: The Internal SD Card Port on the PCIe riser is controlled by Internal USB Port.

iDRAC Direct The iDRAC Direct USB port is managed by iDRAC exclusively with no host visibility. This option is set to
USB Port ON or OFF. When set to OFF, iDRAC does not detect any USB devices installed in this managed port.
This option is set to On by default.
Integrated RAID Enables or disables the integrated RAID controller. This option is set to Enabled by default.
Controller
Integrated Enables or disables the integrated network card (NDC). When set to Disabled, the NDC is not available
Network Card 1 to the operating system (OS). This option is set to Enabled by default.
NOTE: If set to Disabled (OS), the Integrated NICs might still be available for shared network
access by iDRAC.

16 Pre-operating system management applications

Option Description
I/OAT DMA Enables or disables the I/O Acceleration Technology (I/OAT) option. I/OAT is a set of DMA features
Engine designed to accelerate network traffic and lower CPU utilization. Enable only if the hardware and
software support the feature.This option is set to Disabled by default.
I/O Snoop Selects the number of cycles PCI I/O can withhold snoop requests, from the CPU, to allow time
HoldOff to complete its own write to LLC. This setting can help improve performance on workloads where
Response throughput and latency are critical.
Embedded Video Enables or disables the use of Embedded Video Controller as the primary display. When set to Enabled,
Controller the Embedded Video Controller is used as the primary display even if add-in graphic cards are installed.
When set to Disabled, an add-in graphics card is used as the primary display. BIOS will output displays
to both the primary add-in video and the embedded video during POST and pre-boot environment. The
embedded video is disabled before the operating system boots. This option is set to Enabled by default.
NOTE: When there are multiple add-in graphic cards that are installed in the system, the first card
discovered during PCI enumeration is selected as the primary video. You might have to re-arrange the
cards in the slots in order to control which card is the primary video.

Current State of Displays the current state of the embedded video controller. The Current State of Embedded Video
Embedded Video Controller option is a read-only field. If the Embedded Video Controller is the only display capability in the
Controller system (that is, no add-in graphics card is installed), then the Embedded Video Controller is automatically
used as the primary display even if the Embedded Video Controller setting is set to Enabled.
SR-IOV Global Enables or disables the BIOS configuration of Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) devices. This option
Enable is set to Disabled by default.
Internal SD Card Enables or disables the internal SD card port of the Internal Dual SD Module (IDSDM). This option is set
Port to On by default.
Internal SD Card Configures the redundancy mode of the Internal Dual SD Module (IDSDM). When set to Mirror Mode,
Redundancy data is written on both SD cards. After failure of either card and replacement of the failed card, the data
of the active card is copied to the offline card during the system boot.
When Internal SD Card Redundancy is set to Disabled, only the primary SD card is visible to the OS. This
option is set to Disabled by default.

Internal SD By default, the primary SD card is selected to be SD Card 1. If SD Card 1 is not present, then the
Primary Card controller selects SD Card 2 to be the primary SD card.
OS Watchdog If your system stops responding, this watchdog timer aids in the recovery of your operating system.
Timer When this option is set to Enabled, the operating system initializes the timer. When this option is set to
Disabled (the default), the timer does not have any effect on the system.
Empty Slot Enables or disables the root ports of all the empty slots that are accessible to the BIOS and OS. This
Unhide option is set to Disabled by default.
Memory Mapped Enables or disables the support for the PCIe devices that need large amounts of memory. Enable this
I/O above 4 GB option only for 64-bit operating systems. This option is set to Enabled by default.
Memory Mapped When set to 12 TB, the system maps the MMIO base to 12 TB. Enable this option for an OS that requires
I/O Base 44 bit PCIe addressing. When set to 512 GB, the system maps the MMIO base to 512 GB, and reduces
the maximum support for memory to less than 512 GB. Enable this option only for the 4 GPU DGMA issue.
This option is set to 56 TB by default.
Slot Disablement Enables or disables the available PCIe slots on your system. The slot disablement feature controls the
configuration of the PCIe cards installed in the specified slot. Slots must be disabled only when the
installed peripheral card prevents booting into the operating system or causes delays in system startup. If
the slot is disabled, both the Option ROM and UEFI drivers are disabled. Only slots that are present on the
system are available for control.

Table 3. Slot Disablement

Option Description
Slot 1 Enables or disables the PCIe slot 1. This option is
set to Enabled by default.

Pre-operating system management applications 17

Option Description

Table 3. Slot Disablement (continued)

Option Description
Slot 3 Enables or disables or only the boot driver is
disabled for the PCIe slot 3. This option is set
to Enabled by default.
Slot 4 Enables or disables or only the boot driver is
disabled for the PCIe slot 4. This option is set
to Enabled by default.
Slot 5 Enables or disables or only the boot driver is
disabled for the PCIe slot 5. This option is set
to Enabled by default.
Slot 6 Enables or disables or only the boot driver is
disabled for the PCIe slot 6. This option is set
to Enabled by default.
Slot 7 Enables or disables or only the boot driver is
disabled for the PCIe slot 7. This option is set
to Enabled by default.
Slot 8 Enables or disables or only the boot driver is
disabled for the PCIe slot 8. This option is set
to Enabled by default.

Slot Bifurcation Allows Platform Default Bifurcation, Auto Discovery of Bifurcation and Manual Bifurcation
Control. The default is set to Platform Default Bifurcation. The slot bifurcation field is accessible
when set to Manual Bifurcation Control and is disabled when set to Platform Default Bifurcation or
Auto Discovery of Bifurcation.
NOTE: Slot Bifurcation options vary depend on the Riser configurations.

Table 4. Slot Bifurcation

Option Description
Auto Discovery Bifurcation Mode The option is set to Platform Default
Bifurcation.
Slot 1 Bifurcation x16 or x8 or x4 or x4x4x8 or x8x4x4 Bifurcation

Slot 3 Bifurcation x16 or x8 or x4 or x4x4x8 or x8x4x4 Bifurcation

Slot 4 Bifurcation x16 or x8 or x4 or x4x4x8 or x8x4x4 Bifurcation

Slot 5 Bifurcation x4 or x8 Bifurcation

Slot 6 Bifurcation x4 or x8 Bifurcation

Slot 7 Bifurcation x4 or x8 Bifurcation

Slot 8 Bifurcation x16 or x8 or x4 or x4x4x8 or x8x4x4 Bifurcation

18 Pre-operating system management applications

Serial Communication
You can use the Serial Communication screen to view the properties of the serial communication port.

Viewing Serial Communication

To view the Serial Communication screen, perform the following steps:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.
2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message:

F2 = System Setup

NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then
restart your system and try again.

3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS.

4. On the System BIOS screen, click Serial Communication.

Serial Communication details

About this task
The Serial Communication screen details are explained as follows:

Option Description
Serial Enables you to select serial communication devices (Serial Device 1 and Serial Device 2) in BIOS. BIOS
Communication console redirection can also be enabled, and the port address can be specified. This option is set to Auto
by default.

Serial Port Enables you to set the port address for serial device. This field sets the serial port address to either
Address COM1 or COM2 (COM1=0x3F8, COM2=0x2F8). This option is set to Serial Device1=COM2 or Serial
Device 2=COM1 by default.
NOTE: You can use only Serial Device 2 for the Serial Over LAN (SOL) feature. To use console
redirection by SOL, configure the same port address for console redirection and the serial device.

NOTE: Every time the system boots, the BIOS syncs the serial MUX setting saved in iDRAC. The
serial MUX setting can independently be changed in iDRAC. Loading the BIOS default settings from
within the BIOS setup utility may not always revert the serial MUX setting to the default setting of
Serial Device 1.

External Serial Enables you to associate the External Serial Connector to Serial Device 1, Serial Device 2, or the
Connector Remote Access Device by using this option. This option is set to Serial Device 1 by default.
NOTE: Only Serial Device 2 can be used for Serial Over LAN (SOL). To use console redirection by
SOL, configure the same port address for console redirection and the serial device.

NOTE: Every time the system boots, the BIOS syncs the serial MUX setting saved in iDRAC. The
serial MUX setting can independently be changed in iDRAC. Loading the BIOS default settings from
within the BIOS setup utility may not always revert this setting to the default setting of Serial Device
1.

Failsafe Baud Specifies the failsafe baud rate for console redirection. The BIOS attempts to determine the baud rate
Rate automatically. This failsafe baud rate is used only if the attempt fails, and the value must not be changed.
This option is set to 115200 by default.
Remote Terminal Enables you to set the remote console terminal type. This option is set to VT100/VT220 by default.
Type

Pre-operating system management applications 19

Option Description
Redirection After Enables or disables the BIOS console redirection when the operating system is loaded. This option is set
Boot to Enabled by default.

System Profile Settings

You can use the System Profile Settings screen to enable specific system performance settings such as power management.

Viewing System Profile Settings

To view the System Profile Settings screen, perform the following steps:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.
2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message:

F2 = System Setup

NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then
restart your system and try again.

3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS.

4. On the System BIOS screen, click System Profile Settings.

System Profile Settings details

About this task
The System Profile Settings screen details are explained as follows:

Option Description
System Profile Sets the system profile. If you set the System Profile option to a mode other than Custom, the BIOS
automatically sets the rest of the options. You can only change the rest of the options if the mode is set
to Custom.This option is set to Performance Per Watt Optimized (DAPC) by default. DAPC is Dell
Active Power Controller.
NOTE: All the parameters on the system profile setting screen are available only when the System
Profile option is set to Custom.

CPU Power Sets the CPU power management. This option is set to System DBPM (DAPC) by default. DBPM is
Management Demand-Based Power Management.
Memory Sets the speed of the system memory. You can select Maximum Performance, Maximum Reliability,
Frequency or a specific speed. This option is set to Maximum Performance by default.
Turbo Boost Enables or disables the processor to operate in the turbo boost mode. This option is set to Enabled by
default.
C1E Enables or disables the processor to switch to a minimum performance state when it is idle. This option is
set to Enabled by default.
C States Enables or disables the processor to operate in all available power states. This option is set to Disabled
by default for performance profile and is set to Enabled by default for all other profiles.
Write Data CRC Enables or disables the Write Data CRC. This option is set to Disabled by default.
Memory Patrol Sets the memory patrol scrub frequency. This option is set to Standard by default.
Scrub
Memory Refresh Sets the memory refresh rate to either 1x or 2x. This option is set to 1x by default.
Rate

20 Pre-operating system management applications

Option Description
Uncore Enables you to select the Processor Uncore Frequency option.Dynamic mode enables the processor
Frequency to optimize power resources across cores and uncores during runtime. The optimization of the uncore
frequency to either save power or optimize performance is influenced by the setting of the Energy
Efficiency Policy option.
Energy Efficient Enables you to select the Energy Efficient Policy option.
Policy
The CPU uses the setting to manipulate the internal behavior of the processor and determines whether
to target higher performance or better power savings. This option is set to Balanced Performance by
default.

Number of NOTE: If there are two processors installed in the system, you will see an entry for Number of
Turbo Boost Turbo Boost Enabled Cores for Processor 2.
Enabled Cores
for Processor 1 NOTE: If there are four processors installed in the system, you will see an entry for Number of
Turbo Boost Enabled Cores for Processor 4.
Controls the number of turbo boost enabled cores for Processor 1. The maximum number of cores is
enabled by default.
Monitor/Mwait Enables the Monitor/Mwait instructions in the processor. This option is set to Enabled for all system
profiles, except Custom by default.
NOTE: This option can be disabled only if the C States option in the Custom mode is set to
disabled.

NOTE: When C States is set to Enabled in the Custom mode, changing the Monitor/Mwait setting
does not impact the system power or performance.

CPU Enables or disables the CPU Interconnect Bus Link Power Management. This option is set to Enabled by
Interconnect Bus default.
Link Power
Management
PCI ASPM L1 Enables or disables the PCI ASPM L1 Link Power Management. This option is set to Enabled by default.
Link Power
Management
Intel Persistent Controls the tuning recipe for Quality of Service (QoS) knobs. Disabled by default. Method 1 is
Memory CR QoS recommended for 2-2-2 memory configurations in App-Direct. Method 2 is recommended for other
memory configurations in App-Direct. Method 3 is recommended for 1 DIMM per channel configurations.
Intel Persistent Controls the thresholds that trigger switching between near (RDIMM/LRDIMM) and far (PMem)
Memory memory. BW Optimized, selected by default, optimizes for RDIMM/LRDIMM and PMem bandwidth.
Performance Latency Optimized offers better RDIMM/LRDIMM latency in the presence of PMem. Balanced Profile
Setting optimizes performance with Memory Mode configured PMem.

System Security
You can use the System Security screen to perform specific functions such as setting the system password, setup password
and disabling the power button.

Viewing System Security

To view the System Security screen, perform the following steps:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.
2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message:

F2 = System Setup

Pre-operating system management applications 21

 NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then
restart your system and try again.

3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS.

4. On the System BIOS screen, click System Security.

System Security Settings details

About this task
The System Security Settings screen details are explained as follows:

Option Description
CPU AES-NI Improves the speed of applications by performing encryption and decryption by using the Advanced
Encryption Standard Instruction Set (AES-NI). This option is set to Enabled by default.
System Enables you to set the system password. This option is set to Enabled by default and is read-only if the
Password password jumper is not installed in the system.
Setup Password Enables you to set the system setup password. This option is read-only if the password jumper is not
installed in the system.
Password Status Enables you to lock the system password. This option is set to Unlocked by default.
TPM Security NOTE: The TPM menu is available only when the TPM module is installed.

Enables you to control the reporting mode of the TPM. The TPM Security option is set to Off by
default. You can only modify the TPM Status TPM Activation, and the Intel TXT fields if the TPM Status
field is set to either On with Pre-boot Measurements or On without Pre-boot Measurements.
When TPM 1.2 is installed, the TPM Security option is set to Off, On with Pre-boot Measurements,
or On without Pre-boot Measurements.
When TPM 2.0 is installed, the TPM Security option is set to On or Off. This option is set to Off by
default.

TPM Information Enables you to change the operational state of the TPM. This option is set to Type: 1.2-NTC by default.
TPM Status Specifies the TPM status.
TPM Command Controls the Trusted Platform Module (TPM). When set to None, no command is sent to the TPM. When
set to Activate, the TPM is enabled and activated. When set to Deactivate, the TPM is disabled and
deactivated. When set to Clear, all the contents of the TPM are cleared. This option is set to None by
default.
CAUTION: Clearing the TPM results in the loss of all keys in the TPM. The loss of TPM keys
may affect booting to the operating system.
This field is read-only when TPM Security is set to Off. The action requires an additional reboot before it
can take effect.
TPM Advanced This setting is enabled only when TPM Security is set to ON.
Settings
Intel(R) TXT Enables you to set the Intel Trusted Execution Technology (TXT) option. To enable the Intel TXT option,
virtualization technology and TPM Security must be enabled with Pre-boot measurements. This option is
set to Off by default.
When TPM 2.0 is installed, TPM 2 Algorithm option is available. It enables you to select a hash algorithm
from those supported by the TPM (SHA1, SHA256). TPM 2 Algorithm option must be set to SHA256,
to enable TXT.

Power Button Enables you to set the power button on the front of the system. This option is set to Enabled by default.
AC Power Sets how the system behaves after AC power is restored to the system. This option is set to Last by
Recovery default.
AC Power Enables you to set the time that the system should take to turn on after AC power is restored to the
Recovery Delay system. This option is set to Immediate by default.

22 Pre-operating system management applications

Option Description
User Defined Enables you to set the User Defined Delay option when the User Defined option for AC Power
Delay (60 s to Recovery Delay is selected.
600 s)
UEFI Variable Provides varying degrees of securing UEFI variables. When set to Standard (the default), UEFI variables
Access are accessible in the operating system per the UEFI specification. When set to Controlled, selected UEFI
variables are protected in the environment, and new UEFI boot entries are forced to be at the end of the
current boot order.
In-Band When set to Disabled, this setting hides the Management Engine's (ME), HECI devices, and the system's
Manageability IPMI devices from the operating system. This prevents the operating system from changing the ME
Interface power capping settings, and blocks access to all in-band management tools. All management should be
managed through out-of-band. This option is set to Enabled by default.
NOTE: BIOS update requires HECI devices to be operational and DUP updates require IPMI interface
to be operational. This setting needs to be set to Enabled to avoid updating errors.

Secure Boot Enables Secure Boot, where the BIOS authenticates each pre-boot image by using the certificates in the
Secure Boot Policy. Secure Boot is set to Disabled by default.
Secure Boot When Secure Boot policy is set to Standard, the BIOS uses the system manufacturer key and certificates
Policy to authenticate pre-boot images. When Secure Boot policy is set to Custom, the BIOS uses the user-
defined key and certificates. Secure Boot policy is set to Standard by default.
Secure Boot Enables you to configure how the BIOS uses the Secure Boot Policy Objects (PK, KEK, db, dbx).
Mode
If the current mode is set to Deployed Mode, the available options are User Mode and Deployed
Mode. If the current mode is set to User Mode, the available options are User Mode, Audit Mode, and
Deployed Mode.

Options Description
User Mode In User Mode, PK must be installed, and BIOS performs signature verification on
programmatic attempts to update policy objects.
BIOS allows unauthenticated programmatic transitions between modes.

Audit Mode In Audit mode, PK is not present. BIOS does not authenticate programmatic
updates to the policy objects, and transitions between modes.
Audit Mode is useful for programmatically determining a working set of policy
objects.
BIOS performs signature verification on pre-boot images. BIOS also logs the results
in the image Execution Information Table, but approves the images whether they
pass or fail verification.

Deployed Mode Deployed Mode is the most secure mode. In Deployed Mode, PK must be
installed and the BIOS performs signature verification on programmatic attempts
to update policy objects.
Deployed Mode restricts the programmatic mode transitions.

Secure Boot Specifies the list of certificates and hashes that secure boot uses to authenticate images.
Policy Summary
Secure Boot Configures the Secure Boot Custom Policy. To enable this option, set the Secure Boot Policy to
Custom Policy Custom.
Settings

Creating a system and setup password

Prerequisites
Ensure that the password jumper is enabled. The password jumper enables or disables the system password and setup password
features. For more information, see the System board jumper settings section.

Pre-operating system management applications 23

 NOTE: If the password jumper setting is disabled, the existing system password and setup password are deleted and you
need not provide the system password to boot the system.

Steps
1. To enter System Setup, press F2 immediately after turning on or rebooting your system.
2. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS > System Security.
3. On the System Security screen, verify that Password Status is set to Unlocked.
4. In the System Password field, type your system password, and press Enter or Tab.
A message prompts you to reenter the system password.
5. Reenter the system password, and click OK.
6. In the Setup Password field, type your setup password and press Enter or Tab.
A message prompts you to reenter the setup password.
7. Reenter the setup password, and click OK.
8. Press Esc to return to the System BIOS screen. Press Esc again.
A message prompts you to save the changes.
NOTE: Password protection does not take effect until the system reboots.

Using your system password to secure the system

About this task
If you have assigned a setup password, the system accepts your setup password as an alternate system password.

Steps
1. Power on or reboot your system.
2. Type the system password and press Enter.

Next steps
When Password Status is set to Locked, type the system password and press Enter when prompted at reboot.
NOTE: If an incorrect system password is typed, the system displays a message and prompts you to reenter your password.
You have three attempts to type the correct password. After the third unsuccessful attempt, the system displays an error
message that the system has stopped functioning and must be turned off. Even after you turn off and restart the system,
the error message is displayed until the correct password is entered.

Deleting or changing system and setup password

Prerequisites

NOTE: You cannot delete or change an existing system or setup password if the Password Status is set to Locked.

Steps
1. To enter System Setup, press F2 immediately after turning on or restarting your system.
2. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS > System Security.
3. On the System Security screen, ensure that Password Status is set to Unlocked.
4. In the System Password field, change or delete the existing system password, and then press Enter or Tab.
5. In the Setup Password field, alter or delete the existing setup password, and then press Enter or Tab.
NOTE: If you change the system password or setup password, a message prompts you to reenter the new password. If
you delete the system password or setup password, a message prompts you to confirm the deletion.

6. Press Esc to return to the System BIOS screen. Press Esc again, and a message prompts you to save the changes.

24 Pre-operating system management applications

Operating with setup password enabled
If Setup Password is set to Enabled, type the correct setup password before modifying the system setup options.
If you do not type the correct password in three attempts, the system displays the following message:

Invalid Password! Number of unsuccessful password attempts: <x> System Halted! Must
power down.

Even after you restart the system, the error message is displayed until the correct password is typed. The following options are
exceptions:
● If System Password is not set to Enabled and is not locked through the Password Status option, you can assign a
system password. For more information, see the System Security Settings details section.
● You cannot disable or change an existing system password.
NOTE: You can use the password status option with the setup password option to protect the system password from
unauthorized changes.

Redundant OS Control
In the Redundant OS Control screen you can set the redundant OS information. This enables you to set up a physical recovery
disk on the system.

Viewing Redundant OS Control

To view the Redundant OS Control screen, perform the following steps:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.
2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message:

F2 = System Setup

NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then
restart your system and try again.

3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS.

4. On the System BIOS screen, click Redundant OS Control.

Redundant OS Control screen details

The Redundant OS Control screen details are explained as follows:

About this task

Option Description
Redundant OS Enables you to select a backup disk from the following devices:
Location ● None
● IDSDM
● Internal SD card
● SATA Ports in AHCI mode
● BOSS PCIe Cards (Internal M.2 Drives)
● Internal USB
NOTE: RAID configurations and NVMe cards not are included as BIOS does not have the ability to
distinguish between individual drives in those configurations.

Pre-operating system management applications 25

Option Description
Redundant OS NOTE: This option is disabled if Redundant OS Location is set to None.
State
When set to Visible, the backup disk is visible to the boot list and OS. When set to Hidden, the backup
disk is disabled and is not visible to the boot list and OS. This option is set to Visible by default.
NOTE: BIOS will disable the device in hardware, so it cannot be accessed by the OS.

Redundant OS NOTE: This option is disabled if Redundant OS Location is set to None or if Redundant OS State
Boot is set to Hidden.
When set to Enabled, BIOS boots to the device specified in Redundant OS Location. When set to
Disabled, BIOS preserves the current boot list settings. This option is set to Disabled by default.

Miscellaneous Settings
You can use the Miscellaneous Settings screen to perform specific functions such as updating the asset tag and changing the
system date and time.

Viewing Miscellaneous Settings

To view the Miscellaneous Settings screen, perform the following steps:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.
2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message:

F2 = System Setup

NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then
restart your system and try again.

3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS.

4. On the System BIOS screen, click Miscellaneous Settings.

Miscellaneous Settings details

About this task
The Miscellaneous Settings screen details are explained as follows:

Option Description
System Time Enables you to set the time on the system.
System Date Enables you to set the date on the system.
Asset Tag Specifies the asset tag and enables you to modify it for security and tracking purposes.
Keyboard Enables you to set whether the system should boot with the NumLock enabled or disabled. This option is
NumLock set to On by default.
NOTE: This option does not apply to 84-key keyboards.

F1/F2 Prompt on Enables or disables the F1/F2 prompt on error. This option is set to Enabled by default. The F1/F2
Error prompt also includes keyboard errors.
Load Legacy Enables you to determine whether the system BIOS loads the legacy video (INT 10H) option ROM from
Video Option the video controller. Selecting Enabled in the operating system does not support UEFI video output
ROM standards. This field is available only for UEFI boot mode. You cannot set the option to Enabled if UEFI
Secure Boot mode is enabled. This option is set to Disabled by default.

26 Pre-operating system management applications

Option Description
Dell Wyse Enables or disables the Dell Wyse P25/P45 BIOS Access. This option is set to Enabled by default.
P25/P45 BIOS
Access
Power Cycle Enables or disables the Power Cycle Request. This option is set to None by default.
Request

iDRAC Settings utility

The iDRAC settings utility is an interface to set up and configure the iDRAC parameters by using UEFI. You can enable or disable
various iDRAC parameters by using the iDRAC settings utility.
NOTE: Accessing some of the features on the iDRAC settings utility needs the iDRAC Enterprise License upgrade.

For more information about using iDRAC, see Dell Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller User's Guide at www.dell.com/
poweredgemanuals.

Device Settings
Device Settings enables you to configure the below device parameters:
● Controller Configuration Utility
● Embedded NIC Port1-X Configuration
● NICs in slotX, Port1-X Configuration
● BOSS Card configuration

Dell Lifecycle Controller

Dell Lifecycle Controller (LC) provides advanced embedded systems management capabilities including system deployment,
configuration, update, maintenance, and diagnosis. LC is delivered as part of the iDRAC out-of-band solution and Dell system
embedded Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) applications.

Embedded system management

The Dell Lifecycle Controller provides advanced embedded system management throughout the lifecycle of the system. The Dell
Lifecycle Controller can be started during the boot sequence and can function independently of the operating system.

NOTE: Certain platform configurations may not support the full set of features provided by the Dell Lifecycle Controller.

For more information about setting up the Dell Lifecycle Controller, configuring hardware and firmware, and deploying the
operating system, see the Dell Lifecycle Controller documentation at www.dell.com/poweredgemanuals.

Boot Manager
The Boot Manager screen enables you to select boot options and diagnostic utilities.

Viewing Boot Manager

About this task
To enter Boot Manager:

Steps
1. Power on, or restart your system.

Pre-operating system management applications 27

2. Press F11 when you see the following message:
F11 = Boot Manager
If your operating system begins to load before you press F11, allow the system to complete the booting, and then restart your
system and try again.

Boot Manager main menu

Menu item Description
Continue Normal The system attempts to boot to devices starting with the first item in the boot order. If the boot attempt
Boot fails, the system continues with the next item in the boot order until the boot is successful or no more
boot options are found.
One-shot Boot Enables you to access boot menu, where you can select a one-time boot device to boot from.
Menu
Launch System Enables you to access System Setup.
Setup
Launch Lifecycle Exits the Boot Manager and invokes the Dell Lifecycle Controller program.
Controller
System Utilities Enables you to launch System Utilities menu such as System Diagnostics and UEFI shell.

One-shot UEFI boot menu

One-shot UEFI boot menu enables you to select a boot device to boot from.

System Utilities
System Utilities contains the following utilities that can be launched:
● Launch Diagnostics
● BIOS Update File Explorer
● Reboot System

PXE boot
You can use the Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) option to boot and configure the networked systems, remotely.
To access the PXE boot option, boot the system and then press F12 during POST instead of using standard Boot Sequence
from BIOS Setup. It does not pull any menu or allows managing of network devices.

28 Pre-operating system management applications