Access to BIOS

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nel
  • Start date Start date
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Nel

I was talking to a colleague about my PC's BIOS. The machine is a
Mediacenter machine that is more like a laptop in design than a desktop.

It has very limited functions (Hyperthread on/off, date & time, password and
that's about it!), and he reckons it might be that there are 2 levels of
access. Has anyone ever heard of this?

I get in to it by pressing F2, so I'm wondering if the are any other key
combinations might give me full access. I need to set up a new DVD drive so
that I can boot from DVD, but currently the drive is only accessible after
the initial boot.

TIA
 
Nel said:
I was talking to a colleague about my PC's BIOS. The machine is a
Mediacenter machine that is more like a laptop in design than a desktop.

It has very limited functions (Hyperthread on/off, date & time, password and
that's about it!), and he reckons it might be that there are 2 levels of
access. Has anyone ever heard of this?
Click to expand...

I suppose it's possible, but you'd need to provide more details on the
machine before anyone could even attempt to provide specific information.

In general, PC manufacturers purposely limit access to BIOS functions to
prevent people screwing up their machine (thus saving them a warranty call).
Usually much greater access is provided to those purchasing high-end PCs, or
someone building their own machine and purchasing separate components. The
vast array of BIOS functionality available to such an individual is a major
selling point.

If I understand you correctly, essentially you just want to be able to boot
off the CD/DVD drive instead of the HD, correct? Unless the PC is very old
(e.g., pre CD era) or very unique, it's quite unusual to not at least have
the option in the BIOS to control the boot sequence, certainly to boot off a
CD/DVD. Heck, how would you install the OS (e.g., XP) that comes from
CD/DVD?!

If this is an XP CD, one thing you can do to circumvent this problem is to
use a bootable Win98 floppy, create a FAT32 partition on the HD, copy the XP
files (only need the i386 folder) from DVD to the partition, then run setup
from there. If you need specific instructions, let me know.

Jim
 
If I understand you correctly, essentially you just want to be able to
boot
off the CD/DVD drive instead of the HD, correct? Unless the PC is very
old
(e.g., pre CD era) or very unique, it's quite unusual to not at least have
the option in the BIOS to control the boot sequence, certainly to boot off
a
CD/DVD. Heck, how would you install the OS (e.g., XP) that comes from
CD/DVD?!
Click to expand...


Many prebuilt systems do not include OS CDs or even "restore" CDs. What the
builders do is copy all the OS files to the hard drive, and then install the
OS from there. WHEN the hard drive goes bad, you are screwed. Some
builders will include instructions on how to create a "restore" CD, but some
don't even do that. And even if they do, most users probably don't bother
to create the "restore" CD, so they are STILL screwed when their hard drive
fails.

Anyway, I can imagine how some builders would not include a boot sequence
feature in the BIOS. I don't agree with it, but I can imagine it happening,
quite easily. The insane thought process probably goes along the lines of .
.. .

At worst, the user will need to boot from floppy, they will never need to
boot from a CD.

Like I said, insane. -Dave
 
I was talking to a colleague about my PC's BIOS. The machine is a
Mediacenter machine that is more like a laptop in design than a desktop.

It has very limited functions (Hyperthread on/off, date & time, password and
that's about it!), and he reckons it might be that there are 2 levels of
access. Has anyone ever heard of this?

I get in to it by pressing F2, so I'm wondering if the are any other key
combinations might give me full access. I need to set up a new DVD drive so
that I can boot from DVD, but currently the drive is only accessible after
the initial boot.
Click to expand...
Most BIOSes have menus hidden by the manufacturer. To unlock thbem
usually requires a special utulity to create a modified .bin file with
the menus unlocked.
 
Jim said:
I suppose it's possible, but you'd need to provide more details on the
machine before anyone could even attempt to provide specific information.
Click to expand...
All I know is the BIOS manufacturer is someone called INSYDE and on my last
search on the net, found very little useful info on them.
In general, PC manufacturers purposely limit access to BIOS functions to
prevent people screwing up their machine (thus saving them a warranty
call).
Usually much greater access is provided to those purchasing high-end PCs,
or
someone building their own machine and purchasing separate components.
The
vast array of BIOS functionality available to such an individual is a
major
selling point.

If I understand you correctly, essentially you just want to be able to
boot
off the CD/DVD drive instead of the HD, correct? Unless the PC is very
old
(e.g., pre CD era) or very unique, it's quite unusual to not at least have
the option in the BIOS to control the boot sequence, certainly to boot off
a
CD/DVD. Heck, how would you install the OS (e.g., XP) that comes from
CD/DVD?!
Click to expand...
The BIOS does have a boot option in the BIOS for floppy, CD/DVD, HDD &
Network but because the DVD is bot the original it will no longer boot. It
needs the BIOS to either detect the new drive or set it to 'Auto' and this
is not available in the menus.
If this is an XP CD, one thing you can do to circumvent this problem is to
use a bootable Win98 floppy, create a FAT32 partition on the HD, copy the
XP
files (only need the i386 folder) from DVD to the partition, then run
setup
from there. If you need specific instructions, let me know.
Click to expand...

Cheers, but I know how to get round it, it's just I feel restricted when I
can't access parts that I feel I'm entitled to!! It's my PC after all!!
:-)
 
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