Cannot enter Win XP BIOS

  • Thread starter Thread starter Leila
  • Start date Start date
L

Leila

Hi,

I have installed a new harddrive and I want to get into the BIOS to
ammend the primary and secondary drives. I know that it's something
like pressing "del", "esc", "f10" or "f8" the moment you see the
windows copyright displayed, however, it does not go into BIOS and
there is no indication of what to press to view it. Is there a
setting somewhere that prevents me from getting into the BIOS on
bootup?

I am running Windows XP on a fairly old motherboard (3/4 years) I am
not sure if this information makes any difference.

Oh, and although the device manager in control panel can see the new
harddrive, it appears to be offline so I presume that unless I change
the primary and secondary drives, I won't be able to use the second
harddrive.

Any pointers greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Leila
 
Bios detects the way the drives are physically connected to the drive cables
and acts accordingly. You don't have to do anything in the bios.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard :-)

If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
Accessing Motherboard BIOS
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Get Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Advanced Security Technologies:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.mspx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| Hi,
|
| I have installed a new harddrive and I want to get into the BIOS to
| ammend the primary and secondary drives. I know that it's something
| like pressing "del", "esc", "f10" or "f8" the moment you see the
| windows copyright displayed, however, it does not go into BIOS and
| there is no indication of what to press to view it. Is there a
| setting somewhere that prevents me from getting into the BIOS on
| bootup?
|
| I am running Windows XP on a fairly old motherboard (3/4 years) I am
| not sure if this information makes any difference.
|
| Oh, and although the device manager in control panel can see the new
| harddrive, it appears to be offline so I presume that unless I change
| the primary and secondary drives, I won't be able to use the second
| harddrive.
|
| Any pointers greatly appreciated!
|
| Thanks
| Leila
 
Leila said:
Hi,

I have installed a new harddrive and I want to get into the BIOS to
ammend the primary and secondary drives. I know that it's something
like pressing "del", "esc", "f10" or "f8" the moment you see the
windows copyright displayed, however, it does not go into BIOS and
there is no indication of what to press to view it. Is there a
setting somewhere that prevents me from getting into the BIOS on
bootup?

I am running Windows XP on a fairly old motherboard (3/4 years) I am
not sure if this information makes any difference.

Oh, and although the device manager in control panel can see the new
harddrive, it appears to be offline so I presume that unless I change
the primary and secondary drives, I won't be able to use the second
harddrive.

Any pointers greatly appreciated!

Thanks
Leila
Click to expand...


The operating system is immaterial, it has no bearing upon how one
enters the BIOS. Only you know what motherboard and BIOS you have, so
only you know the answer to your question. ;-}

In the extremely unlikely event that your PC's manual or the
motherboard manufacturer's web site doesn't contain the needed
information, try one or more of the following:

How do I access my computer's setup (BIOS)
http://www.iomega.com/support/documents/2157.html

Wim's BIOS Page
http://www.wimsbios.com/

Accessing Motherboard BIOS
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH
 
To the OP, you only have the time during the POST (power on
self test) BEFORE Windows even begins to load to access the
BIOS. Once Windows has been accessed on the hard drive the
BIOS is locked out.

The drives are assigned there place by the jumpers on the
drives and or the IDE controllers they are connected to. In
Windows XP, you also have a disk management function, which
you can access by right clicking My Computer and then
selecting Manage.


--
The people think the Constitution protects their rights;
But government sees it as an obstacle to be overcome.


message | Leila wrote:
| > Hi,
| >
| > I have installed a new harddrive and I want to get into
the BIOS to
| > ammend the primary and secondary drives. I know that
it's something
| > like pressing "del", "esc", "f10" or "f8" the moment you
see the
| > windows copyright displayed, however, it does not go
into BIOS and
| > there is no indication of what to press to view it. Is
there a
| > setting somewhere that prevents me from getting into the
BIOS on
| > bootup?
| >
| > I am running Windows XP on a fairly old motherboard (3/4
years) I am
| > not sure if this information makes any difference.
| >
| > Oh, and although the device manager in control panel can
see the new
| > harddrive, it appears to be offline so I presume that
unless I change
| > the primary and secondary drives, I won't be able to use
the second
| > harddrive.
| >
| > Any pointers greatly appreciated!
| >
| > Thanks
| > Leila
|
|
| The operating system is immaterial, it has no bearing
upon how one
| enters the BIOS. Only you know what motherboard and BIOS
you have, so
| only you know the answer to your question. ;-}
|
| In the extremely unlikely event that your PC's manual
or the
| motherboard manufacturer's web site doesn't contain the
needed
| information, try one or more of the following:
|
| How do I access my computer's setup (BIOS)
| http://www.iomega.com/support/documents/2157.html
|
| Wim's BIOS Page
| http://www.wimsbios.com/
|
| Accessing Motherboard BIOS
| http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm
|
| --
|
| Bruce Chambers
|
| Help us help you:
|
|
|
| You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever
count on having
| both at once. - RAH
 
In
Leila said:
I have installed a new harddrive and I want to get into the
BIOS to
ammend the primary and secondary drives. I know that it's
something
like pressing "del", "esc", "f10" or "f8" the moment you see
the
windows copyright displayed,
Click to expand...


No. By the time you see any mention of Windows, Windows has
started to boot and it's too late.

First, note that there's no such thing as the "Win XP BIOS." The
BIOS has nothing to do with Windows; it's a feature of the
motherboard you use. To get into the BIOS you have to do it
before Wihndows even starts to boot.

One common way is to press the Del key when you first power on,
but that's not necessarily right for your computer. Watch the
screen carefully when you first boot; there's often a message
there telling you what to do. If not, check your system
documentation or check with your vendor.

Also look here:
http://michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

However, you shouldn't need to go into the BIOS just because you
installed another drive.


however, it does not go into BIOS and
there is no indication of what to press to view it. Is there a
setting somewhere that prevents me from getting into the BIOS
on
bootup?

I am running Windows XP on a fairly old motherboard (3/4 years)
I am
not sure if this information makes any difference.

Oh, and although the device manager in control panel can see
the new
harddrive, it appears to be offline so I presume that unless I
change
the primary and secondary drives, I won't be able to use the
second
harddrive.
Click to expand...


No, it's probably just that you haven't partitioned and formatted
the drive.
 
No, you have to do it immediately when you power on the machine, if you
leave it to the Windows splash screen its too late. It's not the Windows
BIOS either, just the system bios.
 
Carey Frisch said:
Accessing Motherboard BIOS
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User
Microsoft Newsgroups

Get Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Advanced Security Technologies:
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/windowsxp/choose.mspx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| Hi,
|
| I have installed a new harddrive and I want to get into the BIOS to
| ammend the primary and secondary drives. I know that it's something
| like pressing "del", "esc", "f10" or "f8" the moment you see the
| windows copyright displayed, however, it does not go into BIOS and
| there is no indication of what to press to view it. Is there a
| setting somewhere that prevents me from getting into the BIOS on
| bootup?
|
| I am running Windows XP on a fairly old motherboard (3/4 years) I am
| not sure if this information makes any difference.
|
| Oh, and although the device manager in control panel can see the new
| harddrive, it appears to be offline so I presume that unless I change
| the primary and secondary drives, I won't be able to use the second
| harddrive.
|
| Any pointers greatly appreciated!
|
| Thanks
| Leila
Click to expand...

Have you formatted the disk to make it useable and readable? Or do you want
to get to the bios to make sure the system is "Seeing" the disk?
 
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