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System Setup Program

Dell™ Latitude™ D420 User's Guide

Overview

Viewing the System Setup Screens

System Setup Screens

Commonly Used Settings

Overview

NOTE: Your operating system may automatically configure most of the options available in the system setup program, thus overriding options that you set through the system setup program. (An exception is the External Hot Key option, which you can disable or enable only through the system setup program.) For more information on configuring features for your operating system, access the Help and Support Center (see Windows Help and Support Center).

You can use the system setup program as follows to:

Set or change user-selectable features—for example, your computer password

Verify information about the computer's current configuration, such as the amount of system memory

After you set up the computer, run the system setup program to familiarize yourself with your system configuration information and optional settings. You may want to write down the information for future reference.

The system setup screens display the current setup information and settings for your computer, such as:

System configuration

Boot order

Boot (start-up) configuration and docking-device configuration settings

Basic device-configuration settings

System security and hard-drive password settings

NOTICE: Unless you are an expert computer user or are directed to do so by Dell technical support, do not change the system setup settings. Certain changes might make your computer work incorrectly.

Viewing the System Setup Screens

1.Turn on (or restart) your computer.

2.When the DELL™ logo appears, press <F2> immediately. If you wait too long and the Windows logo appears, continue to wait until you see the

Windows desktop. Then shut down your computer and try again.

System Setup Screens

NOTE: For information about a specific item on a system setup screen, highlight the item and see the Help area on the screen.

In the system setup program, primary categories of settings are listed on the left. To view the types of settings in a category, highlight the category and press <Enter>. When you highlight a setting type, the right side of the screen displays the value for that setting type. You can change settings that appear as white type on the screen. Values that you cannot change (because they are determined by the computer) appear less bright.

System-setup key functions are listed across the bottom of the screen.

Commonly Used Settings

Certain settings require that you reboot the computer for new settings to take effect.

Changing the Boot Sequence

The boot sequence tells the computer where to look to find the software needed to start the operating system. You can control the boot sequence and enable/disable devices using the Boot Sequence page, which is located in the System category.

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Dell D420 specifications System Setup Program, Overview, Viewing the System Setup Screens, Commonly Used Settings