Dell D420 Changing COM Ports, Enabling the Infrared Sensor, Performing a One-Time Boot

NOTE: To change the boot sequence on a one-time-only basis, see Performing a One-Time Boot.

The Boot Sequence page displays a general list of the bootable devices that may be installed in your computer, including but not limited to the following:

•Diskette Drive

•Modular bay HDD

•Internal HDD

•CD/DVD/CD-RW drive

During the boot routine, the computer starts at the top of the list and scans each enabled device for the operating system start-up files. When the computer finds the files, it stops searching and starts the operating system.

To control the boot devices, select (highlight) a device by pressing the down-arrow or up-arrow key, and then enable or disable the device or change its order in the list.

•To enable or disable a device, highlight the item and press the space bar. Enabled items appear as white and display a small triangle to the left; disabled items appear blue or dimmed without a triangle.

•To reorder a device in the list, highlight the device and then press <u> or <d> (not case-sensitive) to move the highlighted device up or down.

Boot sequence changes take effect as soon as you save the changes and exit the system setup program.

Performing a One-Time Boot

You can set a one-time-only boot sequence without entering the system setup program. (You can also use this procedure to boot the Dell Diagnostics on the diagnostics utility partition on your hard drive.)

1.Shut down the computer through the Start menu.

2.If the computer is connected to a docking device (docked), undock it. See the documentation that came with your docking device for instructions.

3.Connect the computer to an electrical outlet.

4.Turn on the computer. When the DELL logo appears, press <F12> 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.

5.When the boot device list appears, highlight the device from which you want to boot and press <Enter>.

The computer boots to the selected device.

The next time you reboot the computer, the previous boot order is restored.

Changing COM Ports

Serial Port, which is located in the Onboard Devices category, allows you to map the serial port COM address or disable the serial port and its address, which frees computer resources for another device to use.

Enabling the Infrared Sensor

1.Locate Fast IR under Onboard Devices.

NOTE: Ensure that the COM port that you select is different from the COM port assigned to the serial connector.

2.Press <Enter>.

3.Use the arrow keys to select the infrared COM port setting.

4.Press <Enter>.

5.Follow the instructions on the screen.

After you enable the infrared sensor, you can use it to establish a link to an infrared device. To set up and use an infrared device, see the infrared device documentation and the Windows Help and Support Center. To access the Windows Help and Support Center, see Windows Help and Support Center.

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