Access to BIOS settings...

[andyoxon]

Onna Dell, win 10.  How to I access the BIOS so I can change boot sequence, to see if a SSD attached with SATA USB cable, will boot?  SHift key and restart, gives options but I can't see BIOS edit.  Annoying somehow bitlocked auto turned on so need to enter stupidly long recovery key too.

[Feanor]

That's the windows options you are seeing.
To get to the BIOS settings on most Dells, it's a matter of repeatedly hammering the F2 key as soon as the Dell logo appears during boot up.

[andyoxon]

Thanks.  Will try that (later).

[andyoxon]

Basically, Laptop wouldn't boot with SSD, so reinstalled original HDD.  This OK, but had a ton of updates applied ( 6 months worth).  Now want to see if I can boot from SSD via USB.

[drossall]

Try turning the computer off and then on again, as opposed to just restarting. And then yes, hammer the F2 key and hope for luck.

[freeflow]

Methinks if you can't work out to get into the bios you probably shouldn't be there anyway.

[Lightning Phil]

F2 when logo shows to get into bios.

Then you need to move USB above your internal boot disk in the boot order. Don’t forget to click save. Then exit and it should try booting from USB.

[drossall]

Methinks if you can't work out to get into the bios you probably shouldn't be there anyway.

Sounds a bit like the basis for a Dr Who story.

[PaulF]

Methinks if you can't work out to get into the bios you probably shouldn't be there anyway.

Given that every computer seems to have a different way to access it he BIOS it’s a reasonable question to ask.

[ian]

Why in 2021 is this still even a thing, I don't know.

[pcolbeck]

Why in 2021 is this still even a thing, I don't know.

What a BIOS ? Its kind of necessary to have something to tell the hardware what to do before it boots an OS, test the hardware and display error messages and the like before the OS loads.

[ian]

It was more a question of why (ordinary) people have to faff with it through random keystrokes. Just because you can raise demons by reading from that book, it doesn't mean you should.

[pcolbeck]

It was more a question of why (ordinary) people have to faff with it through random keystrokes. Just because you can raise demons by reading from that book, it doesn't mean you should.

Oh yes a standard key combination for invoking the damn thing would be a good idea.

[TimC]

It would be nice if they didn't all look like refugees from 1985 as well.

[ian]

I presume Macs have one, never had to interface with it. I remember trying to remotely try and talk my father through the options to boot from a USB on his Windows box the last time he introduced a viral apocalypse to this computer (in the end, I had to get my mother to hold a phone up and video conference me with the screen). That left the added fun of it being a mirror image. Much hilarity ensured.

[Kim]

I assume the Mac approach, other than a couple of key combinations to clear settings or boot from removable media, is to have OS-level tools to manipulate whatever BIOS configurables there might be.  (And consistent hardware means it doesn't need as many settings in the first place.)

An approach that's a recipe for certain doom on a PC, because you can guarantee the BIOS-manufacturer's tool is  a) buggy  and  b) only runs on Windows Vista or something, which is particularly unhelpful when you're not running Windows.  A rudimentary user interface that doesn't require the graphics card to do anything strenuous is entirely pleasant in comparison.  (Substitute graphics card for serial port for server-grade hardware.)

Or you can have a cryptic command-line interface like Sun workstations used to have.  That was always fun...

[Lightning Phil]

It would be nice if they didn't all look like refugees from 1985 as well.

Bios must run in 16 bit mode and in a max memory space of 1 Mb.  The early bios were around 8 kilobytes.  In 16 bit your directly addressable memory is 64 kilobytes. Hence why it looks like a refugee from the 80s. UEFI is replacing BIOS though whether the interface will see enhancement is yet to be seen.

I do remember on one of the early PCs I built, that you flicked switches on the motherboard to change bios settings. Even earlier in late 70s at school you erased reprogrammable memory with ultra violet. Much more absorbing than just plugging in a usb drive and click save new stuff as now…

[TimC]

I remember setting the BIOS with (Dip?) switches!

All of my PCs are UEFI. They don't look any different than BIOS when you're getting into the nitty-gritty. BIOS-driven computers are limited to a 2TB drives and 4 partitions. UEFI may still be configured in Compatibility Support Mode (CSM) for those still running 32-bit OSs, which allows a UEFI computer to boot in BIOS mode.

[Lightning Phil]

I converted my PC from Bios to UEFI and enabled the tpm and secure boot.  Mainly prompted when I was looking at windows 11 requirements. I quite like that windows powershell commands can generate and sign certificates leveraging the tpm with the private keys remaining secure (in the tpm).  Saves having to export private keys and having pass phrases.

[Afasoas]

It would be nice if they didn't all look like refugees from 1985 as well.

Bios must run in 16 bit mode and in a max memory space of 1 Mb.  The early bios were around 8 kilobytes.  In 16 bit your directly addressable memory is 64 kilobytes. Hence why it looks like a refugee from the 80s. UEFI is replacing BIOS though whether the interface will see enhancement is yet to be seen.

I do remember on one of the early PCs I built, that you flicked switches on the motherboard to change bios settings. Even earlier in late 70s at school you erased reprogrammable memory with ultra violet. Much more absorbing than just plugging in a usb drive and click save new stuff as now…

BIOS or UEFI configuration should be simple - some of these gaming motherboards that have graphical interfaces are immensely annoying. I also think that simple means more likely to be reliable.

Why in 2021 is this still even a thing, I don't know.

Because not everyone wants to do things Apple's way. If I want to change the boot order of devices attached to my machine, then I should bloody well be able to do that. And I'd prefer there was not an API available to allow the software on the machine to do that, because (a) it will be broken at some point and (b) if it's not broken, someone somewhere will figure out how to exploit it.

It would be nice if PC/motherboard/BIOS manufacturers but a bit more effort into the help text and documentation but please don't take my toys away.

[ian]

Blimey is there anything you can't bring down to an Apple and btw-I'm-better-at-computers war?

I made it clear that I didn't mean that the functionality shouldn't exist, it just that it shouldn't be there for average users or require a degree in computer science and advanced 1992 computing to figure out.

And no it was not simple to me, someone who handles technology for a living, how to do something as simple as boot the computer from a different drive. I don't think that's an acceptable user paradigm in 2021, but hey, that's my opinion.

[grams]

BIOS or UEFI configuration should be simple

Hold down Option at boot and click the graphical representation of the drive you wish to boot from.

Setting it permanently can be done from the Recovery Partition or from the appropriate Control Panel System Preference pane in a working MacOS.

[andyoxon]

f2 = no cigar.  In Win10 settings I seached for BIOS - then Advanced startup options, including UEFi settings.  SSD connected with USB SATA cable still not visible in boot options, though I can see SSD folders on Win10 desktop.Think something's up with the SSD, which is not allowing it to be selectable as boot option.   No idea what though.  May have to wipe & do warranty return.
 

[liam_whippet]

1) In the BIOS, do you need to enable 'Boot from USB'? And/or turn off 'Secure Boot'?

2) Is the SSD itself bootable?

[Feanor]

Getting into the BIOS is nothing to do with windows 10.
The BIOS options are long before windows starts to load.

If you are in Windows  (or any OS ) you are far past where you need to be.
The boot options are set up in the BIOS setup which you need to get into *before* windows starts loading.
What is the exact model of Dell you are working with?

In relation to being unable to boot the SSD in place of the HDD, that will most likely be that the SSD is not correctly formatted with the necessary boot code.
How did the SSD get it's windows install onto it?
Did you use some imaging software to copy the old HDD to the new SSD?
However it was done, I expect it was done wrong.