Accessing the CMOS/BIOS Setup

Most systems today allow you to enter the CMOS/BIOS by  pressing the 'Delete'  key.  You will be prompted when first turning on or booting up the computer for the proper key to enter.

 

Compaq:
Generally Compaq Setup can be entered by hitting the 'F10' key when booting up. As soon as you see the cursor go to the upper right hand side of the screen, hit 'F10'.  Compaq setup program resides on a small partition on the hard drive and if you have fdisk and reformatted or installed a new hard drive you will need to use the Compaq setup program from here:

 

Dell:
Older Dells: (486 models) require you to enter the sequence: CTRL-ALT-ENTER.

Newer Dells: Requires you to press F2 when prompted when first powering up or restarting

 

Hewlett Packard:

Method 1
Enter the BIOS: Press F1 during the blue HP screen for setup.
Method 2
Enter the BIOS: Press F1 during the HP boot-up screen for setup.
Method 3
Enter the BIOS: Press the F2 during the HP boot-up screen for setup.

IBM ThinkPad:
ThinkPad's using IBM BIOS (Early Models):
Press CTRL-ALT-INS when cursor is in upper-right corner of screen.

ThinkPad's using IBM BIOS (Later Models):
Press and hold F1 key while powering-up laptop.

ThinkPad's using Phoenix BIOS:
Press CTRL-ALT-F11 from DOS prompt.

Newer ThinkPad's
Double-click the "IBM ThinkPad" on the desktop

Packard Bell:
Early models (386,486) require the sequence Ctrl-ALT-S at any time.

NEC Versa Notebooks:
Hold down the F1 key upon startup/boot-up.

Gateway 2000:
Enter the BIOS: Press F1 for setup

AST:
Many AST 486's require CTRL-ALT-ESC.

Sony VAIO:
Enter the BIOS: Press F3 during VAIO screen for menu. Press F1 for setup

Toshiba:

 

To access system settings with no operating system such as DOS or Windows loaded, use this procedure when powering up a Toshiba portable computer:
  1. Hold down the <ESC> key as the computer starts up. The computer should beep and display a message "Check system. Press <F1>"
  2. Press the <F1> key and the System Setup information is displayed.
  3. Changing the settings: There are instructions about how to change these setting at the bottom of the screen.

To access system settings when in a normal session running DOS:

From within MS-DOS use the TSETUP utility. Most Toshiba Portables have a DOS utility that also allows access to the hardware settings.

To run TSETUP:

  1. Exit to MS-DOS Prompt
  2. Type "TSETUP" and press Enter. TSETUP may be run from the Toshiba Companion Disk which shipped with the computer.

To access system settings when in a normal session running Windows:

Most recent models allow hardware settings to be changed from within Windows. Click Start/Programs/Toshiba Utilities for HWSetup or click Start/Settings/Control Panels for an item named "HW Setup." NOTE: Not all of the options may be accessible from the Windows programs.

Portable Computer Note: Toshiba "T" model computers used other Hotkeys for access to CMOS or BIOS settings as described below:

T1000SE  -  F1
T1000XE  -  F1
T1200XE  -  F1
T1600/40  -  Esc (For hard disk configuration only. No hotkey for T1600/20.)
T1800  -  Esc
T1850  -  Esc
T1900  -  Esc
T1950  -  Esc
T2000  -  Esc
T2000SX  -  Esc
T2000Sxe  -  Esc
T2200SX  -  Esc
T3100e  -  Fn
T3300SL  -  Esc
T3400  -  Esc
T4400  -  Esc
T4500  -  Esc
T4600  -  Esc
T4700  -  Esc
T5100  -  F1
T6400  -  Esc
T6600  -  Esc
Infinia Desktops

If you have a Toshiba Infinia desktop computer you can access the hardware setup screens by pressing the following when the power is turned on:

Infinia 7130, 7160, 7161, 7200, 7201, 7202, 7260 - press <F1> at Startup when prompted

Infinia 7230, 7231 - press <F2> at Startup when prompted
Equium Desktops

If you have a Toshiba Equium desktop computer you can access the hardware setup screens by pressing <F1> when the power is turned on

 

 

Other common key sequences to enter the BIOS
CTRL-ALT-S
CTRL-ALT-Enter
CTRL-ALT-Insert
CTRL-ALT-Esc
F1
F10