MCC ETS BIOS QC Setup Procedure
January 29, 2023


Introduction


This procedure explains how to set up the BIOS on a Dell 3420 laptop that will be loaned to students. There is information in this document on how to power up the laptop, connect a mouse, enter BIOS setup, make changes, save changes, and verify that changes are made correctly.


Procedure Steps


Connect the laptop to wall power. Do not run this procedure without wall power.


Connect a mouse to a USB port


Power on the laptop by pressing the power switch that is on the keyboard to the upper right. Note that the power button will illuminate.


Watch the computer after applying power. Within three seconds the computer screen will blink. When the screen blinks press the F2 key for one second. It is best to avoid repeatedly tapping the function key as this wears out the keyboard.


A message will briefly appear in the upper right corner of the screen stating “Preparing to enter BIOS Setup…”. Within another three seconds a Dell BIOS Setup Overview panel is displayed. Make note along the left side of the panel of all the configuration options such as Overview, Boot Configuration, Integrated Devices, Storage, …, Performance, and System Logs. Also note a gray box above this list titled “Admin Password”.


The first step in this procedure is to unlock the Admin Password. Click on “UNLOCK” in the gray box labeled Admin Password. There is a prompt for the Admin Password. Enter this password and click OK. The Unlock symbol is no longer visible in the gray box labeled Admin Password.


A Passwords panel is displayed. Enter the existing BIOS password in the field labeled Enter the old password: and press enter. The field area will turn gray and become protected. The field below, labeled Enter the new password: is now enabled. Enter the new password and press enter. The field label changes to Confirm Password. Enter the new password again and press enter. If the new password and confirm password are the same a “Password Valid” message box is posted. Click Yes. The Passwords panel is redisplayed.


Make note of the yellow box next to “changes were made” at the bottom of the page. The yellow box at this point should indicate one change, the BIOS password, was made


Click Boot Configuration. The Boot Configuration page is displayed. De-select OBOARD NIC (IPV6). Note the counter now shows 2 changes were made.


Click Integrated Devices. The Integrated Devices page is displayed. Look at the date and time. Typically the date is correct and the time needs correction. Set the date and time to current date and time.


Click Storage. The Storage page is displayed. Make sure that AHCI/NVMe is selected.


Click Power. The Power page is displayed. Use the scroll bar to scroll down to the bottom of this page. Look for a setting titled “Lid Switch” Make sure that “Enable Lid Switch” is set to OFF.


Click System Management. The System Management page is displayed. Use the scroll bar to scroll to the bottom of the page. Under Auto On Time click the radio button labeled Select Days and then check every day except Sunday. Set time to 7:30 AM.


Click System Logs. The System Logs page is displayed. Look at the page and see three instances of a select button labeled Clear Log. Select each Clear Log button and click Yes to the confirmation prompt. Make sure that below each of the three log file names there is message text stating “Event Log Cleared”.
Look at the changes were made counter. On a new computer that has not been previously configured it should register 14 changes.


Click Apply Changes at the bottom of the page. When prompted, enable “Save as Custom User Settings” and click OK. The changes were made counter reverts to zero.


Click EXIT. The computer exits BIOS setup and reboots.