System BIOS

The Precision™ M6500 system offers you the following options:

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Access System Setup by pressing <F2>

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Bring up a one-time boot menu by pressing <F12>

System Setup

Press <F2> to enter System Setup and make changes to the user-definable settings. If you have trouble entering

System Setup using this key, press <F2> when the keyboard LEDs first flash.

Navigation

The Dell Precision™ M6500 system setup can be navigated by keyboard or mouse / touchpad.

Use the following keystrokes to navigate the BIOS screens.

Navigation Keystrokes

Action Keystroke

Expand and collapse field

Exit BIOS

Change a setting

Select field to change

Cancel modification

Reset defaults

<Enter>, left- or right-arrow key

<Esc> — Remain in Setup, Save/Exit, Discard/Exit

Left or right-arrow key

<Enter>

<Esc>

<Alt><F> or Load Defaults menu option

System Setup Simulation

Click the image below to launch the Dell Precision™ M6500 system setup simulation on a new page.

Boot Menu

Press <F12> when the Dell™ logo appears to initiate a one-time boot menu with a list of the valid boot devices for the system. Diagnostics and Enter Setup options are also included in this menu. The devices listed on the boot menu depend on the bootable devices in the system. This menu is useful when you are attempting to boot to a particular device or to bring up the diagnostics for the system. Using the boot menu does not make any changes to the boot order stored in the BIOS.

System Setup Options

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General

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System Configuration

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Video

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Security

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Performance

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Power Management

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POST Behavior

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Virtualization Support

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Wireless

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Maintenance

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System Logs

Menu Options

The following tables describe the menu options for the System Setup BIOS.

General

Option Description

System

Information

This section lists out the primary hardware features of the system. There are not configurable options.

Lists the following:

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System Information o BIOS Version o Service Tag o Asset Tag o Ownership Tag

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Memory Information o Memory Installed o Memory Available o Memory Speed o Memory Channel Mode o Memory Technology o DIMM A Size o DIMM B Size o DIMM C Size o DIMM D Size

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Processor Information o Processor Type o Core Count o Processor ID o Current Clock Speed o Minimum Clock Speed o Maximum Clock Speed

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Device Information o Primary Hard Drive o Secondary Hard Drive o Fixed Bay Device o System eSATA Device o Dock eSATA Device o o Video Controller o Video BIOS Version o Video Memory o Panel Type o Native Resolution o o Audio Controller o Wi-Fi Device o Cellular Device o Bluetooth Device o Wireless USB Device

Battery

Information

Boot

Sequence

It indicates the battery status and also displays the AC adapter type connected to the system.

The computer attempts to boot from the sequence of devices specified in this list:

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Diskette drive

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USB Storage Device

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CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive.

2

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Internal HDD 1

Date/Time

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Cardbus NIC

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Onboard NIC

This list specifies the boot devices (top being the first device to boot). To change the boot order, select the device and click the up/down arrow keys or use PgUp/PgDn keys. The boot device(s) can also be de-selected via the check boxes.

Displays current date and time settings. Add the date and time

System Configuration

Option Description

NOTE:

The System Configuration group contains settings related to integrated system devices.

(Depending on your computer and installed devices, These listed items may or may not appear.)

Integrated NIC

Enables or disables the onboard LAN controller.

System

Management

Default setting: Enabled w/PXE

This option controls System Management mechanism. The settings are Disabled, Alert Only, and

ASF 2.0.

Default setting: Disabled I don’t know

This option determines how the parallel port on the docking station operates. The settings are

Disabled, AT, PS/2, and ECP.

Parallel Port

Default setting: ECP

This option determines how the serial port on the docking station operates. It lets you avoid resource conflicts between devices by disabling or remapping the address of the port. The settings are Disabled, COM1, COM2, COM3, and COM4.

Default setting: COM1 I don’t know, but I wouldn’t disable it

Serial Port

NOTE:

The operating system may allocate resources even though the setting is Disabled.

SATA

Operation

This option configures the operating mode of the internal SATA hard drive controller. The settings are Disabled, ATA, AHCI, and RAID.

Miscellaneous

Devices

Default setting: RAID AHCI

Use the check boxes to enable/disable the following devices:

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External USB Port

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Microphone

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1394

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Express Card

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Precision ON Reader

Keyboard

Illumination

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Module Bay

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PC Card

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Media Card

• eSATA Ports

Default setting: All enabled.

This field lets you choose the operating mode of the keyboard illumination feature. The settings are

Disabled, Auto ALS and Input, and Auto Input Only.

Default setting: Auto ALS and Input

Video

Option Description

Ambient Light

Sensor

Enabling ALS will allow your system to automatically change the brightness of the LCD panel based on the amount of light around the environment.

LCD

Brightness

Default setting: Disabled wouldn’t this help with the Display Calibration ?

This option (represented by a slider bar for On Battery and On AC) sets the panel brightness when the ambient light sensor is off. wouldn’t this help with the Display Calibration ?

Security

Option Description

Admin

Password

This field lets you set, change, or delete the administrator (admin) password (sometimes called the

"setup" password). The admin password enables several security features when set including:

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Restricts changes to the settings in Setup

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Restricts the boot devices listed in the F12 Boot Menu to those enabled in the "Boot

Sequence" field.

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Prohibits changes to the owner and asset tags.

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Same password can be used to access system if System Password is switched on.

Successful changes to this password take effect immediately.

NOTE:

If you delete the admin password, the system password is also deleted. Also, the admin password can be used to delete the HDD password. For this reason, you cannot set an admin password if a system password or HDD is already set. The admin password must be set first if used in conjunction with a system and/or HDD password.

System

Password

Internal HDD

PW

Password

Bypass

This field lets you set, change, or delete the system password (previously called the "Primary" password).

This field lets you set, change, or delete the password on the system's internal hard disk drive

(HDD). Successful changes take place immediately and require a system restart. The HDD password travels with the hard drive, so the HDD is protected even when installed in another system.

This option lets you bypass the system and internal HDD password prompts during a system restart or when resuming from a standby state. Settings are Disabled, Reboot Bypass, Resume Bypass, and Reboot & Resume Bypass.

Password

Change

The system will always prompt for the set system and internal HDD password when powered on from an off state (cold boot).

This option lets you determine whether changes to the System and HDD passwords are permitted when an Admin password is set. Use the check box to allow or disallow changes.

This option lets you control whether the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) in the system is enabled and visible to the operating system. When disabled (check box is empty), the BIOS will not turn on the TPM during POST. The TPM will be non-functional and invisible to the operating system. When enabled (check box filled) the BIOS will turn the TPM on during POST so the it can be used by the operating system.

TPM Security

NOTE:

Disabling this option does not change any settings you may have made to the TPM, nor does it delete or change any information or keys you may have stored there. It simply turns off the

TPM so that it cannot be used. When you re-enable the TPM, it will function exactly as it did before it was disabled.

Computrace®

Once TPM is enabled (check box filled), the available settings are Deactivate, Activate, and Clear.

With the TPM in Deactivate mode, it will not execute any commands that use the resources of the

TPM, nor will it allow any access to stored owner information.

The Clear setting allows the owner's information stored in the TPM to be cleared. Use this to restore the TPM to its default state if you lose or forget the owner authentication data.

This field lets you activate or disable the BIOS module interface of the optional Computrace software. The settings are Deactivate, Disable, and Activate.

NOTE:

The Activate and Disable options will permanently activate or disable the feature and no further changes will be allowed.

CPU XD

Support

Non-Admin

Setup

Changes

This field enables or disables the Execute Disable mode of the processor. Use the check box to enable / disable this feature.

Default setting: Enabled

This option lets you determine whether changes to the setup option are permitted when an administrator password is set. If disabled the setup option is locked by the admin password. It cannot be modified unless setup is unlocked. Use the check boxes to allow / deny access to the Wi-

Fi Catcher Changes and / or Wireless Switch Changes within the system setup.

Performance

Option Description

Intel®

SpeedStep

Use the check box to enable / disable mode for the CPU. I would say enable this

Power Management

Option Description

Wake on AC

Use the check box to enable / disable the computer to power up from the off or hibernation state when an AC adapter is inserted. I would say disable this

Auto On Time

This field sets the days, if any, when you would like the system to turn on automatically. The settings are Disabled, Everyday, or Weekdays.

Default setting: Off

Use the check box to enable / disable the ability for USB devices to wake the system from Standby.

USB Wake

Support

NOTE:

This feature is only functional when the AC power adapter is connected. If the AC power adapter is removed during Standby, the BIOS will remove power from all of the USB ports to conserve battery power. I would say disable this

Wake on

LAN/WLAN

Charger

Behavior

This field allows the computer to power up from the off state when triggered by a special LAN signal or from Hibernate state when triggered by a special wireless LAN signal. Wake-up from the

Standby state is unaffected by this setting and must be enabled in the operating system.

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Disabled — Do not allow the system to power on when it receives a wake-up signal from the LAN or wireless LAN.

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LAN Only — Allow the system to be powered on by special LAN signals.

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WLAN Only — Allow the system to be powered on by special WLAN signals.

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LAN or WLAN — Allow the system to be powered on by special LAN or wireless LAN signals.

The factory default setting is Off. I would say disable this

This field lets you enable / disable the battery charger. If disabled, the battery will not lose power when the system is connected to an AC adapter but it will not charge either.

Default setting: Charger Enabled I would say enable this

POST Behavior

Option Description

Adapter

Warnings

Use the check box to enable / disable the BIOS warning messages when you use certain power adapters. The BIOS displays these messages if you attempt to use a power adapter that has too little capacity for your configuration.

Mouse/Touchpad

The factory default setting is Enabled.

This option defines how the system handles mouse and touchpad input.

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Serial Mouse — Use a serial mouse and disable the internal touchpad

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PS/2 Mouse — Disable the integrated touchpad when an external PS/2 mouse is present.

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Touchpad-PS/2 — Leave the integrated touchpad enabled when an external PS/2 mouse is present.

The factory default setting is Touchpad-PS/2.

Use the check box to enable / disable the Num Lock LED when the system boots.

Numlock LED

USB Emulation

The factory default setting is Enabled.

This option defines how the BIOS, in the absence of a USB-aware operating system, handle USB devices. USB emulation is always enabled during POST. Use the check box to enable / disable this feature.

The factory default setting is Enabled.

This field lets you use the <Scroll Lock> key on an external PS/2 keyboard the same way you use the <Fn> key on the computer's internal keyboard. Use the check box to enable / disable this feature.

Fn Key

Emulation

USB keyboards cannot emulate the <Fn> key if you are running an ACPI operating system such as Microsoft® Windows® XP. USB keyboards will only emulate the <Fn> key in non-ACPI mode

(e.g., when you are running a DOS).

Fast Boot

The factory default setting is Enabled.

This field can speed up the boot process by bypassing some compatibility steps.

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Minimal — Boot quickly unless the BIOS has been updated, memory changed, or the previous POST did not complete.

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Thorough — Do not skip any steps in the boot process.

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Auto — Allow the operating system to control this setting (this works only when the operating system supports Simple Boot Flag).

The factory default setting is Minimal.

Virtualization Support

Option Description

Virtualization

This field specifies whether a Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) can utilize the additional hardware capabilities provided by Intel® Virtualization Technology. Use the check box to enable / disable this feature.

VT for Direct

I/O

The factory default setting is Disabled. If you are using a VM then enable this

This option specifies whether a Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) can utilize the additional hardware capabilities provided by Intel Virtualization Technology for Direct I/O. Use the check box to enable / disable this feature.

Trusted

Execution

The factory default setting is Disabled. If you are using a VM then enable this

This option specifies whether a Measured Virtual Machine Monitor (MVMM) can utilize the additional hardware capabilities provided by Intel Trusted Execution Technology. The TPM,

Virtualization Technology, and Virtualization Technology for Direct I/O must be enabled to use this feature. Use the check box to enable / disable this feature.

The factory default setting is Disabled. I would say enable this

Wireless

Option Description

Wireless

Switch

Use the check boxes to determine which wireless devices will be controlled by the wireless switch.

The available options are WWAN, WLAN, Bluetooth®, and Wireless USB.

Wireless

Devices

Use the check boxes to enable / disable the various wireless devices. The available options are

Internal WWAN, Internal WLAN, Internal Bluetooth®, and Wireless USB.

Maintenance

Option Description

Service Tag This field displays your system's Service Tag. If for some reason the Service Tag was not already set, you would be able to use this field to set it.

NOTE:

If a Service Tag has not been set for this system, the computer will automatically bring up this screen when users enter the BIOS. You will be prompted to enter the Service Tag.

Asset Tag

This field allows you to create a system Asset Tag. The field can only be updated if the Asset Tag is not already set.

System Logs

Option Description

BIOS Events

This field allows you to view and clear BIOS POST events. It includes the date and time of the event as well as the LED code.

DellDiag

Events

Thermal

Events

Power Events

This filed allows you to view the diagnostic results from DellDiags and PSA. It includes the time and date, the diagnostic version and the resulting code.

This field allows you to view and clear thermal events. It includes the date and time as well as the name of the event.

This field allows you to view and clear power events. It includes the date and time of the event as well as the power state and reason.