How to access my BIOS? (Version/Date = American Megatrends Inc. V2.4)

[synnchan]

I want to format my computer and reinstall windows 7 from a flash driver. I have everything set for that already, except that I can't access my BIOS.

I need to access the BIOS to change the boot sequence and put my flash driver on 1st priority.

Here is my system information:

How can I access the BIOS? Help please.

 

[GEWB]

Power on the computer and the system will start the POST (Power On Self Test) process. When the message "Press DEL to enter Setup Menu" appears on the screen, press <DEL> key to enter Setup.

Regards,
GEWB

 

[MilesAhead]

When you boot the machine it usually displays a message such as
"press F2 to enter setup" Other popular keys are Del, F12

it varies with the manufacturer.

 

[synnchan]

When I pressed del, it gave me a completely frozen blue screen with nothing written on it apart from a "D5" on the bottom right corner of the screen iirc. I had to force the computer to reboot.

When I pressed the other keys, it just sent to that screen asking if I want to get on safe mode, or repair my computer... etc.

 

[MilesAhead]

If it does not show the key to enter the BIOS settings when the console first comes up then you need to find out from either the user manual or the manufacturer's help forum what the key is. I've never seen a PC that didn't prompt which key to press during startup.

 

[wasnotwas]

When installing from a flash drive, I prefer to use the one-time boot menu to boot from the USB drive. When the computer needs to restart (during install process), it just goes to the HDD as per usual, even though the flash is still plugged in.

Actually changing the boot order in BIOS to flash usb 1st can often be a hassle, because when the machine restarts, flash is still 1st and it (sometimes) wants to begin the install again. One time boot menu is F11 on most of my boxes (but YMMV), and it gives you a choice of boot devices eg usb, uefi usb, HDD, DVD etc.

 

[MilesAhead]

When installing from a flash drive, I prefer to use the one-time boot menu to boot from the USB drive. When the computer needs to restart (during install process), it just goes to the HDD as per usual, even though the flash is still plugged in.

Actually changing the boot order in BIOS to flash usb 1st can often be a hassle, because when the machine restarts, flash is still 1st and it (sometimes) wants to begin the install again. One time boot menu is F11 on most of my boxes (but YMMV), and it gives you a choice of boot devices eg usb, uefi usb, HDD, DVD etc.

He still needs to find out the key on his machine. On my Laptop F12 will one time boot to the selected device and at the bottom of the list is the option to boot to setup. Or I can press F2 to go directly to setup. I just rebooted then shut down and booted to try it. It gives no indication which keys to press. It just shows the logon screen. But I believe most desktops do. At least during cold boot.

Most PC makers provide a PDF user manual for download.

 

[Ztruker]

Not a good idea to set USB as the first boot device as you can easily end up in an install loop since it will boot the flash drive each time you restart the computer.

Use the one time boot key as others have suggested.

Also, according to the manual:

BioS SetuP
Power on the computer and the system will start PoSt (Power on Self test)
process. When the message below appears on the screen, press <deL> key to
enter Setup.
Press deL to enter Setup Menu
if the message disappears before you respond and you still wish to enter Setup,
restart the system by turning it oFF and on or pressing the reSet button. you
may also restart the system by simultaneously pressing <Ctrl>, <Alt>, and <delete> keys.

 

[synnchan]

errr... ok. But what exactly is this "one time boot" stuff everyone is talking about? I've never heard of it before. I don't know what I'm supposed to do.

I could probably do what you guys are talking about, but first I need to know how it's done.

 

[Layback Bear]

On both my Asus motherboards tapping (not pressing) the Del (Delete key) gets me into the bois.
Tapping the F8 key gets me into the Once Boot Selection.

synnchan the needed information for your system should all be in the motherboard users manual.

 

[GEWB]

My response (post #2) to press <DEL> was based on:
> Reading synnchan's listed System Specs to get his mobo model
> Downloading and reading the ops manual for that mobo

Regards,
GEWB

 

[synnchan]

I finally managed to get to my BIOS screen. On my earlier attempts, whenever I'd press the "delete" key, it'd send me to a blue screen with a black square on the center and with "D5" written on the bottom right corner. I took a photo of it:

But I tried it again today and it magically worked for some reason. But now I have another problem. I changed my boot sequence stuff and put the flash driver on higher priority than my HDD. That's is how I left the configurations:

But my flash driver is still not activating. I put it as 2nd boot and my HDD as 3rd boot, but it's still not working. Am I doing things right?

I'm getting really frustrated here. I'm starting to think I will never be able to format this computer but I really need to.

(By the way, does anyone know what was causing the weird blue screen with black square?)

 

[GEWB]

You have a DVD drive according to your picture. I would recommend asking a friend burn a live Linux DVD and use that to format your drive. For your task I recommend Puppy Linux:

Download latest Puppy Linux release

As to setting your boot sequence, I would use:
1) CD/DVD
2) USB
3) HDD

Regards,
GEWB