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Can't access bios

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by aiak0s

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I have a 1ghz compaq 5012us p3. I am trying to change the boot sequence and can't access the bios.
The manual says "press the F10 key when the cursor is blinking in the upper right corner of the display with the word COMPAQ displayed in red on a black background."
This does not work. Any suggestions?

6 replies

by jim7fl

Do you in fact get a chance to see that screen, or does your machine boot thru the POST (power on self test) so fast that you can't hit the keystroke in time? I am assuming that you tried booting with the F10 key already depressed...

I did a google search for
"access bios during compaq startup"
and one of the sites suggested hitting the F10 key during the memory count....which "might" be when the screen you mentioned is displayed.

Sorry I can't be of more help....I've never owned a "brand" name computer except for my very first 64K IBM PC. Of course it wasn't stock anyway, I put my own floppy drives in it...couldn't afford IBM drives...lol...

Jim

by unni_kv2000

As soon as your pc powers up(boots), keep the F10 key depressed. Don't wait. You might have been doing it a little late or your computer boots fast. Try other keys for eg: Del or F2 or F8. Otherwise, watch carefully as your pc boots. You might see the options right there on the screen, but only for a fraction of a second.

by the herminator

1) Does your keyboard have a faulty "F10" key?
Try replacing the keyboard with a borrowed one from a friend and see if it works.

2) If that does not work, if you do not know which "F" key to press, try rebooting your PC and cycling through the "F1" to "F12" keys in quick succession.

e.g. F1, F2, F3, F4, F5, F6..pressing one key after another quickly at a time on boot-up.

This will cause no harm to your system and will only accept the right "F" key when pressed.

This way, you can guess which "F" did the trick as the BIOS might come up after the last or second to last keystroke you made.

The Herminator

by pcnexus

Can't Access Bios:

Are you working on a desktop PC or server?

If its a desktop, have you reformatted the drive? If so, you may have overwritten the Compaq partition that is booted into when you press the F10 key.

If its a server, and I presume it is your only one, you can use the included Smart Start CD to recreate the Boot partition.

Finally, if all else fails, since you bought the Compaq, you SHOULD have support included. Just call them, and they will solve it.

I have supported Compaq desktops in the past and currently have access to Compaq Servers on a daily basis. Let me know if you need more advice.

Hope this helps you.

by matrix007

I did the same thing b4. Like the other guy said. If you reformatted the HDD forget about accessing bios. Compaq pre-installed it on the HDD partition. Go to Compaq/HP homepage and go to downloads for that model. download the F10 setup/VP need 2 diskettes also the personal computer diagnostics. From now on you'll need the diskettes to boot into bios.

by jimuthee

I think you are waiting a bit too long. By the time the cursor is blinking on the right top corner,the computer would be looking for the operating system to load.
Press F10 a few seconds before the cursor moves.
You may also time your keypress with the beeping sound. The press must come before the sound.
I hope it helps

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