How to access your BIOS set up

Depending on your computer model, the way you will access your BIOS set up menu will differ. Here is a list of the most common models used and the access key used for this process.

ACER

You can make use of the DEL or F2 keys after switching on your system.

When using Acer Altos 600 server, the BIOS set up can be accessed by pressing the CTRL+ALT+ESC keys.

COMPAQ

Ensure that the cursor in the upper right corner of your screen is blinking before pressing the F10 key.

Previous versions of Compaq will make use of the F1, F2, F10 or DEL keys to grant access to your BIOS set up menu.

DELL

After switching on your computer, let the DELL logo appear before pressing the F2 key until Entering Setup  is displayed on the screen.

Previous versions of DELL might require to press CTRL+ALT+ENTER to access the BIOS set up menu.

The DELL laptops will use the Fn+ESC or Fn+F1 keys to access the BIOS set up.

GATEWAY

When switching on your computer, press the F1 key until the BIOS screen shows up.

Previous versions of Gateway will make use of the F2 key to display the BIOS set up screen.

HEWLETT-PACKARD

When switching on your computer system, press the F1 key to access the BIOS set up screen

For those using an HP Tablet PC, you can press the F10 or F12 keys.

You can also access the BIOS set up menu by pressing the F2 or ESC keys.

IBM

When your system restarting, press the F1 key to access the BIOS set up.

Previous IBM models will require the use of the F2 key to access the BIOS set up utility.

NEC

NEC will only use the F2 key to access the BIOS set up menu

PACKARD BELL

Packard Bell users, you can access the BIOS set up by pressing the F1, F2 or DEL keys

SHARP

For the Sharp model, when your computer is loading, press the F2 key

For previous Sharp models, you will need to use a Setup Diagnostics Disk.

SONY

Sony users will have to press the F1, F2 or F3 key after switching on their computer.

TOSHIBA

The Toshiba model will require its users to press the F1 or ESC key after switching on their computer to be able to access BIOS set up menu.

Acer eRecovery Management provides a quick, reliable and secure way of restoring your computer to its factory default settings or a custom system image from an image stored in a hidden partition on the hard disk on a secondary partition or on optical disks. Acer eRecovery Management also provides a convenient utility to save system settings, applications and data on the hard disk or optical disc. 

Run Acer eRecovery Management

• Click on <Start > then <All programs> then run < Acer Empowering Technology> and <Acer eRecovery Management> : 



• Click on the icon Acer eRecovery Management in the Acer bar displaying on your desktop. 



• Then the Main window : Acer eRecovery Management appears. 



• Note: During the launching, Acer eRecovery Management will ask you to create a password for your saving files. Just follow the instructions to continue. 

Copy the Acer factory default backup disk Image

During the initial launching, a notice will appear which will ask you to copy the image which will be saved in a hidden partition of your hard drive to a optical drive. 

Insert the optical disk in the drive and click the OK button to start burning. This function is disabled when the image settings to factory default is copied or when you check Do not remind me. 

Create backup of the system

You can create a complete backup image of the current system configuration including applications, drivers and data. Create a full backup before installing new hardware or software applications to protect your data and your system. 
Note: Create a full backup will erase the backup file previously saved on the hard disk. By default, the utility saves the backup image on the second partition on the hard disk. If space is insufficient, the option is dimmed and a warning appears. Save the image on the hard disk provides a simple system restore, without the need of optical discs. 

Create a complete backup

• Click on the Backup button below in the window, then click create. 



• Select full backup then click next. 



• Choose a description in the backup image then click next. 



• Then a window will appear to close all applications and select Yes, then click on next. 



• The backup process is starting. 



• A message will appear when the backup process will finish or if fails. 

Creating an incremental backup

Instead of a full system backup, you can create an incremental backup image of the current system configuration to save space. Regular incremental backups are recommended to protect your system and your data, especially before installing new hardware or new software. You can create multiple backup incremental one above the other. 

• Click on the backup button at the bottom then click create. 



• Select Incremental Backup (fast), then click next. 



• Then follow the other steps like in the other section. 

Erase a backup point

You can erase a backup image which was created to free up spaces on the hard drive. A message will appear for confirming when you select this option. Click on Yes to erase the backup image. Copy the burn disk option into the disks which will let you copy the images of the restore factory backup setting, the backup images, the system configuration backup or the applications to a CD/DVD. 

Using the option ‘‘Burn Disk’’

• 1- Click on the button Burn Disk. 
• 2- Select an option in the burn disk window option. Then refer to the description given. 

Burn a backup disc with the factory default settings

This utility created a backup disk containing the factory default settings. Select this option if you have disabled the copy of the image of the factory default settings when you first launch Acer eRecovery Management. 

Burn a backup disc with the parameters of user

This utility copies the backup image of the user on a disc optique.Vous can restore the system to the desired backup using this disk. 

Copy the current system configuration to disc

This utility copies the current system on the optical disc. This option creates a temporary backup with the current system without replacing the previous full backup. 

Burn a disc backup software

This utility backs up all the applications and drivers on the optical disc. 

Restore the system

Restore function allows you to restore the system using images of factory default settings, images of backups, backups of system and applications current copied on CDs / DVDs. 
1 – Click the Restore button. 
2 – Select an option from the Restore window. Please refer to the description of the options below. 

Restore system to factory default settings

Select this option to restore the computer to its original state. All previously installed programs and data stored will be lost. When this option is selected, the computer will restart and restore the system from the image on the hidden partition on the disc. 

Restore system from backup user

Allows you to restore the system using the backup image is more recent. When this option is selected, the information in the backup image will appear below the option. 

Recover the system from CD / DVD

This option allows you to restore the system using the backup image on the optical disc. When this option is selected, the computer restarts from the optical disc. The utility asks you to insert the backup drive if it is not already in the drive. 

Re-install applications / drivers

This option allows you to reinstall a damaged application or device driver. Acer eRecovery Management extracts the data from the hard disk partition hidden. This may take a few minutes and can disable the keyboard and mouse to ensure system stability. 

Other means of System Restore

If the system can not boot, you can restore it from the WinPE environment. The system starts from the hidden partition on the hard drive. To begin the restoration, press Alt + F10 (PC Tower) or F10 (laptop) to boot the PC and when the ACER logo appears. This will start the system from the hidden partition the hard drive and you access its main page. The restoration will be on partition C:. The partition D: (ACERDATA) will not be formatted, and therefore documents will not be deleted but it is always prudent to think about making a backup of your most important documents in case! 
Note: You will be asked to enter the password before the System Restore starts. If you enter the wrong password three times, the computer will restart into the operating system. 

You must enter the password to access the main page of the hidden partition. The main page of the hidden partition provides three options to restore the system: 

1 – Restore the system to factory default settings: Select this option and then enter the password. The utility will restore the system from the image of the factory default settings on the hidden partition on the hard drive. When prompted, confirm the system restore. A message will warn you that you will lose all data on the disc. The utility then restores the system to its original state. 
2 – Restore the system from backup user: Select this option and then enter the password. The utility restores the system from the image of the user on the second partition on the hard disk. When prompted, confirm the system restore. A message will warn you that you will lose all data on the partition. The utility then restores the system to safeguard user the most recent. 
3 – Restore the system from the CD / DVD: When this option is selected, insert the first disc of the backup in the optical drive. Confirm System Restore when prompted. A message will warn you that you will lose all data on the partition. The utility will restore the system from the backup image on CD / DVD. Insert the other disks when prompted. 

Note: If you are trying to restore the system to its factory default settings stored on CDs / DVDs, Acer eRecovery Management prompts you to insert disc 2 to start. 

No Restore CD / eRecovery / password / ALT + F10 or F10

1 – Recovery of data on the hidden partition PQSERVICE for password 
A – Installing the software R-Drive Image to create an image of this partition (this file has the extension. ARC) 
B – Always with this software, create a virtual disk logic to see the files 
C – From the desktop, go to the newly created virtual disk and find the file aimdrs.dat. The open with the notepad and get the password. 

2 – Reactivating the ALT + F10 
A – Always on the virtual disk created, find 2 files: mbrwrwin.exe and rtmbr.bin. 
B – Copy these 2 files on drive C: \ 
C – Since the MS-DOS (Pocket PC) to C: \, type the following command: mbrwrwin install rtmbr.bin 
D – The function has been reactivated. 

3 – Start of Restoration 
A – At the start of the PC, go to the set-up to check if the function is well on D2D enabled (normally it is a default setting … but hey you never know.) 
B – Once the audit and that the PC has restarted once the ACER logo appears, simultaneously press ALT + F10 to start the restore utility. 
C – When it asks for the password, you need to type one found in the file aimdrs.dat. CAUTION: The keyboard is QWERTY mode so we thought enter his password, but as some letters are reversed, it does not work. 

4 – Normally at this stage there … everything works and restoration is smooth. 

Note: If the operating system does not work, it is possible to do this from another PC by connecting the hard drive or USB slave

Issue

The most common Access Bios key is the “DEL” button or “F2″. This depends on the laptop’s model you own and it’s quite embarassing when you are not being able to access your bios settings when you don’t know which key to be pressed.

Solution

Here is a list of laptop models and brands with the keyboard commands / key for accessing the BIOS Setup:

Acer: F1, F2, CTRL+ALT+ESC 
ARI: CTRL+ALT+ESC, CTRL+ALT+DEL 
AST: CTRL+ALT+ESC, CTRL+ALT+DEL 
Compaq® 8700: F10 
CompUSA: DEL 
Cybermax: ESC 

Dell Laptops: 
Dell 400: F3, F1 
Dell 4400: F12 
Dell Dimension: F2 or DEL 
Dell Inspiron: F2 
Dell Latitude: Fn+F1 (while booted) 
Dell Latitude: F2 (on boot) 
Dell Optiplex: DEL 
Dell Optiplex: F2 
Dell Precision: F2 

eMachine: F2 
Gateway 2000 1440: F1 
Gateway 2000 Solo: F2 
HP (Hewlett-Packard): F1, F2 (Laptop, ESC) 
IBM: F1 
E-pro Laptop: F2 
IBM PS/2: CTRL+ALT+INS after CTRL+ALT+DEL 
IBM Thinkpad (newer) Windows: Programs-Thinkpad CFG. 

Micron: F1, F2, or DEL 
Packard Bell: F1, F2, Del 
Seanix: DEL 
Sony VAIO: F2 
Sony VAIO: F3 
Tiger: DEL 

Toshiba 335 CDS: ESC 
Toshiba Protege: ESC 
Toshiba Satellite 205 CDS: F1 
Toshiba Tecra: ESC then F1 or F2 

Toshiba Notebook [Newer models]:

• Turn on computer by Holding down power button while pressing the ESC key.

The machine will beep, then display: 
Check System, then press [F1] key.

• Release ESC key
• Press F1 key

Issue

I’m trying to factory reset my notebook and am struggling with the dell support site to get clear instructions about a system restore to factory settings. I’ve tried a number of combinations of CTRL and Fn with F10/11 etc. and am not getting the restore menu on start-up. Anybody got some clear instructions? 

Solution

These are the Dell instructions: 
To perform PC Restore: 
1. Turn on the computer. 
During the boot process, a blue bar with 
www.dell.com appears at the top of the 
screen. 
2. Immediately upon seeing the blue bar, press 
<Ctrl><F11>. If you wait too long and the 
operating system logo appears, continue to 
wait until you see the Microsoft® Windows® 
desktop; then, shut down your computer and 
try again. 
CAUTION: If you do not want to proceed 
with PC Restore, click Reboot. 
3. Click Restore and click Confirm. 
The restore process takes approximately 6 to 
10 minutes to complete. 

Do you get the Dell logo displayed after you turn on the laptop? If not then you have hardware problems and will not be able to do the restore.

Asus Netbook possess a restore utility , which is very simple and quick to use. 
This restoration is available through a recovery partition, or from the recovery DVD tha, includes a utility for the drivers (external dvd drive will be required). One part will be devoted to restoring from a USB key for those who no longer have the recovery partition, or external DVD drive, but it will still provide the DVD for purchase. 

Getting started

Disable Boot Booster

• The option Boost Booster will remove the bios screen at startup Netbookand this option is enabled by default on the purchase.
• Turn so your Netbook normally, and immediately press the F2 key until you reach the Setup Utility, which allows access to the bios options, including Boost Booster.
• Using the arrow keys, move to the Boot tab, then click the Boot Booster option. Press the Enter key, then turn the option to Disabled to disable it.
• Go to the last tab, Exit, and take Exit and save changes.

Restore from the Recovery Partition

• Start your Netbook and press the F9 key on your keyboard until you see a loading screen.
• The restoration program prepares the files needed for the operation.
• A message appears asking if you want to perform the operation, you will lose all files on your machine.
• Confirm by clicking √.
• The restore process is done automatically , without any human intervention.
• At the end of the restoration, the machine will reboot on its own, and make configurations.
• A restart is performed again, and you’re on the setup process of Windows , same as the first boot after buying the Netbook.

Notes

Thanks to spe2d for this tip. 
This manipulation was made on a EEEpc 1005H.

If your operating system is XP, CTRL and F11 key simultaneously when you see the dell logo after turning on the Laptop and follow the screen instructions.

• Power the computer on.
• When the Dell screen appears press and hold the CTRL and F11 key simultaneously on the keyboard, then release them both at the same time.

The Dell PC Restore by Symantec window appears.

• Click the Restore button or press the key to highlight Restore and press the key.

A caution message appears advising that all data will be lost.

• Click the Confirm button or press the key to highlight Confirm and press the key.

The Progress window appears. Once the process is begun, Dell PC Restore usually takes only 8 to 10 minutes to complete. 
When the restore is complete, the message The system recovery process was successful appears.

• Click the Finish button or press the key to highlight Finish and press the key.

The computer will restart. 

For Vista or Win 7
If your operating system is VISTA / Win 7, tap F8 key when you see the dell logo. It will take you to advanced boot menu options under which you will see Repair your Computer, Select that option and enter your password if it asked, then you will be seeing list of options like system restore, command prompt, etc., In that the last option says Dell PC restore or something like that. Select that option and follow the screens.. That’s it. 

• Start the computer.
• As the computer starts, press the F8 key until the Advanced Boot Options menu appears on the screen.
• Press the (Down Arrow) to select Repair Your Computer on the Advanced Boot Options menu, and then press Enter.
• Specify the language settings that you want, and then click Next.
• Log in as a user who has administrative credentials, and then click OK.
• Click Dell Factory Image Restore.
• In the Dell Factory Image Restore window, click Next.
• Click to select the check box for Yes, reformat hard drive and restore system software to factory condition.
• Click Next. The computer is restored to the default factory configuration.
• When the restore operation is completed, click Finish to restart the computer.

If in both case, the Factory default didn’t work, then your laptop’s factory image defaults partition have vanished (i.e. Corrupted / Deleted). So you have to do Operating System re installation with the Operating System CD / DVD shipped along with laptop. Follow the below link to install windows XP Pro on your own.

Intro

This small tip will cover the main steps , to restore your Dell laptop to factory settings. Depending on the model you possess , the manipulations may be slightly different , so feel free to add any information you think may be useful to this FAQ. 

Steps

Restore the Computer to the Default Factory Configuration

Notice:
When you restore the computer to the default factory configuration, all data on the C drive is deleted. Before performing this procedure, back up personal files. If you do not back up personal files, the data is lost.

• 1. Restart the computer. To do this, click Start, click the arrow next to the Lock button, and then click Restart.
• 2. As the computer restarts, press the F8 key until the Advanced Boot Options menu appears on the screen.

Note: 
You must press F8 before the Windows logo appears on the screen. If you press F8 after the Windows logo appears, the Advanced Boot Options menu does not appear on the screen. If you do not see the Advanced Boot Options menu, restart the computer, and then repeat this step until you see the menu on the screen. 

Good Luck (please don’t post in all CAPITAL LETTERS next time)

• 3. Press the (Down Arrow) to select Repair Your Computer on the Advanced Boot Options menu, and then press Enter.

• 4. Specify the language settings that you want, and then click Next.
• 5. Log in as a user who has administrative credentials, and then click OK.
• 6. Click Dell Factory Image Restore.
• 7. In the Dell Factory Image Restore window, click Next.
• 8. Click to select the check box for Yes, reformat hard drive and restore system software to factory condition.
• 9. Click Next. The computer is restored to the default factory configuration.
• 10. When the restore operation is completed, click Finish to restart the computer.

Please help me reset my laptop Toshiba Satellite l300 to factory settings. My OS is windows vista.

Method: Using the Recovery partition

Toshiba laptops from mid 2007 onwards dont have a recovery disc supplied with a purchase of a laptop. Instead, Toshiba has added a hidden partion on the hard drive which contains the same files on a recovery cd / dvd. 

To reinstall your laptop to the factory settings / “out of the box” settings, please follow these steps. It worked for me, and should work for you.

ALL DATA WILL BE ERASED ON YOUR HARD DRIVE IF YOU PROCEED. YOU WILL NEED TO ENSURE THAT YOU HAVE THE POWER ADAPTER PLUGGED IN. DO NOT SWITCH OFF OR RESTART YOUR COMPUTER DURING THIS PROCESS. 

• 1) Hold down the power button for 10 (ten) seconds to switch off your machine.

Please note: Holding down the power button on the machine forces it to switch off. Any unsaved data will be lost.

• 2) Press and hold the 0 (zero) key and at the same time, tap the power button once to switch on your notebook.
• 3) When the machine Starts beeping; release the 0 key.
• 4) When prompted by the warning screen; select Yes to continue with the system recovery.
• 5) Select Recovery of Factory Default Software; click Next.
• 6) Select Recover to out-of-box state. Click Next again.
• 7) Click Next to Start recovery.

I hope you find this step by step solution helpful for you.

Method : Using the Recovery Discs

If the above method doesn’t work try this one: 

Prerequisitives:

• 2-4 blank DVD
• Recovery partition must still exist.

• CD/DVD rom set as primary boot device… More info:http://en.kioskea.net/faq/648-boot-devices-modifying-boot-sequence

In this example we will try to restore a Toshiba laptop (Satellite model) running under Vista (32 bit). 
For the following OS version, only 2 Blank DVD are normally required!

Getting started

• Click on start
• Type Toshiba Recovery
• You should have this option displayed above the search bar:

• Toshiba Recovery Disc Creator.
• Double click on it.
• Click on the create button and the program will prompt you to insert your Blank DVD.

• Click on OK and follow the procedure.
• Once the first disc (DVD1) is burnt, you will be ask to insert the second one.
• Once the disc created, restart your PC(With DVD 1 inserted).
• If you have correctly change the boot sequence , you should get 2 options:
  • Start Windows normally.
  • Perform a System restore.

A very easy procedure (follow the instruction wizard). 
You shall get your PC in the same state as it was when you unboxed it. 

The drivers should be already installed (by default), but still it remains the painful task of updating your Windows Vista, install MS Office, antivirus software…etc

This tip will help you to easily create a “recovery” partition:

After some testing with Windows 7, it is probably possible to create a hidden partition, allowing access to all repair tools, and the ability to completely reinstall the system,therefore no need to use DVD or USB key.

To begin with, you’ll need:
? A PC functional
? A blank hard disk, (that intended to receive the recovery partition)
? Your DVD of Windows 7. (or iso file to extract the content)

Preparation of hard disk

The disk drive must be partitioned into two. Consider a partition of about 3.5GO, at beginning of the disk, so that this partition can contain all the files from the DVD and one for the system partition.

Copying files

Once the partitions of 3 to 4 GB created, simply just copy the entire DVD on this partition, and make this partition bootable.

Prepare of the partition to make it bootable

Open the command prompt and run this :

x: 

cd /boot  

bootsect /nt60 X:

(x being your partition)

A message “boot code was successfully updated on all targeted volumes” should appear.
Then check that the partition is marked “active” in disk management.
If necessary, right click on the partition and “mark partition as active”

Now mount the HDD in the PC and boot.

• The PC will automatically launch the installer from the partition and add an entry “Windows setup” in the entries in bcd. (so no need to use third party software to edit the boot entries)
• Everything is done automatically!
• You now have a PC with a recovery partition that lets you reinstall new Windows 7 in case of problems.

Note

This is a trick that has been created and verified using the full version, and Home Premium
7.7600 RTM of Windows.

source

Jika kita mempunyai komputer yang dilengkapi dengan fungsi recovery, tidak selalu kita mencoba fitur ini diawal pemakaian. Sampai pada saatnya kita harus memakainya , kita bisa ragu ragu sampai dimana recovery itu akan mempengaruhi data yang sudah ada di komputer kita. Kita khawatir memilih menu yang keliru dan data kita langsung hilang semuanya. Di artikel ini kita akan membahas Recovery di notebook Toshiba Satellite A200 sistem operasi Windows Vista

Pertama tama: Baca Manual!

• Halaman 3-9 ( bab 3 halaman 9 ) manual Toshiba Satellite A200/Satellite Pro A200 yang datang dengan notebook kita ( bentuk file pdf bukan buku cetak ) menuliskan bahwa ada sekitar 1.5 GB ruang di harddisk kita yang disisihkan untuk menyimpan semua file yang diperlukan oleh notebook untuk mengembalikan sistem operasi Windows Vista Home Premium, beserta semua driver, dan software tambahannya.
• Kita diminta untuk mematikan notebook dan menekan tombol F8 selagi kita menyalakan tombol “On”. Selanjutnya kita diminta memilih menu Advanced Boot Options dan Repair Your Computer dan menekan Enter.
• Beberapa instruksi lanjutan.

Kurangnya gambar gambar serta peringatan bahwa kita akan kehilangkan data kita jika kita melakukan reinstalasi OS mau tak mau menyebabkan kita takut kehilangan data kita. Idealnya memang kita memindahkan semua data kita dari hard disk ke external hard disk atau ke DVD.

Memindahkan Data dari Drive C

Data di Drive C dari Toshiba kita memang akan HILANG SEMUA. Jadi bila memang masih ada data penting, silakan dipindahkan dulu. Bila Windows kita mengalami gangguan dan tidak bisa menyala, maka kita harus mengeluarkan hard disk Toshiba kita, memasukannya ke external hard disk dan memindahkan semua data dari Drive C terlebih dahulu.

Jika kita sedang menyalin data di drive C, maka drive D juga bisa sekaligus disalin juga untuk keamanan kita. Pekerjaan yang memakan waktu memang, tapi kita pasti akan merasakan manfaatnya nanti.

1. Layar Advanced Boot Options

Layar ini muncul setelah kita menekan tombol F8 beberapa kali selagi kita menyalakan notebook. Bila bukan layar ini yang muncul, maka matikan notebook dan ulangi sekali lagi. Pilih menu Repair Your Computer.

2. Pilih Keyboard, User Name, dan Masukan Password

Pilih username kita dan masukan password kita.

3. Pilih Toshiba Recovery Wizard

3. Peringatan Data Akan Hilang

4. Pilih Menu Recovery of Factory Default Software

5. Pilih Menu – Recover without changing the hard drive partitions

Dari semua langkah, langkah dibawah adalah yang paling penting. Dengan memilih menu yang ditengah, kita hanya akan kehilangan data di Drive C saja. Drive lainnya tidak akan dirubah. Jika kita memilih menu lainnya, maka seluruh data kita akan diformat.

6. Selesai

Masih ada beberapa langkah lagi yang harus diikuti, tapi semuanya adalah pilihan yang mudah dimengerti. Masih membutuhkan waktu 40 menit lagi sampai pada akhirnya Windows Vista selesai di setup dan notebook kembali ke keadaan sewaktu kita beli.

souce