Dell EMC PowerEdge T640 BIOS and UEFI Reference Guide Part Number: E46S Series Regulatory Type: E46S001 December 2020 Rev.
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Contents Chapter 1: Pre-operating system management applications...........................................................4 Options to manage the pre-operating system applications.......................................................................................4 System Setup....................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Viewing System Setup.........................................
1 Pre-operating system management applications You can manage basic settings and features of a system without booting to the operating system by using the system firmware.
System Setup details The System Setup Main Menu screen details are explained as follows: Option Description System BIOS Enables you to configure BIOS settings. iDRAC Settings Enables you to configure the iDRAC settings. The iDRAC settings utility is an interface to set up and configure the iDRAC parameters by using UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). You can enable or disable various iDRAC parameters by using the iDRAC settings utility.
Option Description Boot Settings Provides options to specify the Boot mode (BIOS or UEFI). Enables you to modify UEFI and BIOS boot settings. Network Settings Provides options to manage the UEFI network settings and boot protocols. Legacy network settings are managed from the Device Settings menu. Integrated Devices Provides options to manage integrated device controllers and ports, specifies related features and options.
Option Description System Management Engine Version Specifies the current version of the Management Engine firmware. System Service Tag Specifies the system Service Tag. System Manufacturer Specifies the name of the system manufacturer. System Manufacturer Contact Information Specifies the contact information of the system manufacturer. System CPLD Version Specifies the current version of the system complex programmable logic device (CPLD) firmware.
Option Description Video Memory Specifies the amount of video memory. System Memory Testing Specifies whether the system memory tests are run during system boot. Options are Enabled and Disabled. This option is set to Disabled by default. Dram Refresh Delay By enabling the CPU memory controller to delay running the REFRESH commands, you can improve the performance for some workloads. By minimizing the delay time, it is ensured that the memory controller runs the REFRESH command at regular intervals.
Processor Settings details About this task The Processor Settings screen details are explained as follows: Option Description Logical Processor Enables or disables the logical processors and displays the number of logical processors. If this option is set to Enabled, the BIOS displays all the logical processors. If this option is set to Disabled, the BIOS displays only one logical processor per core. This option is set to Enabled by default.
Option Description Configurable TDP Enables you to configure the TDP level. The available options are Nominal, Level 1, and Level 2. This option is set to Nominal by default. NOTE: This option is only available on certain stock keeping units (SKUs) of the processors. x2APIC Mode Enables or disables the x2APIC mode. This option is set to Enabled by default. Compared to the traditional xAPIC architecture, xAPIC extends processor addressability and enhances interrupt delivery performance.
SATA Settings details About this task The SATA Settings screen details are explained as follows: Option Description Embedded SATA Enables the embedded SATA option to be set to AHCI Mode, or RAID Mode. This option is set to AHCI Mode by default. Security Freeze Lock Enables you to send Security Freeze Lock command to the embedded SATA drives during POST. This option is applicable only for AHCI mode. This option is set to Enabled by default.
Boot Settings You can use the Boot Settings screen to set the boot mode to either BIOS or UEFI. It also enables you to specify the boot order. ● UEFI: The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a new interface between operating systems and platform firmware. The interface consists of data tables with platform related information, boot and runtime service calls that are available to the operating system and its loader.
Hard-disk Drive Placeholder Enables or disables the Hard-disk drive placeholder option. This option is set to Disabled by default. BIOS Boot Settings Enables or disables BIOS boot options. UEFI Boot Settings Enables or disables UEFI Boot options. NOTE: This option is enabled only if the boot mode is BIOS. The Boot options include IPv4 PXE and IPv6 PXE. This option is set to IPv4 by default. NOTE: This option is enabled only if the boot mode is UEFI.
Viewing Network Settings To view the Network Settings screen, perform the following steps: Steps 1. Power on, or restart your system. 2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message: F2 = System Setup NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then restart your system and try again. 3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS. 4. On the System BIOS screen, click Network Settings.
Integrated Devices You can use the Integrated Devices screen to view and configure the settings of all integrated devices including the video controller, integrated RAID controller, and the USB ports. Viewing Integrated Devices To view the Integrated Devices screen, perform the following steps: Steps 1. Power on, or restart your system. 2.
Option Description I/O Snoop HoldOff Response Selects the number of cycles PCI I/O can withhold snoop requests, from the CPU, to allow time to complete its own write to LLC. This setting can help improve performance on workloads where throughput and latency are critical. Embedded Video Controller Enables or disables the use of Embedded Video Controller as the primary display. When set to Enabled, the Embedded Video Controller is used as the primary display even if add-in graphic cards are installed.
Option Description Table 2. Slot Disablement (continued) Slot Bifurcation Option Description Slot 3 Enables or disables or only the boot driver is disabled for the PCIe slot 3. This option is set to Enabled by default. Slot 4 Enables or disables or only the boot driver is disabled for the PCIe slot 4. This option is set to Enabled by default. Slot 5 Enables or disables or only the boot driver is disabled for the PCIe slot 5. This option is set to Enabled by default.
3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS. 4. On the System BIOS screen, click Serial Communication. Serial Communication details About this task The Serial Communication screen details are explained as follows: Option Description Serial Communication Enables you to select serial communication devices (Serial Device 1 and Serial Device 2) in BIOS. BIOS console redirection can also be enabled, and the port address can be specified. This option is set to Auto by default.
2. Press F2 immediately after you see the following message: F2 = System Setup NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then restart your system and try again. 3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS. 4. On the System BIOS screen, click System Profile Settings.
Option Description NOTE: This option can be disabled only if the C States option in the Custom mode is set to disabled. NOTE: When C States is set to Enabled in the Custom mode, changing the Monitor/Mwait setting does not impact the system power or performance. CPU Enables or disables the CPU Interconnect Bus Link Power Management. This option is set to Enabled by Interconnect Bus default. Link Power Management PCI ASPM L1 Link Enables or disables the PCI ASPM L1 Link Power Management.
Option Description Enables you to control the reporting mode of the TPM. The TPM Security option is set to Off by default. You can only modify the TPM Status TPM Activation, and the Intel TXT fields if the TPM Status field is set to either On with Pre-boot Measurements or On without Pre-boot Measurements. When TPM 1.2 is installed, the TPM Security option is set to Off, On with Pre-boot Measurements, or On without Pre-boot Measurements. Table 4. TPM 1.
Option Description Intel(R) TXT Enables you to set the Intel Trusted Execution Technology (TXT) option. To enable the Intel TXT option, virtualization technology and TPM Security must be enabled with Pre-boot measurements. This option is set to Off by default. When TPM 2.0 is installed, TPM 2 Algorithm option is available. It enables you to select a hash algorithm from those supported by the TPM (SHA1, SHA256). TPM 2 Algorithm option must be set to SHA256, to enable TXT.
Option Description Secure Boot Policy Summary Specifies the list of certificates and hashes that secure boot uses to authenticate images. Secure Boot Custom Policy Settings Configures the Secure Boot Custom Policy. To enable this option, set the Secure Boot Policy to Custom. Creating a system and setup password Prerequisites Ensure that the password jumper is enabled. The password jumper enables or disables the system password and setup password features.
Deleting or changing system and setup password Prerequisites NOTE: You cannot delete or change an existing system or setup password if the Password Status is set to Locked. Steps 1. To enter System Setup, press F2 immediately after turning on or restarting your system. 2. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS > System Security. 3. On the System Security screen, ensure that Password Status is set to Unlocked. 4.
NOTE: If your operating system begins to load before you press F2, wait for the system to finish booting, and then restart your system and try again. 3. On the System Setup Main Menu screen, click System BIOS. 4. On the System BIOS screen, click Redundant OS Control.
Miscellaneous Settings details About this task The Miscellaneous Settings screen details are explained as follows: Option Description System Time Enables you to set the time on the system. System Date Enables you to set the date on the system. Asset Tag Specifies the asset tag and enables you to modify it for security and tracking purposes. Keyboard NumLock Enables you to set whether the system should boot with the NumLock enabled or disabled. This option is set to On by default.
Dell Lifecycle Controller Dell Lifecycle Controller (LC) provides advanced embedded systems management capabilities including system deployment, configuration, update, maintenance, and diagnosis. LC is delivered as part of the iDRAC out-of-band solution and Dell system embedded Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) applications. Embedded system management The Dell Lifecycle Controller provides advanced embedded system management throughout the lifecycle of the system.
System Utilities System Utilities contains the following utilities that can be launched: ● Launch Diagnostics ● BIOS Update File Explorer ● Reboot System PXE boot You can use the Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) option to boot and configure the networked systems, remotely. To access the PXE boot option, boot the system and then press F12 during POST instead of using standard Boot Sequence from BIOS Setup. It does not pull any menu or allows managing of network devices.