Dell EMC PowerEdge C6420 BIOS and UEFI Reference Guide Part Number: E43S Series Regulatory Type: E43S001 June 2021 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 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. Serial Communication Provides options to manage the serial ports, their related features and options.
Option Description 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. UEFI Compliance Version Specifies the UEFI compliance level of the system firmware.
Option Description 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.
4. On the System BIOS screen, click Processor Settings. 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 Processor Core Speed Specifies the maximum core frequency of the processor. Processor n NOTE: Depending on the number of processors, there might be up to two processors listed. The following settings are displayed for each processor that is installed in the system: Option Description Family-ModelStepping Specifies the family, model, and stepping of the processor as defined by Intel. Brand Specifies the brand name. Level 2 Cache Specifies the total L2 cache.
Option Description Write Cache Enables or disables the command for the embedded SATA drives during POST. This option is set to Disabled by default. Port n Enables you to set the drive type of the selected device. For AHCI Mode or RAID Mode, BIOS support is always enabled. Option Description Model Specifies the drive model of the selected device. Drive Type Specifies the type of drive attached to the SATA port. Capacity Specifies the total capacity of the drive.
○ Enhanced security (e.g., UEFI Secure Boot). ○ Faster boot time. NOTE: You must use only the UEFI boot mode in order to boot from NVMe drives. ● BIOS: The BIOS Boot Mode is the legacy boot mode. It is maintained for backward compatibility. Viewing Boot Settings To view the Boot Settings screen, perform the following steps: Steps 1. Power on, or restart your system. 2.
Boot Options Enable/Disable Enables you to select the enabled or disabled boot devices. Choosing system boot mode The BIOS boot mode (the default), is the standard BIOS-level boot interface. NOTE: The system also supports the UEFI boot mode. NOTE: Operating systems must be UEFI-compatible to be installed from the UEFI boot mode. DOS and 32-bit operating systems do not support UEFI and can only be installed from the BIOS boot mode.
Network Settings screen details The Network Settings screen details are explained as follows: About this task Option UEFI PXE Settings PXE Device n Settings(n = 1 to 4) UEFI HTTP Settings Description Options Description PXE Device n (n = 1 to 4) Enables or disables the device. When enabled, a UEFI PXE boot option is created for the device. Enables you to control the configuration of the PXE device. Table 1.
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 system (that is, no add-in graphics card is installed), then the Embedded Video Controller is automatically used as the primary display even if the Embedded Video Controller setting is set to Enabled. SR-IOV Global Enable Enables or disables the BIOS configuration of Single Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) devices. This option is set to Disabled by default. OS Watchdog Timer If your system stops responding, this watchdog timer aids in the recovery of your operating system.
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 Serial Communication. Serial Communication details About this task The Serial Communication screen details are explained as follows: Option Description Serial Port Address Enables you to set the port address for serial device.
System Profile Settings details About this task The System Profile Settings screen details are explained as follows: Option Description System Profile Sets the system profile. If you set the System Profile option to a mode other than Custom, the BIOS automatically sets the rest of the options. You can only change the rest of the options if the mode is set to Custom.This option is set to Performance Per Watt (DAPC) by default. DAPC is Dell Active Power Controller.
Option Description Link Power Management PCI ASPM L1 Link Power Management Enables or disables the PCI ASPM L1 Link Power Management. This option is set to Enabled by default.
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. TPM Information Enables you to change the operational state of the TPM. This option is set to No Change by default. TPM Status Specifies the TPM status.
Option Description Options Description Audit Mode is useful for programmatically determining a working set of policy objects. BIOS performs signature verification on pre-boot images. BIOS also logs the results in the image Execution Information Table, but approves the images whether they pass or fail verification. Deployed Mode Deployed Mode is the most secure mode. In Deployed Mode, PK must be installed and the BIOS performs signature verification on programmatic attempts to update policy objects.
Steps 1. Power on or reboot your system. 2. Type the system password and press Enter. Next steps When Password Status is set to Locked, type the system password and press Enter when prompted at reboot. NOTE: If an incorrect system password is typed, the system displays a message and prompts you to reenter your password. You have three attempts to type the correct password.
Redundant OS Control In the Redundant OS Control screen you can set the redundant OS information. This enables you to set up a physical recovery disk on the system. Viewing Redundant OS Control To view the Redundant OS Control screen, perform the following steps: Steps 1. Power on, or restart your system. 2.
Miscellaneous Settings You can use the Miscellaneous Settings screen to perform specific functions such as updating the asset tag and changing the system date and time. Viewing Miscellaneous Settings To view the Miscellaneous Settings screen, perform the following steps: Steps 1. Power on, or restart your system. 2.
For more information about using iDRAC, see Dell Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller User's Guide at www.dell.com/ poweredgemanuals.
Menu item Description One-shot Boot Menu Enables you to access boot menu, where you can select a one-time boot device to boot from. Launch System Setup Enables you to access System Setup. Launch Lifecycle Controller Exits the Boot Manager and invokes the Dell Lifecycle Controller program. System Utilities Enables you to launch System Utilities menu such as System Diagnostics and UEFI shell. One-shot UEFI boot menu One-shot UEFI boot menu enables you to select a boot device to boot from.
