Users Guide

BIOSConnect overview
BIOSConnect provides an alternative method for starting SupportAssist OS Recovery when the service partition of the hard
drive where SupportAssist OS Recovery resides, is absent, corrupt, or needs repair. BIOSConnect connects to Dell over the
Internet, downloads the SupportAssist OS Recovery image, and initiates SupportAssist OS Recovery from the system memory
(RAM).
BIOSConnect may be available on your computer in one of the following configurations:
● Attached BIOSConnect—where most of the BIOSConnect software components reside on the service partition of the hard
drive. Formatting the hard drive results in loss of BIOSConnect capabilities.
● Hybrid BIOSConnect—where most of the most of the BIOSConnect software components, except the wireless driver
stack, reside on the firmware. Formatting the hard drive affects the BIOSConnect capabilities. BIOSConnect can then start
SupportAssist OS Recovery only if your computer is connected to the Internet through a wired Internet connection.
NOTE: BIOSConnect is available only on certain Dell system models. The configuration of BIOSConnect which is supported
on your computer depends on the model of your computer and the version of SupportAssist OS Recovery installed. For the
list of system models where BIOSConnect feature is supported, see the Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery Support Matrix on
the SupportAssist OS Recovery documentation page.
When your computer is unable to boot to the operating system even after repeated attempts, the pre-boot system performance
check is initiated. If no hardware issue is detected and your computer is unable to start SupportAssist OS Recovery from the
hard drive, you are prompted to restart your computer and download the SupportAssist OS Recovery image from Dell.com. On
confirmation, your computer restarts and displays the BIOSConnect screen.
For instructions on using the Dell BIOSConnect feature to start SupportAssist OS Recovery, see the Using Dell BIOSConnect to
start SupportAssist OS Recovery video.
Depending on the type of Internet connection that is available, one of the following actions may occur:
● Wired Internet connection—download of the SupportAssist OS Recovery image is automatically initiated.
● Wireless Internet connection—BIOSConnect scans for wireless networks and displays the list of available wireless networks.
You can also connect to hidden wireless networks. After the connection is established, download of the SupportAssist OS
Recovery image is automatically initiated.
After the download of the SupportAssist OS Recovery image is complete, your computer starts SupportAssist OS Recovery.
Topics:
• Start SupportAssist OS Recovery using BIOSConnect
• Connect to wireless networks
• Enable or disable BIOSConnect
Start SupportAssist OS Recovery using BIOSConnect
Prerequisites
Your computer must have access to the Internet.
About this task
BIOSConnect provides an alternative method for starting SupportAssist OS Recovery when the service partition of the hard
drive where SupportAssist OS Recovery was installed, is absent, corrupt, or needs repair.
Steps
1. Turn on or restart your computer.
2. Press F12 to access the one time boot menu.
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24 BIOSConnect overview