Linux won't let me into BIOS. Advice?

[grgreen]

Ok,

I have a pretty old school Dell that I'm trying to sell for a customer on eBay.

Problem:

• He has a freeware version of Linux installed and does not remember his password so I need to reinstall Windows from the Dell restore disks.
• The PC will not boot form the CD drive, so I need to get into the BIOS settings to change the boot order.
• Everytime I use any of the normal keyboard combos that would take you to the BIOS it just takes me to a Linux setttings module and I can't get into the BIOS no matter what I seem to try.

Soulutions:

• I figure if I can get a boot disk, the computer will probably boot by default from that because it has a FDD installed. The problem is I can't seem to find a working computer with a FDD to make the boot disk on.
• Any other suggestions??

[jbennet]

Try hitting F12

[John A]

Half the battle is figuring out the BIOS brand. Once you know that, you can research on how to enter the setup. So, what screen output do you see when you start up the computer?

[jbennet]

Try F12. On my dell dimension i can hit F2 for setup or F12 to choose boot device/run diagnostics.

[grgreen]

Thanks for your help guys! I got it figured out. I'm not sure what the deal was exactly. But I finnally did get into the BIOS.

Thanks,

Ctrl + Esc
Ctrl + F1
F2
F4
F8
F10
F11
F12