Dell Precision Tower 5810 unable to enter BIOS

Question

I recently reinstalled Windows 10 Pro using the image I downloaded for this PC from Dell. This model is not Windows 11 compatible, the CPU seems to be the incompatible component, not sure if there is an upgrade CPU one can install on these motherboards. My system summary:

OS Name Microsoft Windows 10 Pro
Version 10.0.19045 Build 19045

System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Model Precision Tower 5810
System Type x64-based PC
System SKU 0617
Processor Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2690 v3 @ 2.60GHz, 2601 Mhz, 12 Core(s), 24 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A34, 19/10/2020
SMBIOS Version 2.8
Embedded Controller Version 255.255
BIOS Mode UEFI
BaseBoard Manufacturer Dell Inc.
BaseBoard Product 0HHV7N
BaseBoard Version A00
Platform Role Desktop
Secure Boot State Off
PCR7 Configuration Elevation Required to View
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "10.0.19041.3636"
User Name DESKTOP-NM1ALSD\Admin
Time Zone AUS Eastern Daylight Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 32.0 GB

I have recently reinstalled Windows 10 via an image from Dell for this model. The install went through ok but it took a number of updates before my RAID controller and storage started working. I had been able to get into the BIOS before all this and set my system to RAID and changed to EUFI. RAID is very new to me but after all Windows and Dell updates were installed, I was able to see the RAID device and storage in Disc Management, but it was only showing 2tb and around 9tb unallocated space but not allowing me to use that unallocated space. Solution was Easeus Partition Master. I now have 9tb of extra disc space.

Windows 10 is working flawlessly. Prior to formatting the allocated space, the only odd behavior I have noticed is if I press F2 during the boot, I first get an orange message in top right side "PREPARING TO ENTER SETUP" , then when it goes to enter setup, its just a blank screen with a white non flashing cursor top left side and never goes any further even after leaving it half an hour. I get out of that by pressing CTL ALT DEL and it boots into Windows 10 with no troubles with the operating system.

If I try F12 during the boot, I get an orange message at top right saying "PREPARING TO ENTER FIRST TIME BOOT" and the menu for that appears as it always did, but if I try to enter any of those menu items I get a blank screen and have to do a CTL ALT DEL to get out of that blank screen and allow the PC to boot into Windows.

I have read up on some solutions, one is to try removing the CMOS battery and reinstall. I do not think I have a flat CMOS battery as its not losing time or date etc. My concern is when I remove the cmos battery and the BIOS settings wiped, I may then not be able to boot into Windows, especially if I still cannot enter the BIOS setup.

At this stage I am being cautious, not sure if I have a bad BIOS or whether a Windows or Dell update has been able to do something to the BIOS. So presenting my problem to the forum to see what people more knowledgeable than me may think.

Chino de Oro · Answer

Only a wild guess here. When you are using RAID controller in UEFI boot mode, there could be a message from storage controller that halted the boot process. But the dialogue from RAID controller is not compatible with UEFI, hence you could not see it. Blindly hit F1 or Enter may allow POST to proceed to BIOS SETUP or using workaround below.

Temporarily remove boot drive or RAID controller to get no bootable device error message with F2 to enter SETUP.

Or, reset CMOS to get TIME and DATE error message with F1 to continue and F2 to enter SETUP.

3d Woodworking · Answer

@Chino de Oro​ thanks for the advice. It is rather strange. The PC boots into Windows 10 reliably every time and I am not having any troubles with the operating system, windows 10 is running very nicely. Just I cannot enter setup. Tried the F1 and ENTER keys with no luck. When pressing F12 it says 'preparing to enter First Time Boot' and the menu is displayed. The only menu item that is working is eh Diagnostic one, and it doesn't report any errors or faults after running those diagnostics. All other menu items result in a black screen. I am approaching this cautiously, for now I have a usable PC, so am thinking to leave things alone till I absolutely need to try reinstalling, that will depend on whether resetting the cmos will allow me to enter the boot menu. It was previously set to Legacy Boot so maybe you are correct about incompatibility with the RAID controller, but then also always a chance the hard drives on the RAID have issues. I do recall many years ago having a brand new Pentium 200 PC that needed multiple attempts to boot, it would boot randomly when it wanted to but most times refused to boot. I always new it would boot when the floppy and keyboard lights came on. But it would also freeze often. After pulling my hair out for a couple of years living with it, one day read about problems if CMOS battery is flat. When my attention turned to the CMOS battery, I noticed it was loose in the clip, small coin cured it.

Chino de Oro · Answer

If the machine is running well, and there is no need to access BIOS settings, leave it alone until due time.

bradthetechnut · Answer

With the T5810 being introduced in 2014, a new battery is a good thing if it's 5+ years old.

In agreement with Chino, if machine is running fine, no need to change any BIOS settings or update. Changing BIOS settings can make it not boot. They have to be the same as when the OS was loaded.

Due to it's age, the T5810 probably already has the latest BIOS that's for it.

Chino de Oro · Answer

Additional information to address your main inquiry:

While the 5810 can support Broadwell processors, Xeon E5 v4 is not officially supported for Windows 11. However, you can still install Windows 11 at due time, when Windows 10 is at the end of support next year.

Myself and many users have confirmed that Windows 11 is working well on this workstation. Currently, Windows 11 Updates is still supported but no one can say for certain into future date. Let deal with that next year when you decide to upgrade.

3d Woodworking · Answer

Thanks guys, I agree, while its running fine, leave it alone. Indeed only time I have needed to enter the BIOS is when doing a reinstall. The BIOS is up to date, I think the latest was released in 2019. When Windows 10 is at end of support, one possibility is Linux.

3d Woodworking · Answer

Just an update. The issue definitely is related to the RAID setup. Looking inside, it seems one cable from the RAID controller goes to two linked hard drives inside the case, the other cable is going to a removable drive in some sort of quick change dock on front of the case. I shut it down and disconnected both cables at the RAID controller and was able to boot straight into the BIOS.

3d Woodworking · Answer

Not sure if I have a bad drive in the RAID circuit. Removing and reinserting the removable one doesn't seem to do anything but not sure if it has been setup right, cannot see it in Windows explorer. The other two show up as D drive with around 10tb storage space.The removable one is a 6tb Barracuda drive. I think I will need to test it in another PC to see if its powering on or dead.

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Dell Precision Tower 5810 unable to enter BIOS

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