Dell Latitude E5500 - Cannot change boot order with keyboard, must use touchpad

Question

We just bought a few Latitude E5550 laptops. I wanted to boot from an installation CD, so I had to change the boot order.

Instead of being a text-based BIOS configuration that is easy to navigate with the keyboard, the BIOS has a "Windows Look and Feel" and requires the use of the touch pad to change the boot order.

I can tab to some things, but not others. The keyboard navigation is broken terribly.

How do I file a bug with Dell?

Also, is there a way to get rid of the "Windows Look and Feel" and go back to a more standard text-based, keyboard-navigable BIOS?

Solution 1

There isn't a way to customize the look and feel of the Dell BIOS unless you are very good with BIOS hacking, which would involve tons of reverse engineering effort.

On every such BIOS I've encountered (our company is a Dell shop), I've had no issue navigating with a keyboard. Your keyboard or USB ports might be experiencing issues. Any USB mouse I've had attached was recognized and working, so use that if you hate the touchpad.

I'm not sure why @phil D.'s answer was downvoted, but if all you want to do is boot from a different device, that's the way to do it.

Solution 2

I recently purchased a Dell Latitude E5550 and needed to boot from a cd. I was able to use F12 successfully to do so, but I also checked the bios after seeing this post. The bios was similar to previous Dell computers I have worked on (I work at an msp that manages mostly Dell machines), and it is easily navigable by keyboard (both built-in and external). I would suspect a problem with the keyboard you are using. If you just bought the laptops, they should be under warranty, and you should be able to go to support.dell.com to file warranty and service requests.

As for changing the bios, that would be 10000x harder than learning to navigate the default bios. Unfortunately, there is no point-and-click method of changing them.