I have a server that has "F1 to continue" option enabled on the BIOS. This is a problem, because I do not have easy physical access and I need to reboot occasionally.
My question is, is there a tool or technique to change the BIOS settings while in running windows? Does Dell make a tool, or are there any third party tools than anyone has had success with?
If the POST process is stopping and presenting you with the "Press F1 to Continue" message, there's something wrong. It's either detecting a keyboard failure or a memory reconfiguration, or some other condition that prevents it from booting without confirmation from you. What you should do is determine why it's prompting you and resolve whatever condition exists. From DOMSA there aren't any BIOS settings available that are helpful in this scenario so you're going to have to get in front of the server to see what's going on. If the server is stopping due to a keyboard failure there should be a BIOS option to turn that off, but you'll have to get in to the BIOS to do that.
Even without a DRAC, you should be able to mess with some of the settings with the Dell OpenManage Server Administrator software installed.
What's accessible varies from device to device; not sure if you'll be able to change the F1 setting on the 1850, but it's worth a look.
