BIOS Updates forum

Hi

I searched the forum but couldn't seem to find a solution to my problem. I have an old Compaq Presario 9536 and I can no longer enter its BIOS. Compaq tech support didn't help but I read on their website that the button to press is F10. I've tried all the F keys and Delete but if I press it too soon I get a keyboard error. If I don't press it too soon, it just boots into Windows every time. I've heard that the time to press it is at the Compaq logo or when there is a white blinking cursor in the top right of the screen. The machine never had a Compaq logo screen and it used to have that cursor but now it doesn't. Any ideas?

Thanks.

F10 is correct...I guess timing is everything.

Also, if the monitor is "asleep" then, you might not see what is going on.

Does the machine have the original HDD with the "diagnostic partition" intact?

Sometimes in this case you just have to experiment with the keys during boot until you get in, or manage to generate a BIOS error that gives you a prompt with an option to press a key to get into BIOS setup.