Switching to Legacy on a Dell - AWS Elemental Conductor Live
Switch using the IDRAC user interfaceSwitch using RACADMSwitch using the F2 boot menu

Switching to Legacy on a Dell

There are three ways to switch the boot mode from UEFI back to BIOS (Legacy mode).

Switch using the IDRAC user interface

iDRAC is a system for controlling Dell servers remotely. It is already installed and enabled on the Dell server.

This procedure is identical to the procedure for switching to UEFI, except that you specify BIOS instead of UEFI.

  1. Log into the iDRAC user interface as an administrative user.

  2. On the iDRAC menu, choose Configuration, then BIOS Settings, then Boot Settings.

  3. On the Boot Mode line, change the Current Value from UEFI to BIOS.

  4. Scroll down to the Apply button and choose that button. The Pending Value changes to BIOS.

  5. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and choose Apply And Reboot.

The system reboots. Legacy mode is now enabled.

Switch using RACADM

You can revert to Legacy mode by logging into RACADM, which is the iDRAC command line interface.

This procedure is identical to the procedure for switching to UEFI, except that you specify BIOS instead of UEFI.

  1. Start a Linux session and log into the iDRAC command line interface as a Linux Admin user. For example:

    ssh ADMIN@<iDRAC hostname or IP>

    The IDRAC command line interface appears, with the racadm>> prompt.

  2. To verify that the current boot environment is UEFI, enter this command:

    get BIOS.biosBootSettings.BootMode

    If the environment is UEFI, a message similar to the following appears:

    [Key=BIOS.Setup.1-1#biosBootSettings] 
BootMode=Uefi

  3. Set the BIOS settings to BIOS:

    set BIOS.BiosBootSettings.BootMode Bios

  4. Apply and reboot:

    jobqueue create BIOS.Setup.1-1 -r forced -s TIME_NOW

The system reboots. Legacy mode is now enabled.

Switch using the F2 boot menu

You can use the boot menu from a direct connection to the server, or through the IDRAC virtual console.

This procedure is identical to the procedure for switching to UEFI, except that you specify BIOS instead of UEFI.

  1. This step applies only if you want to use the virtual console: log into the iDRAC user interface and launch the Virtual Console.

  2. Reboot the appliance. 

    sudo reboot

  3. The appliance starts to reboot using UEFI, which is currently enabled.

  4. As soon as the reboot starts, repeatedly press F2 on the keyboard, until the message Entering System Setup appears. Then wait for the System Setup screen to appear.

  5. Choose System BIOS, then choose Boot Settings.

  6. On the Boot Mode line, choose BIOS.

  7. Choose the Exit option and follow the prompts to save. At the success message, choose OK.

The system reboots. Legacy mode is now enabled.