OptiPlex XX70: System Cannot Boot to the Optical Drive if SATA Operation is Disabled in the BIOS

Figure 1: OptiPlex Models 3070, 5070, or 7070 Series Desktops

OptiPlex 3070, 5070, or 7070 Series system owners have reported that they are unable to boot to an optical drive (CD, DVD, or ODD) from Dell's F12 One-Time boot menu.

You cannot boot from DVD media after disabling the SATA operations mode in your OptiPlex XX70 desktop.

This issue is only seen to occur when the SATA operation option in the system BIOS was changed from the default setting to DISABLED.

Disabling the SATA Operation mode in the BIOS also disables the optical drive and removes it from the One-Time Boot Menu.

Resolution

This is the system working as designed.

The following steps take you through restoring the SATA operation setting in the BIOS:

1. Power the system on and tap rapidly at the F2 key when you see the Dell Splash screen to enter the BIOS configuration setup screens.
2. Go to System Configuration down the tree on the left side of the screen.
3. Open System Configuration and select SATA Operation to bring the SATA options up on the right side of the screen.
4. Click the Radio button next to RAID ON.

Figure 2: SATA Operations in BIOS RAID On
 

5. Click on Apply and Exit to save your changes and exit the BIOS.
6. The system starts to boot into your operating system, restart your personal computer.
7. Tap rapidly on the F12 key when you see the Dell Splash Screen to enter the Boot-Once menu and confirm that the optical drive is now showing as an option.