F2 key not working on your Dell Latitude E6530? Try the F12 key and select BIOS Setup instead

A brand new Dell Latitude E6530 found its way to my office to be prepared for use for one of my coworkers. I was surprised to learn that the F2 key doesn’t allow you to enter the BIOS Setup. The computer simply freezes and the screen remains black. Just moments prior the firmware showed in the upper right corner a promise to enter the BIOS Setup. How rude.

I remembered there is a way to access the BIOS Setup from the boot menu provided by F12 key. Lo and behold, the BIOS Setup is available through this route.

It turns out this computer is running the A11 version of the System BIOS firmware and this version is a bit buggy, so watch out. Hopefully this issue will be resolved by the time A12 is available.

By the way, how come the S.M.A.R.T. feature is turned off by default in the BIOS Settings?

Addendum 2013-08-23

Revision A12 of the System BIOS firmware for Latitude E6530 is available. The aforementioned problem with the F2 key has been removed.