Is it ever possible to access the BIOS Setup from within Windows i.e. without rebooting ? If so, how ? Basty

It's not.

well technically there is if you use a virtual pc software e.g Microsoft Virtual PC but its not reccommended to play with the bios anyway unless its for setting up your pc.Howcome you want to be able to access the bios withing windows anwyay? Home Built: CPU: Intel P3 with HT 3.28 GHZ RAM: 1 GB kingston HDD's: Sata 120, 200GB OS: Xp Home SP2 DVD-RW, DVD-ROM, CD-RW Computers act on command 99% of errors are because of user

Even Virtual PC will not let you access bios settings from windows. The POST screen and BIOS settings you see in Virtual PC when you Boot a virtual machine is from a virtual BIOS. IT is not the actual BIOS of the computer that is running Virtual PC. -Ryan Adams http://ryanadams.blogsite.org

Some mainboard manufacturers supply utilities like my MSI Fuzzy Logic that allows you to set settings in the bios via windows. Imagine the power if you knew how to internet search

It's a more academic question rather than very practical. I was using an MSDOS program (WP51) that required Num Lock to be OFF - I know this can be set in BIOS, and idly wondered if I would HAVE to reboot to set it PERMANENTLY - (I already know about the Num Lock key). [If you want to know why I would still want to use WP51 in 2007, ask me.] Basty

I used that version of software for years. Why do you think that it requires the Num Lock to be off? It doesn't... Life is more painless for those who are brainless.