This page at IBM discusses a problem with USB which isn't generic to your problem, but they do tell how to access the bios, use the F1 key during startup. I usually tap the appropriate key repeatedly once the splash screen shows until the bios is shown or the system beeps at me repeatedly. The page I linked also shows a link to update your bios. Good luck. Let us know if it worked.
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/si...id=MIGR-4Y6LGU