Sometimes the option to press F2 to access a virtual machine BIOS on VMware ESX4 passes to fast infront of your eyes. If you need to access the BIOS and can’t press F2 fast enough there is another way to access it. Basically you need to select the virtual machine and then press the “Edit Settings” button.

Then go to the Options tab/Boot Options and select “the next time the virtual machine boots…”

Click OK and then Power On the virtual machine. Open up the console and modify your BIOS settings.