Dell OptiPlex 960 (Late 2008) - Manual (Page 10)

When enabled, the ME State Control option lets you disable ME to isolate the ME computer from the main platform while
debugging a field malfunction. The table below illustrates the details of the options.
ME Platform State Control
Option Description
Enabled Enable the Management Engine on the platform
Disabled Disable the Management Engine on the platform
In fact, the ME is not really disabled with the Disabled option. Instead, it is paused at the very early stage of its booting so
the computer has no traffic originating from the ME on any of its busses, ensuring that you can debug a computer problem
without worrying about any role the ME might have played in it.
Intel ME Firmware Local Update Qualifier
This option on the ME Platform Configuration menu sets the policy for allowing the MEBx to be updated locally. The default
setting is Alway Open. The other settings available are Never Open and Restricted.