Preboot troubles

The CMOS battery has now been replaced, however the machine still goes into a pre-boot loop when starting. It has actually worsened now because holding the shift key down on boot doesn't always work.

Unfortunately, changing the CMOS battery automatically reset the BIOS and I do not know what the original settings were making it impossible for me to restore them. I really need the option to boot from rescue media if necessary. At the moment, there is only the default setting of Windows Boot Manager in first position.

For what it is worth, the main battery is in perfect health with no signs of swelling. Also, a full Windows 11 reinstall was performed within the last 2 months. Running sfc and system health checks found no issues.

If I leave the machine in its pre-boot cycle, after 6 or 7 attempts, it stops, the keyboard continues to stay lit and the power button flashes red twice then blue once. Theoretically, this indicates the processor is dead. However, if I do a hard shutdown and let it perform its pre-boot cycle continuously, eventually the machine starts and runs normally. Surely, if the processor was dead, it would not be able to do that?

If I order a new processor and get my son to install it, will I have to reinstall Windows or will the machine run normally without having to make any other changes?

QuicktellPro said:

If I order a new processor and get my son to install it, will I have to reinstall Windows or will the machine run normally without having to make any other changes?

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It should work without having to reinstalling Windows. Are you doing an exact CPU change or updating to a better CPU? If going with a upgraded CPU you may have to reactivate Windows. I do suggest you make either a system image, backup your data or both before you do anything.

Try setting secure boot to AUDIT mode. Your machine should boot after doing so, and then wait for Microsoft or Dell to issue a patch before setting it back to DEPLOYED. That usually solves this kind of problem.

DJNelson said:

Try setting secure boot to AUDIT mode. Your machine should boot after doing so, and then wait for Microsoft or Dell to issue a patch before setting it back to DEPLOYED. That usually solves this kind of problem.

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How do you do that, please?

QuicktellPro said:

How do you do that, please?

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It's in bios settings. On Dell and Alienware machines:
From power off, hit F12 repeatedly as soon as you hit the power button until a screen pops up with the option to select "BIOS Setup".
If it doesn't pop up within about 10-15 seconds, hold down the power button for a hard shutdown and try again
The secure boot mode is found under "Boot Configuration" after getting into the BIOS setup menu
I can recreate your problem on my machine by turning secure boot back to deployed because some of the drivers for my hardware aren't digitally signed by MS yet, either.

DJNelson said:

The secure boot mode is found under "Boot Configuration" after getting into the BIOS setup menu
I can recreate your problem on my machine by turning secure boot back to deployed because some of the drivers for my hardware aren't digitally signed by MS yet, either.

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Secure boot is disabled. When I try to enable it I get a warning that the operating system will need to be reinstalled.
Below that setting, it is shown as deployed and there is no way to change that setting, presumably without enabling secure boot.

You say you are able to recreate my problem. Do you mean you are getting pre-boot looping that prevents the machine from starting? As I said previously, mine does approximately 6 attempts before ceasing with the power button flashing red twice and blue once. According to the manual, this means my processor is dead, but that's not the case because with persistence I can get the machine to eventually boot although it can take a long time, and once it has started, everything works normally, other than the Alienware lighting FX on the lid and the back.

I'm pretty sure the only real difference here is your problem is caused by drivers that are significantly more important than the Intel and Nvidia telemetry being blocked from loading. I don't think I've ever heard of a CPU failing but still being able to load BIOS or the OS with a little work.