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Frank KavanaghFlag for United States of America

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What can I do to get this computer to boot?

My Dell computer does not boot.   When I turned it on this morning, it got as far as the splash screen listing the hard drives and ctrl-I to enter configuration.   It froze at that point.   When I switched it off then on again it did not even get as far as the splash screen.   The LED on the front that normally flashes does not do so.   I tried a hard drive with Ubuntu on it, but it still did not boot.
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John
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…. I tried a hard drive with Ubuntu on it, but it still did not boot.

Can you get into BIOS?

Shut down.  Start up and press F2 (for Dell) repeatedly until the BIOS screen starts.  Does it.

See if there is a Secure Boot setting that you can disable and then try the Ubuntu drive again.

Go to the Dell Support site and see if they have a bootable USB key for testing the computer hardware and try starting with that.
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The only thing that happens is the power light comes on but I cannot get into the BIOS.   There are no POST beeps or LEDs on the keyboard.
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John
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Yes, it is still under warranty.   I will get Dell to ix it.
Thanks, John, as always.
You are very welcome. That would be the thing to do now - best thing to do.
Just on a hunch, I tested the CMOS battery.   It was dead.   I replaced it with a new one and now everything now works fine.
Thanks for the update
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Member_2_231077

Best change the accepted answer to your post above then as nobody suggested CMOS battery.
I had already accepted John's  answer and was about to contact Dell tech support to arrange for them to install a new  motherboard.   I just tried replacing the CMOS battery as an afterthought.   His solution was the most appropriate, given the nature of the problem.   I had to have Dell replace the motherboard on this computer about a year ago and the symptoms were the same.
Well, replacing the motherboard would fix it of course as you get a new CMOS battery with the board, however taking the lid off to change the CMOS battery also drained the flea power.

Anyway if changing the CMOS battery was the fix it should be the accepted answer, otherwise you render EE's PAQs useless.