It really could be the power supply, your hard drive or your motherboard- had a motherboard fail on me, but it was an old one. As @RealFaction said, be wary of some of the repair computer stores out there, yet some of the local stores (as was for the one occasion so far for me) can be really good. If you've got a friend who's good with computers, got with that person to check things out.
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Mitchell Brown
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Don't go to Futureshop or Geek Squad. I hate those guys and they don't know what the hell they are doing. Just get a computer savvy friend to look at it.
Check ebay for an exact replacement. Unfortunately, Dells have proprietary hardware, which means they have their own designs and fitment, so you can't buy an aftermarket replacement, as it won't fit. Found out the hard way. Better to spend a few dollars and gamble on an ebay replacement (which isn't necessarily bad) than to pay 3x as much+ to get it straight from Dell.
If you have a multimeter, you can test the output. The powersupply should have a sticker with a listing of what wires have what voltages.
have to tried clening it from dust and stuff 'cause it happened to me once
I work for TigerDirect. I asked the guys in the nerd shirts.
It's the PSU. Def not the HD. Not likely it's the mobo or the fans would spin. Does your optical drive open when you press the button?
Ex is right... for years Dell was putting proprietary PSUs in their machines so you had no choice but to go back to them. They eased up on the practice the last cpl of years.
What's the model on the PC?
It is an Dell Studio XPS or something. I think that any PSU will work, maybe. Thanks for the help!
Pop-Tart is more than likely correct, I've got a e-machine that's got the same problem... and of course, you can't buy/install a regular power supply, because the motherboard has some weird funky plugs |:
I detest PSU's without rocker switches in the back... I was never a fan of 'always on' electronics.
Ever Backed up a computer so you can get files back on another?
ts time for a ne PSU bro
Before going on a serious repair try this. I have a DELL laptop, I have opened the case to remove some dust then I removed the CPU to clean some shit under it. When I've put everything back together I got the same problem. All I did was checking that the CPU was in place and man I found that it needs a little more screw twisting that's all. I hope this helps tell me if it works for you and sorry if there are any typing mistakes :)
Cyberdevil
Had a similar problem with an older computer in which case it turned out to be some loose part in the power supply. The computer started taking longer and longer to start, and after a while it stopped starting at all. The button flashed, it shut down, same symptoms... if that's it then it's not an expensive fix, I don't think it cost more than $20-40. We had to cut out a piece of metal from the computer frame though to fit a new one . :) Good luck getting that fixed!