I'm working on a Dell Inspiron 5150 laptop and I can't get it to power on. There have been a few instances when i did get it to power on. So I know its not completely dead. When i press the power button the cpu fan(and power light) turns on momentarily. It seems if I hold the laptop a certain way, or prop it up with something and tilt it a certain way it will work. I'm thinking maybe some type of short somewhere in the base. But, I can't reproduce the exact results by holding it or propping it the same way. And when i do get it to come on, any slight movement will shut it back off instantly. I actually had it on for about 6 hours yesterday, accidently bumped it and haven't been able to get it back on again. Is there anywhere I should look for problems before I start ripping it apart? Thanks

I have a Dell Latitude that had a similar problem. It was caused by a loose screw on the back of the case. Check for one. It might fix it.

i checked all the screws.. seems the only ones loose are in my head...JK.. Heres another clue.. i can fool with it and it acts like it wants to come on but it never posts and acts like its in sleep mode. I can hear the HD spinning, and the dvd opens when i press the button. I left it in this stage for about an hour and then I held the power button until the lights blink and it "powers" back off. (Kind of like when you try to power off the pc when it hangs up and the only thing you can do is hold in the power button until it goes off.) Then when this happens, i immediately press the power button again and it will boot up. Now i'm afraid to touch it again! baffles me....