Dell Studio 1555 doesn't turn on

Hey,

I'm having trouble with my Studio 1555 right now. Although the laptop has had a number of problems this is the first time it's become so critical that I need help now!

Recently the laptop has been having a lot of trouble turning itself off randomly during gaming sessions and going to a blue screen, system check/repair utility at startup and things like that.

Two days ago I shut down the computer as normal, and the next morning it would not turn on at all.

When I connect the power cable, sometimes the light on the laptop comes on, sometimes it does not (appears to be a problem with the AC cable?). If the light comes on and I press the power button the light just flashes a few times but the computer is otherwise unresponsive.

At one point the computer did turn on, and ran fine for several hours before turning itself off and being totally unresponsive (even inserting the AC cable had no effect, no light). Tried again this morning and it's back to lighting up the power light but no response from the computer when attempting to turn it on.

Since my laptop is no longer under warranty I am trying to figure out what could be causing the problem, the dodgy aftermarket AC cable I have or whether it's a problem with the laptop itself.

Lastly I thought I'd give a little help to those with Studio 15 series overheating problems. If you use something small and stable like a couple of DVD cases to elevate the laptop a cm or two away from the surface you are using it on, it creates plenty of ventilation for the fans and you will no longer experience overheating issues. I can run games like Crysis and NBA 2k11 like this and the laptop doesn't even get warm.

Thanks!