Help. Vostro laptop won't start

I have a 15" Vostro laptop, only 2 years old, that won't start. When I press the on button, the first (top) blue light to the left of the keyboard flashes quickly, but then nothing happens. Now there are three blue lights to the left of the power button that are blinking on and off. I've been getting a message for the past couple months that the battery needs replaced. But would a bad battery cause the laptop to not start even if plugged into the AC adaptor?

 

What happens if you remove the battery entirely and try to boot using AC power?

 

I tried that and get the same thing. The blue power light pulsates very faintly for a couple seconds, then goes out, then the battery light flashes on for about a second and goes out. The hard drive light (the second light down) does not come on at all. Makes me sick because I paid quite a bit for this thing and it's less than 2 years old.

 

Remove and replace the RAM. If you have two modules then just replace one (try each in turn).

Sometimes the RAM contacts oxidise or a module becomes slightly loose, and if the BIOS has trouble finding the RAM then the computer appears to be dead.

John

 

Thanks. I tried pulling each module out and reseating them, but still no luck.

 

Someone in Dell should know what the lights mean.

They are, I assume, a successor to the beeps discussed here.

John

 

Dell won't even talk to me since it's out of warranty (only got the one year warranty). There's no sense in a laptop going dead within 2 years of light use. From what I've been reading on the internet, it sounds as though a lot of these Vostros only last two years at most. I may try to have someone locally take a look at it.