Computer Help!

[Sublime]

So i'm sitting at my house with my lap top (Dell Inspiron 5100) sitting where-else, on my lap. I'm just talking to people on AIM and listening to music. Then all of a sudden, the screen goes black. I hold down the power button to turn it off, try turning it back on and nothing. The only thing that makes a noise is the fan. The computer itself doesn't seem to be running. I try this 2 or 3 times, to no avail. So i decide to let it charge and cool down maybe. It charges completely but still nothing. The one thing me and my dad noticed was that the fan was blowing out very hot air in the back. Not sure if this has always been and i've just never really noticed or not. I tried putting a cd in the drive, and it made some noise seemed to read the CD but still nothing. So the CD drive seems to be ok. ANY help whatsoever is greatly appreciated. I figured I'd ask you guys first before I went the Dell Support/computer repair route.

[VPI97]

Sounds like the motherboard blew, send it in for repairs.

[HornedFrog Purple]

Are you getting a bios when you boot it up? I don't have a dell, but are you getting anything on the screen at all? If you are not getting even that, it could be a number of things like a short, motherboard blew, memory blew or a processor overheated.

If you are getting a bootup bios screen (probably has a dell logo or something for a few seconds, I don't know though) then it is something else which you would have to take it in.

If it was working fine and then all of a sudden just quit, I would guess hardware of some sort bit the farm.

[Sublime]

DAMN...those are the exact things me and my dad thought it was. No bootup screen or anything is coming up. Any idea on cost/time? I'm going back to college next Monday...so hopefully I'll be able to get it back by then. I know that diff. problems require different amounts of time...but just an estimate would be greatly appreciated. Also do you think I should send it out to Dell or just go to the local computer repair company in town?

[VPI97]

If it's under warrenty, send it to Dell and it should be no cost...time? probably a couple of weeks.

If there's no warrenty, you may want to try out the local shop...there wil be a cost (parts + labor) and the time will probably be based off how long it takes to get the parts in.