My fiance has an Inspiron 9100/XPS laptop.
The other day it just wouldn't boot up. Battery is charged and it will light up for a few seconds, then shut off. I assume the worst- that the motherboard is bad.
It is about 2 1/2 years old. This was a $2000 laptop new, and is virtually identical to the XPS laptops.

-2.8 Ghz P4 hyperthreaded skt 478; 800 FSB
-512 MB PC3200 ram
-60 GB 5400 RPM HD
-1680x1050 WSXGA 15.4" screen
-Radeon 9700 graphics card
-CD-RW/DVD drive
-Integrated 54G wireless
-Integrated subwoofer (sounds like a joke, but dramatically increases sound performance, i was amazed)

The laptop will probably need the motherboard replaced or repaired. At the time of this posting, there is one going on Ebay for $150, and one sold today for $160. (the XPS gen 1, and the 9100 motherboards are interchangeable btw)
This uses the Desktop processor sets, so it will accept up to a 3.4 Ghz, and there are also Radeon 9800 256MB graphics cards available for it. It has a valid serial sticker for Windows XP Professional, but I dont have the install CDs for it, so you'll need to borrow someone's.

$295 OBO

If you buy it for $295, I'll also throw in a Socket A Barton XP2500+ CPU with a nice heatsink and fan, and a 512 MB stick of PC 4200 SODIMM laptop ram.

blfvd3@umr.edu

oh, i forgot to mention it also comes with 2 chargers and the dell xps backpack for it.

I wouldnt suggest selling your laptop just yet. If you can get ahold of a different battery and test it that might solve your problem. I once had a dell laptop which was behaving the same way. The battery would be fully charged and only turn on for a brief instance before shutting off. It turned out that the battery was actually bad. So i think you should try another battery before selling.

If you do end up parting it, dibs on the RAM. Possibly the HDD too as long as it's IDE. Since it's 2.5 years old, that shouldn't be a problem.

I have a XPS 1710, If you'd like to try my battery let me know.

We tried starting it up without the battery, and plugged in, but the same thing happened, so I've ruled out a battery short.
She also ordered a new laptop (E1505) yesterday, so we are going to sell it. I dont want to have to take it all apart again, so Im trying to sell it as a unit. Honestly, you could probably make some money just parting it out, buying it at $250. (thats the least she said she would take for it)

I am sorta considering this, to let you know. I'll have to convince myself.

Just to update, I have as of now, received one offer for $250. I will bring it back with me on Sunday afternoon. (She lives in New Melle, and thats where the laptop is right now)