As you can imagine, this is not simple thing to diagnose.
First, we need to try Dell's steps to fix...
Remove non-essential peripherals…
Except for the monitor, keyboard, and mouse, remove all external peripherals including:
- Scanner
- Printer
- Modem or Network cables
- Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
- USB flash drive or other external Hard Drive
- Any other external devices (e.g., USB-attached devices)
- Remove the computer from the docking station, if you are using one
Remove non-essential peripherals…
Except for the monitor, keyboard, and mouse, remove all external peripherals including:
- Scanner
- Printer
- Modem or Network cables
- Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
- USB flash drive or other external Hard Drive
- Any other external devices (e.g., USB-attached devices)
- Remove the computer from the docking station, if you are using one
Try rebooting. If that doesn’t work, Dell states you need to do the next step.
Remove and Reseat Basic Hardware items:
- Power Cord
- Memory
- Hard Drive
At this point, Dells says if that fails contact them.
If my hunch is correct, you may have something on the motherboard shorting a connection or you have a blown capacitor. Get some “canned air” and blow out the computer thoroughly. Some people have reported the same symptom having dust or other debris causing the issue, so give it a good blowing out,
At the same time, inspect your motherboard thoroughly for an anomalies. If you see anything resembling the picture below, you have a serious motherboard problem which will require replacement.