it's a dell, that's your problem.  they make some of the cheapest machines out there.  over the years I have owned well over a dozen laptops.  the best in my experience as far as quality goes and longevity are ibm thinkpads and pretty much anything by toshiba.  I wouldn't expect anything less than 5 years out of a toshiba, I have had at least 4 of them myself and never actually had one die on me.  
dell on the other hand, I have had several, and not one lasted for even close to two years.