The kids told me the vacuum wasn't working this weekend, but they're kids so I just emptied the canister and sent them back to chores.
But it was a bit broken in that you had to hold the switch down that activated the beater bar and it's been like that for years. Before I realized the kids just hadn't emptied the vacuum the wife and I briefly looked at a replacement, but neither of us wanted to spend $600 or more on a new vacuum.
One quick search later and I found out how to replace the switch on the Dyson DC25 then called my local vacuum repair store who had the switch I needed in. $13.99 and about 15 minutes of time later the vacuum works.
It was a good reminder that with a bit of patience and some willingness to try, maybe I can just repair the broken stuff instead of replacing it.