Fried Motherboard with a side of Grrrr

[raudf]

So, Thursday, my computer decided to return to it's default state of broke. I was in the process of moving cables around out of the mini-raudf's reach, computer still on (like an idiot), unplugged the USB keyboard as I have several times before, and... bumped the desk causing something to fall inside of the case and I assume hitting the motherboard.

Now the PSU fan, the CPU fan, case fan and a little green light are all that comes on. No POST, no spinning up of the blu-ray or hard drives, nada.

I've tried everything I know or read about:

I've removed the ram, stick by stick.

I've unplugged everything not related to the motherboard and hard drive.

I've removed the video card. It also works fine in a spare comp.

I've tried the PSU in another comp and it works fine.

I've tried another PSU on the motherboard and it still does the same thing.

I've done the "unplug everything and hold the power button for 30 or more sec" trick and no go.

I've removed the battery on the board and placed it back in. (Making sure it was seated.. I've had that get shook loose on another computer.)

The hard drive works just fine. I plugged it into my hub's comp and pulled what I needed off it.

The only thing I have not done was take out the motherboard and try it with another computer. Right now, that's not a practical option, because the computers with working cases are either in use or the mobo won't fit the case.

For my edification, was there something else I could have tried? Or am I correct in assuming the board is fried?

I'm doing this to educate my mid-raudf on how to diagnose via process of elimination and any steps that could help further the elimination process would be greatly appreciated. I've already assumed it is, because I've ordered another mobo that will work with my processor and ram, a new case and a OEM OS disk, since I'm pretty sure the OS on the drive won't work on a new mobo. The mobo that came with the machine is no longer made and HP is out of them. They'll be in on Monday*.

* No, I did NOT use Smartpost!

[RichS]

About the only other thing I can think of is to reseat the CPU.

When I dropped my case so hard that it bent, I thought I fried my board...until I looked closely and saw the CPU a little out of socket. Removed the heatsink, reseated the CPU, put the heatsink back on with new thermal material, and I was lucky to have a functioning system again.

Couldn't hurt to try.

[emax4]

You still might be able to test the motherboard while it's outside of the case. You can unplug the umbilical cords with the power supply from the working computer and plug them into the proper places on the other motherboard. I've done this before and put the mobo being worked on on top of the cardboard box it came in, just so it was raised enough to accommodate a video card and also not sitting on a possibly hidden metal screw. Don't worry about the front panel connections that go to the motherboard to turn it on. Instead, use a flat heat screwdriver to touch the metal posts to turn it on.

Also, even though you reset the battery, have you done a CMOS reset by putting the jumper over two pins to reset it that way?

[raudf]

It took me a bit to find a good diagram of my mobo, because the board is absolutely not marked clearly. I didn't have a manual for it, because it was a pre-built HP Pavilion. Finally found one and waiting until the hubs can take mini-raudf and mid-raudf can help me.

Well, all that happens is that the fans turn on. It was worth a try, though.

[raudf]

Okay, update of sorts. I got the mobo and OS, only to have the old hard drive die. To be more precise, it doesn't spin up, there is no sound from it. Nothing. So, since I stupidly was getting ready to back off my hard drive when this happened, since I used to have a second drive for the important files.. until it started the click of doom. That was why I'd kept Waldo, in fact. So I could back off the data onto a non-OS drive.

Well, opened the hard drive and found a wonderful burn spot on the logic board. *sigh* So, now I gotta find either someone who can do a firmware transfer or a board with the exact same firm ware. To be honest, it's actually cheaper to send the board off to someone who knows what they are doing with the transfer than to find the board itself. I think.

[Chromatix]

For an outfit like OnTrack, this wold be a routine recovery. Attaching a compatible circuit board that *hasn't* been fried would be sufficient to read the data, and I believe they keep a stock of such things for precisely that reason.