Dead Gateway MT6821

[moonchilddave]

I have a Gateway MT6821 laptop that is completely dead.

Background:
It was left in a cloth bag, and it was rained on for maybe 30 minutes. Battery was removed and steps taken to try and revive it by immediately removing the battery, hitting it with compressed air and letting it dry for several days. Subsequently, the laptop was powered up and worked fine, however that was short lived. For a while, it was hit or miss when trying to power up (sometimes it would work, others not). Now it will not power on at all.

The AC adapter has been checked and is fine. I have also checked the HD and memory in another laptop and they are fine as well. I have also removed the CD/DVD drive in case that was the issue.

I finally gave up and picked up a supposedly working identical mobo off e-bay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250610948584&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

So, after transferring the CPU and heatsink/fan, I fired it up.

The fan spins for a few seconds and then spins back down (lights also come on)... So there is some sign of life... However, I am getting no video either on the LCD display or the external video out.

I also tried running external video only with the video connector to the LCD display disconnected (using Fn F4 to switch). Still no luck. Just tried removing the modem board since it was in the area on the old board where there appeared to be damage and tried again. No love.

I know CPU's generally don't fail for the most part - but could it be a dead CPU?

Where do I start looking now?

The only sign of life at the moment are the LED's and the fan. There is no POST or associated beeps.

 

[505090]

30 min in the rain it likely still had water in it when you powered it you and shorted out, or the battery shorted it while it was in the rain.

you would have had to remove the battery and completely disassemble it immediately. there are countless little crevices in there for water to hide and if any of it air dried all the minerals in the water would have been left behind. Water itself is not conductive it's all those wonderful things dissolved in the water that conduct, and all those goodies are left behind when the water evaporates.