Quote - hmm..I actually am authorized to work on Dell Laptops (haven't in years, but I'm up on certifications..;) Usually if a Motherboard goes, you don't get very far past POST (usually the 'non-graphic' portion of bootup).

Yesterday I booted up the computer, got a black screen with white text asking me to pick something.  The only thing I could pick was "Undocked Profile".  I didn't know what that was, and didn't really understand the rest of the stuff at the bottom.  But basically it sounded like if I picked the wrong thing that something bad would happen.  So instead of picking anything, or pressing any keys, I turned the computer off using "On/Off" button, and rebooted again.

When I rebooted, it was normal. Then after getting to my desktop, the screen changed to blue with spinning letters like a slot machine.  In a panic I turned the computer "off", and then I couldn't reboot anymore.

Now all that happens when I press the "On/Off" button is that I get 4 small green lights lit up, and they go out after about 2 seconds.  The screen stays black, and there is no sound of any kind coming from the computer.

Quote - I've actually called Dell tech support, and I've talked to what I term 'script kiddies'..in other words, they have  a diagram or list of steps to follow, that they get confused if you skip a step on them (they have to ask them in order) or get 'off script'..:|  Alas, I've also had problems with their grasp of English (or American), but that's another subject..;)

This guy actually seemed pretty knowledgable...he couldn't tell his left from his right though, hehe.  I have never taken apart a computer before and I wanted to make sure that I was removing the proper panels.    His English was fine also.  Though I have had times in the past where I had a difficult time understanding.

Quote - If you're getting up to the Operating Sysem, that's a good sign. What you got before is something known to us 'geek-types' call 'The Blue Screen of Death'. What you best should do is find the tiny scrap of English on the screen (usually something like 'IRQ not equal to', or 'Problem with miniNT4.dll', etc. That's the best clue of what's actually going on. Usually, it's producing a 'log', of what actually went wrong, on a very low level, and incorporating it into a file, usually ending with a suffix of '.log'. The log file (if the first-level techs can understand it..sorry, I've been doing tech support for 19 years, and I occasionally get miffed at talking to someone in tech support who knows less than I do..;)  can  be examined to see what's wrong.

I'm not getting up the OS.  I press "On/Off", get 4 little green lights that go out after 2 seconds, and the screen stays black.  No text of any kind, or any sound of any kind.  After that the only indication of power is one small green light on the hinge part of the base where the lid connects, that flashes every 10 or 15 seconds.  The icon looks like a rectangle with a plus sign on it.  Other than there there is no visible activity going on that I can see.

Quote - The problem with laptops, is, as mentioned above, everything is pretty much geared towards that model, and none other. I would ask for a 2nd opinion, maybe a local PC shop, if you know one you can trust. The actual problem could be anything, as we don't know what it said. Replacing a motherboard in a laptop isn't something I'd recommend to anyone who isn't fairly familiar with the subject (desktops are another matter, sometimes they have a little wiggle room; laptops have to fit exactly, and there's cables, Ziff connectors, more cables, tiny tiny screws, yada yada..;)

My nephew is a computer tech.  He's done some work on my desktop and he built his Dad's computer.  I'm going to call him tomorow and see if he knows anything about laptops and have him look at it.

Quote - In short, have someone who's up on fixing computers have a look at it before you shell out the buckaroonies for a repair. Heck, a re-image would probably be a better idea before you go whole hog like that..good luck..

What is a "re-image"?

I'm not in the position right now to spend a great deal on computer repairs, so there is no way I'm leaping to buy a new motherboard unless someone who knows something about computers has physically looked at it first.

"It is good to see ourselves as others see us. Try as we may, we are never
able to know ourselves fully as we are, especially the evil side of us.
This we can do only if we are not angry with our critics but will take in good
heart whatever they might have to say." - Ghandi