I might need a new motherboard!!

My son gave me his laptop as it wasn't working. It is a Samsung NP-RV511-A07UK. After pressing the power button I can hear the cd drive running, the fan runs and after taking the back off I could feel the heatsink warming up.Below the touchpad only the power and battery lights are lit.I tried another hard drive and got nothing. I installed a new Hard Disk Drive connector but still got nothing. My queries are,would I need a NEW Motherboard? If so where can I buy a NEW one in the UK? How would I find the number of the Motherboard? Thank you for reading this and thank you in advance for any replies.

 

Have you tried removing / replacing the RAM, one module at at time, in turn. Either bad RAM or a dirty connection (fixed by removing / replacing) will cause a computer to go nowhere when it starts to boot.

Are you getting any BIOS messages on screen (you can keep tapping the F2 key just as the computer is starting in order to try to get into the BIOS)?

To find the specific board for your model you would need to contact one of the Samsung authorised repairers such as Digicare. However, if the product is more than about 3 years old then they may not have any parts. The alternative is ebay where several refurbished boards for US models of the RV511 are currently listed. They are bare boards to which you would need to transfer CPU and RAM.

John

 

Thank you kindly for the very quick response. I am not getting the POST screen, no Beeps, no sound with the exception of the cd drive and the fan running. I have tried removing and reseating the RAM and have also tried the F2 key. The fault seems to be that the Hard Drive is not getting power.

 

While a hard drive that isn't working properly (eg interface / connector / electronic problem) will block the BIOS self-test, if the hard drive is disconnected completely then you should get the POST screen and be able to boot into the BIOS.

John

 

My bet is either BIOS brick or hardware fault. Anyway new motherboard would fix it.
Did you son say what he did right before that happend Did he update something, launch some new program or maybe played game? Also did he put it in the bad or maybe it felt? And so on.