SP315-51-3684: Spin 3 won't boot / post.

Duckyness

I've been given the task of attempting to repair my dad's broken spin 3.  SP315-51-3684

What started out as a portion of the screen was compressed, has now turned into the computer not booting at all.

Indicator for the battery works, and the power light for laptop turns on as well as the CPU will get hot.    Fan and HD will not spin up and nothing displays on either the screen or a external screen.

If I unplug the power the battery light will stay on.  And the only way to turn the power light off is pressing the battery reset button.

I've already removed the cover and doubled checked every cable connection, ribbon or plug that I could fine.  Left the display unplugged, left HDD out, left ram out, still wouldn't post or boot.

Is there anything else I should be trying to look for before telling him to look for something newer?


[Edited the topic title to include model's name]

billsey

Sorry to say you've pretty much covered the bases... The CPU is firing up somewhat as you can tell from the heat, but the first thing it does is a memory test, which generates a constant beep if it fails. Since you aren't hearing that beep it sounds like the CPU isn't actually working. The CPU is soldered in on that model, so you can't replace it, and since the first symptom was graphics it points pretty strongly at the chipset. It's likely going to take a MB replacement to fix it and they aren't yet old enough to be readily available on the secondary market. Judging by review dates that model came out for the Christmas season 2017, so three years old. That's a bit early for a catastrophic failure, but not completely out of line.