Laptop won't boot.

[BlksnshN]

Hello,

I have a Dell Inspiron M5010 Laptop that I am experiencing some major problems with.

Wednesday night, everything worked fine with no problems at all. Then the next morning I hit the power button to start it up but saw only a black screen and heard 7 short beeps.

I've been online and from what I can tell this code means that the either motherboard or the processor has gone bad. I have the ability to change the motherboard on my own, however, I don't want to spend the $200+ dollars to do so and have it not fix the problem as funds are quite tight right now.
Is there any way to distinguish which component is causing the problems? Any insight into this issue would be appreciated.

My other thought is just parting this thing out and getting what I can for it, then trying to get into a entry level desktop that can be upgraded.

[RunnrX]

I can't help you with the laptop diagnosis I'm sorry, but one warning from experience with the desktop idea -- if you intend to upgrade a basic one later please make sure your motherboard on that entry level desktop is still able to handle a good CPU down the road (1366 socket), has PCI-e x16 slots in it instead of being stuck with just a couple of PCI-e x1 if you ever want a great graphics card on it, etc.

[IT2k3]

Have you tried to install reseat hard drive, memory and battery?
Try installing the memory card one at a time and see if issue persists.


www.homeitservice.net

[BlksnshN]

[BlksnshN]