Greetings All,

I'm a new addition to the forum and I hope that this is not a done elsewhere topic but ...

Recently I was working on an emachine 770 computer that looked in a bad way.

The power supply had let go and was totally dead. Having swapped in a working power supply of the right type (P4 with molex connector) the case lights and the cpu fan started working but nothing else. The disk drive was moved to an external case and worked well enough attached through USB to another, working computer.

The memory strip was tested by insertion into another machine and appears to be dead.

Unplugging everything from the motherboard still gave no sign of life and the audible POST warnings have remained obstinately silent. The Caps lock light on the keyboard flashes when the machine is switched on but stays off when the caps lock button is toggled up and down. BIOS never appears.

Its all consistent so far; the cpu + motherboard is not functioning, the memory is dead and the graphics card may be suspect.

However, I'm really seeking advice and guidance on how to determine if its the cpu or the motherboard or the cpu and motherboard that has failed. The usual method is to put the cpu into another machine and test the cpu and repeat the process with the motherboard.
The method can be risky as a blown cpu can destroy a working motherboard and vice versa.

Has anyone got any better methods?

Thanks in advance

RBowen47