Armada M700, No power LED, battery LED flashing 8 times

Hi,

I have scoured the internet for advice on this matter, but have so far
failed to find a resolution.

My M700 no longer powers up, with or without the battery.

The battery led flashes 8 times and then the system switches off. The
power led does not come on at all. Even with the laptop closed (ie
screen down) and the AC plugged in with no battery inserted. No beep
codes are heard either.

Here are some things I have tried :

Fn+F11 - no fix
different ram combos - no fix
only ram and HDD connected - no fix
removal and reseat of power converter board - no fix
replacement RTC (cmos) battery - no fix
Quick check of voltages at battery terminals - all seem ok

One thing I did notice is that the fan seems to have gone short
circuit as probing the top of the connector indicates a dead short,
but the actual motherboard connector is not short circuit.

So I disconnected the fan for the purpose of elimination - no fix

Does anyone else have any other ideas or should I resign myself to
buying a new laptop ?

Many thanks...

Sorry, was meant to post this in the Compaq group!!