and where you buy it. i was looking around on ebay and motherboards that say they are for my laptop run anywhere between $35.00 up to as high as $145.00. the one part that was listed the most was the video card, which also ranged wildly in price. from less than $10.00 to well over $70.00. i have to assume that the less expensive ones are used, or will "work", but are not the absolute correct factory part. // i do not remember any static spark. that combined with the laptop going instantly dead would raise a big red waving flag for me. there was also no smell of anything getting hot, like might happen if a part got over loaded, or wiring were to get shorted. the laptop was sitting on the all aluminum cooler master chill pad, and between the hard aluminum and my legs was a pillow. i have been using that exact combination for just about a year. i purposely mounted a sheet of aluminum under the fans, so they had to breathe out the side and back of the cooler, and not pick up lint from under it, and force it into the cooling vents. i know i can take the cover off from the memory cards, without removing the entire case. so that would be an easy check. i was trying to come up with a list of items that would suddenly fail, that would shut the entire machine off instantly. i know the motherboard, and probably the cpu. and of course the power button. one thing i was thinking about yesterday is that the hinges are a little loose. are there cables that run where they could be cut in half or a hole get worn thru them that would lay against the hinges? that might be a model specific question i realize. but with no knowledge of how these are put together, it seemed like something i should ask.