Anyway to test a CPU?

[Shavako]

Hey guys, a friend of mine asked me to check out her laptop. She told me that she was working on it and the screen flashed white and then it turned off. When I got to her house and tried to turn it on the screen lit up (still black though) and the scroll lock and caps lock lit up and num lock was flashing. The power led stayed on for about 8 seconds then everything turned off. Dells website (It's a Dell Latitude E6410 by the way) says that this error code means it is a "System Board Error". Now I'm not sure if it's the processor or the mobo. I was wondering if there's anyway to test a processor. Obviously I could plug it into another laptop but I don't have an Intel laptop available. Is there any other thing I can do?

 

[Motopsychojdn]

System board, Motherboard,
Can it get to bios even?
I don't know of any test for a Cpu other than using an alternative Mobo, but I don't think thats your/her issue
Moto

 

[WR2]

Hello Shavako;

Not really.
Besides plugging the CPU into a known working motherboard - you could plug in a known good CPU into the laptop's motherboard.
If the known good CPU doesn't work - you can strongly suspect it's a bad motherboard.

That type of testing is about all any person can do without the services of a laptop tech shop.

 

[Shavako]

No there's no boot screen at all. I couldn't get to the BIOS if I wanted to. To me that sounds more like an issue with the mobo but I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to rule out the CPU.

Edit: If it is the board, what kind of costs would she be looking at to replace it? With it being a Dell I'm guessing it would need a very specific board probably manufactured by Dell. I'm also assuming it would be a major hassle to replace it. Are those good assumptions?

 

[Motopsychojdn]

As Wr2 said in more detail than I did, test with known good is the only feasible home option
Moto

 

[WR2]

It's unusual for a CPU to fail and more common for the motherboard to have problems.
That's not to say a CPU can't fail, because they can.

A careful inspection of the motherboard with a bright light (and maybe a magnifying glass) can sometimes locate a MB fault.

The usual repair action at a laptop repair shop is replacing the motherboard instead of trying a 'repair'. A lot of MB problems can be hidden in the PCB boards several layers.

You can probably Google up: Dell Latitude E6410 motherboard.