hey,
i was running an hp pavillion a400n when suddenly out of the blue it crashed. The light in the front was blinking spuratically and so i unplugged the power. there was a new computer smell comming out of it, even though ive had it for about 4 years. i opened the case and there was alot of heat comming out from around the processor. i let it sit for a while and now when i push the power button, the light turns on and my monitors light turns on for about one fourth of a second and then turns off. i can open and close the cd and dvd drives and i can hear the hard drive spinning. my question is do you think it is the cpu thats broken, the motherboard thats broken or both? and if its the motherboard, is there anyway i can replace it without having to format my hard drive or reinstall windows XP? any help would be appreciated