HP 15-db0069wm laptop 5,3 Blink Code - Replace Board?

[CreganTur]

The old 15-DB0069WM laptop my kids have been using won't reach bios. At best the LCD screen just glares white while the fan runs. I'm getting the 5,3 blink code on the caps lock light, which from research makes me think the motherboard/system board went bad.

I've been trying to find a replacement board, but haven't had any luck. This model might be too old.

Any suggestions or links to replacement parts?

[WAWood · Accepted solution]

@CreganTur 

Many folks posting here seem to think that replacing a laptop motherboard, apart from having to disassemble the laptop, is a simple matter like replacing a memory stick or a disk drive.

It is NOT!!!

Before you spend any money to attempt to replace the HP motherboard, you need to be aware of the issues involved with doing that.

First, HP does not sell laptop motherboards except for rare exceptions. If you use this link to go to the HP site and do NOT see your motherboard listed, that means HP does not sell it: http://support.hp.com/us-en/product/HP-Pavilion-dv6-6c00-Entertainment-Notebook-PC-series/5191856/mo...

That means any motherboard you buy will be USED, having been taken from another PC. Those often do not work, or have internal problems that the seller does not disclose. So, you need to buy it from a seller that will refund your money if the motherboard does not work properly -- many of them will NOT do this because the item is USED.

Also, the licensed Windows version that came preloaded on your PC is an HP OEM Version -- and that license is tied to the original motherboard, not to the PC owner. When you toss away that motherboard, you toss away the license -- and HP will not provide you a second license. Since the versions of Windows you can buy will not activate with the embedded HP OEM license, you will have to buy a Retail version of Windows, and a license to go with it. You will then have to replace the installed Windows version on your laptop with the version you bought and license it. We are not able to assist in any of that work.

The bottom line is the process is a lot more difficult than simply swapping one part for another.