Not so dead after all.

For a lark, I put the battery back in this morning and was greeted with the bios asking for the machine password.

Knowing the hard drive had been removed, I slipped a Ubuntu live boot CD into the machine. It started!

But after installing a hard drive, it didn't fire up.

Ok, something more than water damage is going on.

Since the power button worked, then it didn't, not even a blink, I looked at the ribbon that connects it to the main board. I noticed some breakage right where it bends at the top of the MB socket.

That ribbon is a 10 conductor solid core laminated design, with what seems to be vinyl skins. The socket it inserts into is not a zif socket, so the ribbon is stiffened with a thicker blue plastic shim. It proved possible to cut off the last 1/8", scrape the insulation from the conductors, and everything is good.

I don't regret buying the MBP, it's going to remain my main computer, but what to do now?

If I hadn't bought the Wind nettop, This could have been a decent low power ammo-box case mod home server.

My grand niece seems to be the front runner for hand me down.