Well, there it is. Chicken/egg thing. Sounds like you are on the right track. So no post so no beeps. Did you check power supply voltage? Sometimes that flash of the BIOS fails in a spectacular way, bricking the board. Happened to me once, long ago.
Hope the new CPU fixes it.
__________________
intake | exhaust | wheels | tires | suspension ... um ... stock, do speed stickers count?
intake | exhaust | TE37 SL | RE-11 | suspension ... um ... do speed stickers count? Signature under construction
|