I have a 2006 macbook that died after a bad device was plugged in to the USB port (an external DVD running on an external power adapter using the wrong voltage). The macbook went dark instantly, followed by a distinct aroma of electric death from the vicinity of the USB ports. The macbook could not be roused after that, so I gambled that the logic board was fried and purchased a used replacement from a "reputable" eBay vendor.

Long story short.. the new-to-me logic board is installed, but the macbook still doesn't do anything. What might I be missing (besides two hours from my life)?

The magsafe light goes green when it's connected. It doesn't boot either with the battery only, magsafe only, or both connected. No lights, sounds, etc.. just nothing.

Any ideas??

It may be possible the power button or the top case cable got fried, so the power button isn't working.

Thanks! Good idea. I found out about the pwr btn pads on the logic board and tried shorting them too, with no success, so I suppose the power button/keyboard assembly is OK.

I wonder, is it reasonable to expect that I could get the CPU fan to run, at least, if I had nothing connected to the board except battery and power switch? I would expect to be able to get this much out of a board if I was working with PC hardware.

the fan typically twitches as soon as you hit the power button if the logic board is getting power even if it doesn't completely turn on. so if you can try to watch the fan with the top case partially off and see if there is any activity.