I have a ze 1230 laptop that will not boot up. The power comes on and stays on;the fan runs for about 10 seconds and will shut off. I have just about determined that it is the motherboard as you can not even get to the bios. Any other place than hp that might have a replacement motherboard for a reasonable price?

yeesh. Have you tried taking the battery out and running just off the adapter?

Been there done that and no dice. I tore the laptop down to check the fan to see if it was clogged with dust but it was clean. Talked with the customer to see what was what and customer said that laptop started to act up after it seemingly got hotter than normal. Now I am wondering if the processor is potentially damaged.

Could be some type of hardware issue, but it is doubtful. Though the fan was clean, was it spinning freely?

The fan only spins for about 10 seconds and then shuts down. At the beginning it sounds like it wants to boot but it just won't make it there. All power lights and etc come on but no cpu fan spins after 10 seconds and no boot at all. I have no access to a service manual.

Get a new fan. It could be one of three things, either the bearings, Motor, or connection to power is the problem. Try giving the fan a little push and see if it wants to spin. If not, I would say find a replacement fan and pop it in.