m9700i-R1 will not boot

Hopefully this is the proper sub-forum for the model I'm asking about. Let me start off by saying that I didn't purchase the notebook so I'm not very familiar with it; it was (supposedly) broken by a family member of my girlfriend's and she's hoping I can get it working. As it stands now I'm not sure if the motherboard is dead or what after reading about the model and learning that they are notorious for overheating themselves to death. On to my issues:

The notebook isn't booting or even giving me anything to work with. if the battery is in the notebook appears to try and boot without my hitting the power button. There isn't any activity on the screen and the power button flashes orange. If the battery is in AND the power cord is plugged in I get the same result with the button staying orange and not blinking. With the battery removed and power cord in the power button is blue instead. When I hold the power button I can hear the HDD start to spin up but it seems to get cut short, so I'm not sure if the board is dead or the HDD or what may be wrong. Anyone with any advice to get this thing back to life or how I can go about testing the components will be greatly appreciated.

I have no spare hardware to swap out so I can't try that. Thanks in advance for your time and any responses.

 

Have you tried taking out or replacing the cmos battery? I don't have a m9700 but on my m5750 its easily removed/replaced.