It definitely sounds like the motherboard is toast to me. Hopefully nothing happened to the processor. But, since nothing odd (lightning strike) caused the problem, I'd think the processor would still be good.

Getting a new MB sounds good to me.

__________________
Devin Brian
1689er
Attending Trinity Baptist Church in Shreveport, LA.
Vivian, Louisiana, USA

"The fall of man is written in too legible characters not to be understood: Those that deny it, by their denying, prove it." - George Whitefield