Inspiron 6000: blinking lights, doesn't boot?

I have an Inspiron 6000 that just stopped working. The CAPS light blinks about 9 or 10 times before the whole thing shuts off. I read other threads that suggest that my motherboard doesn't work anymore. Could this be the same problem for me? Is there a way I can "check" to see if this is really the problem?

It seems so wasteful for me to purchase a 400 dollar motherboard for a computer that's probably only worth 500 now, but then again, everything else seemed to work fine before the laptop died. Also recently purchased a new battery and charger too...

Thanks in advance for replying!