I was tampering with the i/o ports of my computer (an UMID BZ notebook), specifically with the embedded controller and ACPI, in an attempt to switch some deactivated on-board hardware on. When I rebooted, the computer failed to boot. In fact, there is no sign anymore that it is even reacting to the power button.
Can it really be that by writing the wrong byte to the embedded controller port I destroyed my hardware?
If you send your signal at the wrong voltage (12v instead of 5v, 12v or 5v instead of 3.3v, etc) or shorted the wrong pins, it is possible to damage or destroy ICs on the laptop motherboard.
If you were trying to flash firmware to an internal component and did it wrong (wrong pins, incorrect firmware, etc), it's possibly bricked.
You might start with what Loren suggested. Pull the battery from the laptop and let it sit for a few minutes to let power drain from everything before putting it back together and powering it up.
