A friend asked me for help with his 2.53 13" 2009 MBP that was left running during the last lighting storm plugged in. He woke up the next day and it was dead, pushed the power button and nothing, no noise no fans. He is thinking he will need to buy another one and also wondering what this might still have for working parts to sell.
I tried the SMC reset found on the apple website but nothing else. The battery seems to be charging, it was almost dead but now has three lights when the button is pushed.
Am I missing something or is it toast and if it is what might be salvageable? Thanks.

Was it plugged into a power bar? If so, many power bars have extensive warranties against damage like that and he might qualify for some reparations from the manufacturer.

Was anything else damaged or need to be reset, besides the Mac?

direct into the wall, funny, nothing else damaged.

Usually, the battery/MagSafe will absorb the surge. I would suggest replacing the battery and trying a different adapter before writing off the entire laptop.

still sitting on my desk until I get some time to dismantle it, find a battery and test it. Tried a different adapter, the side indicator lights are now all lit when the button is pushed, does this mean the battery is now fully charged as I assume? Could the dc in board be fried because of the surge? should it work off a good battery even if the dc in board is fried and would it even charge?

logic board toast, swapped a known good board into the laptop and it boot, thanks for all the suggestions now he needs to figure out what to do.

If a replacement logic board fixed the problem, what else is there left "to figure out what to do."?

I would agree with John Clay's comments that the the battery/MagSafe and adapter should have absorbed the surge, but not always I guess considering that some lightening strikes can come with a few million volts of potential computer damaging power and just a tiny fraction can kill a computer or any struck user.

Some unfortunate golfers and other outdoor users come to mind and their regrettable lightening strike demise. ;(

I myself would look for a damaged mbp for the logic board but he's not sure if he just wants to sell it for what he can get and buy new.