Hi everyone!
I dont know why but I have checked the board carefully, I dont have anything to use for the bootloader install. I tried using the reset button but the arduino board does nothing. This first started the other day. I put in an RGB LED (Correctly) and the board wasnt doing anything when I was uploading. So I unplugged everything from it, let it sit for a few and it still doesnt want to do anything. This got serious when I attempted to plug it in, and then the board was heating up so this is odd. I am no longer going to use it untill I can find a solution...
Any thoughts?
(P.S. The board does NOT respond when the upload is attempted (eg. TX/RX flashing))
Sounds like you at some point had something wrongly connected to actually cause it to heat up.
Does your OS still see the board at all ?
Do any leds light up at all ?
if it doesn't then the damage may not be worth repairing.
My OS (Windows 7) uses a driver from Arduino and does see the board. The only LEDs that light up are the L (Pin 13) and the ON light
And have you tried the loopback test mentioned near the top of this section ?
That it sees the board is often a good sign.
I am getting a loopback message with exactly what I sent. Does this mean theres something thats touching the board that shouldn't be?
No the test if you did it correctly indicates the board may well be fine.
Does it heat up at all with nothing mounted or connected to the board apart from the USB cable ?
Its only heated up once when I had nothing connected. It was wierd...
So does it work ok without heating up apart from just that once ?
If so it may well be still alive and well (mostly).
If you have a multimeter check the voltages on the 5v 3v vref etc and make sure they are within tolerance.
It seems to be within tolerance but it's still unresponsive. But yes, it only heated up that one time (which is odd).
Sometimes once is all it takes...
If the voltages are correct again that would "normally" be a good indicator.
It may be a smaller component in the USB side of the circuit that has gone.
Do you have an external programmer or another UNO you could use as an ISP ?
BTW these things are always handy to have and don't cost a lot either if you play a lot with Arduinos.
Maybe you can try re-flash the bootloader or even program the board from one but if that fails then time to say goodbye to that board.
Not the kind of news I want to hear Doc 
but I will see if I got anything laying around...