How to Know If a Motherboard Is Bad

How to Know If a Motherboard Is Bad Unless you're planning to upgrade your computer anyway, changing out the motherboard should be the very last resort to resolve problems. Nearly all of the components that make your computer work are attached to and specifically compatible with that particular motherboard model. What’s more, technology is constantly changing, so you may not be able to replace the board with the exact same model you have. If anything about the new motherboard is different – the size, the shape, or even the location of the expansion slots – you could find yourself replacing more than just one component. Therefore, it's vital that you eliminate all other possible failures before replacing the motherboard.

Symptoms If you've just replaced your motherboard and failures occur, or if you've had your computer for a while and it suddenly misbehaves, you might automatically assume that the board is bad. Some of the symptoms to look for when diagnosing a bad motherboard are failure to boot. The computer may start to boot but then shuts down. Increased Windows errors or "blue screens of death" are symptoms of failing motherboards. The computer may freeze for seemingly no reason, or connected devices that worked before suddenly won’t work.

Troubleshoot Crashes and Errors Before you open your computer and mess with the hardware, try to remedy the problem on the soft side, by analyzing system and application settings. The following tasks assume that you can successfully boot into your operating system. If your system seems to work fine and then suddenly turns off, tap any key to see if it will come back to life. If it does, your computer could be set to go to sleep after a certain period of time. Open Control Panel and under Power Options check your settings and change them to something more convenient. Determine when your system problems began, such as whether you installed a new application recently. That application might not be compatible with one or more components of your computer. Uninstall the application and see if the problem persists. If it does, use Windows System Restore to restore to a point just before you installed the application. Malware and viruses can make it seem like the motherboard is failing. Perform a thorough virus scan of all drives and system files. If you recently downloaded any media files or shareware, do a system restore to a point before the download Check Connections and Peripherals Check if your power cord is loose, which would cause frequent shutdowns. Ill-fitted or loose peripheral connectors might also cause a problem, so tighten them up. An external hard drive, flash drive or bootable CD can prevent your computer from booting properly. Remove any CD or DVD from the optical drive, along with thumb drives that may be connected via USB. Disconnect external devices, including printers and scanners, and reboot the computer. If that solves the problem, you may need to adjust the boot order in your BIOS settings so the computer doesn't boot from these devices. Refer to your computer's operating manual or manufacturer's website for instructions on how to reset the BIOS. Listen for Beeps

If you can't boot at all, listen to your computer when you turn it on. A pattern of beeps will tell you what the likely problem is. Motherboard failure is usually conveyed by one beep, followed by three, four or five. Four beeps, followed by two, three or four beeps indicate serial or parallel port issues, which also implies a damaged motherboard. Check the Hardware You may be more comfortable taking the computer to a technician when it comes time to check the hardware. If you're familiar with the inside of a computer, ground yourself first to avoid further damage. Check that all components are snugly in place. Look for obvious damage to the motherboard and its components. Check circuits and resisters for bubbles or burns. If you have any spare cards (video cards, memory, hard drives), change them out one at a time to see if it makes a difference. Warnings If you're unfamiliar with a computer's insides, don't attempt to fix it yourself. You could cause more damage than you started with. Before changing any system settings, write down the current settings so you can return them if the changes don't help. Check your computer's warranty. Many warranties become void once a computer is open.