When it comes to computers, determining if your troubles are caused by a fried motherboard or by something else might be tough. The most efficient method of determining this is to rule out all other alternatives first, which takes some time. Unless you have an in-house IT department, you may find that computer repair companies charge a significant amount only to diagnose the motherboard. However, there are a few techniques to determine whether or not your motherboard has been damaged without the use of diagnostic tools.
Physical Damage
Remove the side panel from your computer and have a look at the motherboard. Unplug your computer. For laptops, you’ll need to take out the plastic bezel and keyboard in order to get to the motherboard. Smoke smells and burnt circuitry are clear indicators of a problem, but capacitors, which are cylindrical in shape and are positioned in various positions on the board, should also be checked for symptoms of trouble. Their purpose is to filter the electricity that is sent to the various components on the board, and power surges or overheating can cause them to malfunction or fail completely. Make a note of whether any of them have rounded tips, which suggests that they’ve been blown up. Additionally, look for any signs of electrolyte leaking or fractures in the board surrounding them.
Computer Won’t Turn On
Other options, such as a faulty power cord or a surge suppressor that has been switched off, should be eliminated. It is also important to double-check that the power supply is set to 115/120 V rather than 220 V. If your desktop computer’s power connector is located on the back of the machine, check to see if there is a voltage switch present if the power supply supports dual voltage. Laptops that accept dual-voltage are typically devoid of a power switch. If your computer won’t switch on, or if you hear fans going but the system doesn’t boot, it’s likely that the motherboard has been compromised.
Diagnostic Beep Codes
When you power on your computer, you may hear a series of beeps or a siren, followed by a system halt. This could be caused by a faulty motherboard component that has failed. For removable components such as a video card or RAM module that are either defective or improperly placed, the result can be the same as above. Remove any add-on cards you can and reinstall any that you can’t, such as RAM modules, on your computer. Unplug any other devices that are not required to boot your computer, such as a supplementary hard drive, from the computer. If the computer starts up normally after that, it means that the problem was with the add-on card or device you removed, not with the motherboard. Consult your motherboard manual or the website of the maker of your computer for a list of diagnostic beep codes and the meanings associated with them.
Random Characters on the Screen
Starting on your computer only to have the screen fill with weird characters and then shutting down indicates that the motherboard — or at the very least the video chip — has been damaged. For dedicated video cards, however, you should first reseat or replace the card to rule out a problem with the card itself before proceeding. When there is water damage to a motherboard, this symptom can occur at times. If you believe that your computer has been damaged by water, do not attempt to switch it on or plug it into an electrical outlet.