How to repair a computer motherboard?
You guys will get to learn a step-by-step guide on how to repair a computer motherboard. And also troubleshoot the exact problem in any of your motherboards. And then you can try fixing it yourself or getting it fixed without getting ripped off by some greedy repairmen.
A PC motherboard is positioned inner the computer case and is the place most of the components and PC peripherals connect. With tower computers, the motherboard is on the left or right side of the tower and is the largest circuit board.
What is a motherboard and its components?
What is a motherboard? So that is what we are going to talk about in this guideline. The motherboard is the main component of a computer. It’s often referred to as the main board or mobo for short. It’s a large circuit board that’s fit into a computer’s case and it’s where all the computer components connect to.
So for example there is the CPU socket. The CPU socket is where the CPU or central processing unit is placed. There is the memory slot and this is where the primary memory DIMM modules known as RAM are inserted, and there are also the bus slots or expansion slots. And these are used to install various components to add more capabilities to a computer. Such as a video card, sound card, network card, and so on. Then there are also SATA connectors, and this is where you would attach your storage devices. Such as SSDs or hard drives.
And the most common motherboard form factor that is used in PCs today is ATX. ATX stands for Advanced Technology Extended. It was created in 1995 and is now the de facto standard factor for PCs today. Another version of the ATX motherboard is the micro ATX. Micro ATX motherboards are smaller than ATX boards as their name suggests.
A step-by-step guide to repair a computer motherboard
Do you want to repair a computer motherboard? If yes, below are free guides on how to fix a computer motherboard at home. You can repair a bad motherboard yourself. Then it will make your computer run more quickly, smoothly, and without errors.
Manual Diagnosis and Repair
Here are a few manual motherboard diagnoses and their repair solutions that today we will talk about it.
- PSU Diagnosis
- Video Adapter Diagnosis
- RAM Diagnosis
- No Case Power Button Connection
- Flashing the BIOS
PSU Diagnosis
PSU stands for Power Supply Unit. It is the most common element to blow out.
Detecting a PSU failure is easy too. By paper clip test you can do to check if a power supply is useless or not. However, that test only checks for power but not for correct voltage. First, you need to test for AC Voltage coming from the mains plug. Next, you need to test for DC voltage from each of the pins on the power supply unit. Standard ATX 12V power supply units can be both 20 pins or 24 (20+4) pins. The technique is equal for each.
Replacing it is effortless too; open the cabinet, test out the model (they’re generally the same, the manufacturer and great changes), and purchase the new one. Remember what goes the place when you take out the ancient PSU and fit the new one identically.
Video Adapter Diagnosis
Video Adapter Diagnosis is also known as the video card or the graphics card. Here are 5 signs your graphics card may be dying.
- Stuttering and Freezing, you may be suffering from Stuttering when playing games.
- Screen Glitches, when gaming or pushing the card, you may experience, screen tearing or glitches on the screen.
- Strange Artifacts, while gaming or using the pc, you may start to see strange colored artifacts on the screen.
- Blue screens, random BSOD can happen whether it’s a Nvidia or AMD GPU, blue screen of death can be a sign or a bad card or driver issue.
- Fan Noise and High Temps, sometimes when the system is idle and the weather is not that hot, you can experience high temps and really loud fan noise.
The solution to this problem is to begin by checking your connections. Loose connections can purpose a lot of problems, mainly with a pix card. Make sure it’s solidly seated in the motherboard and that any secondary connections are additionally secure. The most problem is dirt with the computer due to it being in such an enclosed space. If you can open it up and clean out as much dirt as possible, that would be the first place to start.
In my opinion, one of the easiest ways to see if your graphics card is the issue is to simply swap out the graphics card for another one and see if the problems go away. If the new graphics card works without an issue, it’s obvious the old graphics card needed to be replaced.
RAM Diagnosis
Memory errors can be one of the most frustrating & time-consuming things to fix about a computer. Your usual signs of RAM failure include the BSoD, low computing speeds, and, slow booting.
In 95% of cases, the only way to fix memory issues is to buy new RAM or replace it. If you have multiple RAM kits, be sure to test them independently to figure out which is causing problems and send it in for warranty. Luckily, a lot of RAM kits come with a lifetime warranty these days.
No Case Power Button Connection
To connect the power button to the motherboard, you need to locate the right pair of pins on the motherboard that are intended for the power switch. There will be a small 2-pin cable coming from the power button. It connects to your motherboard through the front panel header.
There are four main connectors to connect from the front panel to the motherboard, these are the Power Switch (PWR SW), the RESET SWITCH (RST SW), POWER LED (PWR LED), and HDD LED (Hard Disk Drive LED).
The cable labeled Power SW goes to the Power SW header. The rest of the cables in your case seemed to be fan and RGB cables and they go elsewhere (not to the front panel header).
If, once you have put everything together, the power button does not work, check to ensure you have installed the jumper switch to the correct terminal and installed before checking other options.
You can jumpstart your laptop with the use of a screwdriver, however, the cable isn’t working, it is trouble with your cable. If you can’t jumpstart with a screwdriver, you may additionally need to buy a new motherboard with the power button terminal intact.
Flashing the BIOS
The motherboard has only a single BIOS chip and it is a soldered one, and no BIOS flashback utility the ways to get it working again are quite limited. The motherboard does have some built-in recovery thingy.
This is another way to restore the problem. So the best way to fix a motherboard like that is to obtain an external BIOS flashing tool. The exterior device connects to the target BIOS chip with SOIC8 test clips that are quite tough to connect correctly. You need a separate laptop to flash the goal BIOS chip with. I recommend using a laptop and the NeoProgrammer tool. The flashing technique might take a while so do not get stressed if it is slow. A terrible BIOS chip or firmware means an unbootable PC.
Conclusion:
Always, have in mind to keep a backup of all your records earlier than you manage pc components. Additionally, verify the problem, and then restore it. I hope that this article will assist you in fixing your motherboard-related issues. We have also many computer repair businesses.
Go and check it out: Computer Repair Businesses
