How to Tell if Your Motherboard is Bad?

Well! If you are a regular user of computers, then you will know the motherboard’s importance as it connects all the system’s essential components in an organized manner. In case if your motherboard fails, your system will be useless. 

So the simple answer to the question,  How to tell if your motherboard is bad is that if your motherboard is not detecting the linked components, freezing out of the blue, and not turning on for any wrong reason, then there will be a wide range of culprits involved and your motherboard is malfunctioning. 

So let’s jump into the exact reasons if the motherboard is bad.

Misconfigured Motherboard VS Bad Motherboard

There is a difference between wrong and misconfigured motherboards. So it is essential to understand the contrast between the two. 

A lousy or bad motherboard comes with the failure of critical physical components. For example, a failing CPU socket, a damaged power connector, or a bad capacitor.

On the other hand, a misconfigured motherboard can be fixed by resolving the underlying issues, known as software issues.

How to know if the Motherboard is Dead or Bad

If you are sure your system’s motherboard is not misconfigured, there are many ways to monitor if the motherboard is dead or rotten. 

I will discuss some of them below:

Check CMOS Battery

A dead COMS battery is one of the most common causes of a dead motherboard. The battery is a center for powering up the Bios as it maintains the operating systems settings even if your computer is switched off. 

When the CMOS battery dies, the motherboard cannot operate. However, this is very easy to resolve you have to just locate the Cmos Battery on the motherboard and replace it with the coin battery. 

Disconnect All Component Except the Power Supply

There can be a change in the connected parts of your motherboard. Disconnect all the components like hard disk, CPU, RAM, and other peripheral devices such as USB drives and keyboards. 

You should check the motherboard by doing bench test for it. Take the motherboard from a PC case and put it on the anti-static material. 

Into the motherboard, plug on the power supply cables and switch it on by jumping the power on at the front panel of the header.

If the motherboard shows signs of life by flashing the lights on and making beep codes, then it’s a sign that the motherboard is not entirely dead, and the problem lies in the connected components discussed above.

Check your Motherboard for the Second Set of Parts

One of the reticle approaches you can make in checking if your motherboard is terrible is that test it with another set of CPU, hard disk, RAM, and power supply units. If the problem sustains, indeed, there is an issue with the motherboard itself.  

Motherboard Performs Post on the Screen

Some of the models of motherboards show the screen turning on. The initial test to check for the dead motherboard is a power-on self-test (POST) in which all the sub-components and hardware components work accurately. 

If there is a problem in critical parts like RAM, CPU, hard disk, and the motherboard itself, even the POST screen will show the problem detecting where it lies. 

Monitor for Physical Symptoms.

Physical damage can cause harmful or dead motherboards and lead to poor handling to accidental electrical surges. In the worst scenario can cause damage to your motherboard. 

Short Circuits

While this cause is hard to identify, you see the issue as short-circuiting due to the mixing up of connected cables. If there are signs of burns, the electrical circuits may disconnect, and the motherboard will malfunction.

Water and Moisture

In many computers, there are small stickers that become discolored when they face an extreme amount of moisture due to climate. So it is best to determine if your motherboard suffers from water and humidity. 

Check For Breakages and Bends

One of the most common reasons a motherboard fails is the minute scratches on the PCB tracks. Telltale signs include cracking on the surface of the motherboard or abnormal bends on screens.

How to Tell if the Motherboard is Misconfigured

If the motherboard is misconfigured, it can be fixed in specific ways. You cannot say a misconfigured motherboard is a bad or dead motherboard. 

If your operating system is crashing frequently and getting slower to software or not identifying hardware installed, you need to find out why your motherboard needs to be fixed.

Following are a few reasons for this:

A Loose Device  

This is the most common culprit for erratic motherboards. In which there can be a chance of loosely connected devices.

For example, PCIs and RAM expansion cards are not strongly affixed and connected in their respective slots.  

This issue can be fixed by plugging the connections firmly into the slots. Most people need clarification on the incorrect PCI slots on the motherboard. 

Many times the dust and debris accumulate in the motherboard. This leads to the operation of the attached devices in the motherboard. 

So it is an ideal way before pronouncing your PCI s slots on the dead motherboard to clean the inner of the component, plug on the device accurately, and go for the verification of another expansion card. 

Recent Bios Update

Another reason for the misconfigured motherboard is the bad BIOS update. 

Unluckily there is no way to install the original BIOS with the help of a critical press again. To bring it back to the real version, you have to reflash your motherboard again.

Overlocking of Components

Overlocking components in the computer happens when high voltage is provided to the central processing unit to upgrade performance. So check if the CPU is overlocked. 

If the motherboard is featured with ideal physical capacity and high-quality components like good phase power design and Power VRMs, it can fail in overlocking. 

Therefore you can the CPU overlocking by BIOS. 

You can fix this issue by accessing your BIOS  at the PC start-up. It can be approached by continuously pressing, Delete, F1, and F2 keys. However, these keys are different in different models of motherboards in various computers. 

When you approach BIOS, there comes an option of RESET TO DEFAULT. 

Select this option and SAVE and RESET from the BIOS. this will bring your system back to its settings of default.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you check if the motherboard is fried?

If the motherboard gives patterns of beeps or a siren followed by the operating system when you switch on your computer a bad motherboard could be blamed. However same can happen in the removable components if they need to be installed appropriately, like Ram MOdule and video cards.

Can the motherboard be repaired?

Yes, most models of motherboards can be repaired, and it is the ideal option instead replacing the whole motherboard because repairing it is cheaper. So it is good to check the damaged motherboard by an expert professional with incredible experience, and it should be done in a professional laboratory.  

What is the lifespan of the motherboard?

If the motherboard is kept clean and treated well, it can last up to 20 years or more. What you should count on in this regard is whether it is not obsolete and whether you need to upgrade its latest hardware and version.

Will a motherboard beef without a CPU?

The cause of beep codes is booting a motherboard without RAM. However, some motherboard models come without processors, and no beef codes are produced.  

Final Words

So to wrap up the blog on how to tell if your motherboard is bad, the most common ways are mentioned above. An essential thing to locate this is to check the connections of the components in the motherboard are correct, so save your valuable time checking other reasons that are not the leading cause.

Therefore it is best to check your motherboard as soon as possible to notice the unusual working to detect the problems and solve them unless they cause more damage to your motherboard.