How To Know If A Motherboard Is Bad? (Easily)

How to Know if a Motherboard Is Bad Cover

Running into troubles with a motherboard is never an easy thing. And since motherboards act as a hub for all your components, if something goes wrong, it can either be the component or the motherboard itself, making diagnostics even more difficult.

However, there are some sure signs that help you tell that a motherboard is messing things up. That is why we have curated methods that tell you how to know if a motherboard is bad.

Most of the things are pretty common and gamers are familiar with it, so you will not have any issues getting things sorted.

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How To Know If A Motherboard Is Bad

This can truly be a test of the might because a lot of times, you are just left wondering what could have gone wrong.

I do understand not many people want to experience this but hey, it is there and you have to sort it out in the right way so things don’t get out of the way. Don’t worry, we are here to help you.

Blue Screens Of Death

Blue scree of death or BSOD is one of the most annoying errors tha a PC can run into and it is one of the errors that almost all PC users are terrified of.

If you are continuously running into the blue screen of death and you have gone through changing the components, as well.

Then there is a high chance that your motherboard is simply not good enough for the job you are trying to do. I do understand that it is annoying but hey, that is possible the issue you are facing.

The Computer May Freeze For Seemingly No Reason

Another way that you are dealing with a bad or malfunctioned motherboard is the fact that you are properly dealing with a computer that just freezes randomly and there are no reasons whatsoever.

Now this reason can be traced back to component failure in the entire computer. From GPU, RAM, processor, to even your power supply and cooler can cause such issues. So, ruling this out can be tricky.

Blinking Diagnostic LEDs

Most of the modern motherboards coming with diagnostics LEDs that help you figure out what the issue is. Most of the times, you can run a search on these codes on the internet and you figure out what the issue is, in the first place.

However, it is not the easiest as some codes can represent issues with other components, but even in those cases, you are not sure if you are dealing with a bad component or the motherboard itself.

Leaking Or Bloated Capacitors

This is actually the best way to tell that the motherboard has stopped working or is going bad, for that matter.

If you see capacitors that are either bloated or are leaking, then that is a way of telling that your motherboard has gone bad and needs to be sent in for warranty or replaced altogether.

Unusual Burning Odor

If you can smell something wrong inside of your PC’s case, then the chances of your motherboard going bad are there.

However, you have to be absolutely sure that the smell is coming from the motherboard and not something else because that can be the case, and we want to avoid that.

Can the motherboard be repaired?

Depends on the severity of the issue. If you are dealing with something along the lines of bloated or leaking capacitors, then those repairs are easy. However, more technical repairs like slot or socket failure might need to be repaired by the professionals.

How do you fix a dead motherboard?

You are more than likely need to send the motherboard in warranty so you can have a replacement ore a repair. A completely dead motherboard can never be fixed, though.

How do I manually test my motherboard?

Sadly, there are no proper test for a motherboard since on its own, you cannot test it. However, a good thing is to completely replace all the components that you have on the motherboard to rule out the issues. This is technical and time consuming but it does work.

When should I replace my motherboard?

Ideally, if your motherboard is working the way it should, then you don’t really have to replace it because every aspect of your motherboard is working just fine and that is more than enough and how it should be.

How to check if the motherboard is receiving power?

Almost all the motherboards in the market have some LEDs on them that remain on one when there is power being delivered to the motherboard.

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– My Final Conclusion:

Having a hard time figuring out if the motherboard has gone wrong is nothing new. Despite being a simple component, a motherboard takes a lot of time being diagnosed, and things can easily go wrong if you are not sure what is wrong with it.

So, if you are looking to get things sorted, it is best if you are fully familiar with what needs to be done. Rest assured, it is not impossible.