How to Know If Your Motherboard Has Failed

What most people don't realize is that electrical components can fail in an instant. Unlike mechanical which usually gives you signs electronic components can work one day and not the next. Thats the downside to computers things like motherboards can fail without any warning. In this article I will describe some ways you can know when your motherboard is failing or has failed to function.

Your motherboard is the main board of your computer in which everything plugs into. If you ever looked at your motherboard you will see that it is all electronic. The only moving parts is the CPU fan. Unfortunately the motherboard can quit functioning in moments time. The good news is they are not as expensive as they used to be. However, high end machines will cost you a lot more to replace the board than an everyday low end store bought computer.

Sudden failure

When a motherboard fails suddenly your led lights can blink or turn amber. Your computer will sometimes flash on the screen or turn different colors. It can turn itself off and not boot back up. Many times the power supply fan will work but the computer will not post. Sometimes your power supply will not function either. This is where many people think that the computers power supply went out. The motherboard can fail that it will surge and knock out the power supply. This is actually a good thing so that other components don't get damaged.

In storms lightning can damage your motherboard by traveling through the house wiring. Those people on dial up modems are most susceptible to this type of surge. During storms its always good to disconnect your modem from the phone line and unplug your computer from the power source.

Partial failure

This is where one of your ports no longer functions. Like your printer port, serial port, or one of the IDE, SATA connections. For example I had a motherboard that worked fine except the secondary IDE port would not function. Since my CD ROM was connected to this port it would not function. If you don't use your parallel port or serial port you can get by for the time being. However, if you want to fix them your motherboard would have to be replaced. Over time your motherboard will quit functioning all together. Unfortunately there is no way to predict when this will occur. It could last several months or years.

Trouble shooting

If your computer doesn't boot there are a couple of things you can do before you take it in for service. Remove the side panel. Look at the motherboard and check for any bulging chips. If you see any physical damage than you will know right away it needs replacing. If you don't see any damage connect the power, video, mouse, keyboard and pull each board one at a time. After you pull each board try to boot up. If it boots you found the culprit. If it still doesn't boot after pulling all the boards try another video card if you have one. If you don't you can't do this step. Also, disconnect the hard drive and CD ROM cables. If it boots you could have a bad drive. This is very rare but it does happen. If you pulled everything and it still doesn't boot most likely your motherboard has failed.

If your computer is in warranty than call your computer manufacturer. If your out of warranty than find a place to take it in for service. If your computer savvy you can save money by replacing it yourself.

This gives you a good idea how to tell if your motherboard has failed or is about to. Most of the time you will not receive any warning. If it happens this article will give you some knowledge on how to handle it.