How to know when a Mobo is bad?

I'm interested to know what happen, when a Mobo (Motherboard) is bad or about to go bad. Will make clicking sounds? Computer will not turn on? please help and thank you! I own the Asus Sabertooth X58 motherboard.

sabertooth intel x58 motherboards asus 1394 socket

asked Jun 13 '12 at 08:51

Franky Juarez
291●43●48●55

3 Answers:

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It's extremely unlikely that a motherboard will 'go bad' barring actual physical damage to the computer (dropping it off the Empire State would probably do it!) If it does, your only warning is likely to be complete failure, (Sudden Computer Death Syndrome!)

If you're hearing clicking it's far more likely to be from a hard drive and it's not necessarily a bad thing. Scan the disk for errors to be sure.

If the computer won't turn on at all it's far more likely to be a problem with the power unit than the motherboard.

If it turns on but won't boot then you need to eliminate software and/or hard disk problems long before you start worrying about the motherboard.

answered Jun 13 '12 at 09:14

dunfiddlin
1.2k●4●18

If the power supply were to fail it could possibly take out many other components along with it, including the motherboard.

(Jun 13 '12 at 09:34) George

Possibly but it would usually only do so with the kind of 'bang' that would leave you with no doubt about what the problem was!

(Jun 13 '12 at 10:30) dunfiddlin

It could sound like a bang, but I've heard a loud, shrill SNAP.

(Jun 13 '12 at 10:33) catchatyou

I've had a motherboard die on me. It wasn't sudden; nothing made any noise. I just tried to turn on my computer one day, and it wouldn't turn on. However, it would power up, it just never made use of any of the parts. I'm not sure how common this type of motherboard failure is, but that was my experience with a dead motherboard. Now, it's lying on a binder on my floor...

answered Jun 13 '12 at 10:36

catchatyou
20.7k●89●165●383

Your motherboard is bad if electricity goes in and nothing is going out... The POST won't happen on screen, but you will possibly hear fans spinning and see some leds come on. It really depends on what goes wrong. A motherboard is a very intricate piece of work (lookit all those copper traces and components, any one of those could go wrong, geez!).

If your motherboard goes bad, you will likely know as it generally will cause burning on at least one of the components from excess electricity building up which will be followed by an interesting electronic burning smell and possibly some thin wispy smoke.

If you suspect your motherboard has gone bad, salvage any devices and components you can and isolate the motherboard if you intend to troubleshoot/resolve the problem. Assuming you know squat about electronic components (because you probably wouldn't ask this question otherwise), it's time to go shopping for a new motherboard and any parts it took to heaven with it. :D

answered Jun 13 '12 at 13:21

Kris
326●2●6

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