How To Test Motherboard For Faults?
The Motherboard could have several faults if your laptop or PC is not performing well. What are the steps to test the Motherboard for faults if you are trying to find out? Your search ends here.
In this article, we will discuss several symptoms of a faulty motherboard. And also, you will be able to check it for all faults thoroughly. So, ultimately you will figure out which can troubleshoot and which not.
Related: How To Check Motherboard Compatibility With Graphic Card
Therefore, be my guest, and let’s dive into today’s main topic of testing the Motherboard for its faults. I can make sure, after reading this one, you will have much knowledge about problems with your Motherboard. And how to diagnose them.
Why is the Motherboard a crucial part of a computer system?
Many of us know that the motherboard is an essential part of your laptop or PC. Imagine this: if you don’t have a brain, your body cannot operate. The same as your laptop is nothing without it. All the internal hardware like CPU, Memory, Storage, Screen and even ports are connected to it. It means, if this gets down, your entire system gets down.
The Motherboard usually has several faults when it is being used on a desktop computer. But on laptops, you can say that it is pretty good. However, replacing a motherboard or CPU is not an economical and easy thing to do.
Related: Can You Change The Graphics Card In A Laptop?
But you can do many things to troubleshoot the problems regarding some hardware failures or software updates. You’d only need to do this if you run a test to check your Motherboard for faults and the result comes negative.
But don’t worry, as we are here to sort this out.
How to test Motherboard for faults through POST Test?
The only best thing you can do to check your Motherboard or other laptop hardware failures is to run a Power-on self-test. This test will start immediately after turning on your PC. This will check out all the hardware.
If there appears to be any problem with anyone, it will simply stop processing, and the BIOS will appear an error message on the window. However, below is a video that will tell you how you can efficiently perform a POST on your laptop or PC.
But if you get through successful testing, the POST will notify the OS with several beeps. These beeps vary from system to system.
How to know that your laptop or PC Motherboard has faults?
Besides the POST, several symptoms can lead you to the conclusion that your laptop or PC is having a faulty motherboard. We’ll discuss each one by one.
Any Physical disorder or a damaged part:
Most probably, if your laptop is not performing well, or ominous signs are appearing from your Motherboard. The primary reason could be physical damage to the Motherboard’s essentials. You can check for damaged issues after turning off your PC. There may appear damage to a socket due to heating issues. Also, the plan old aging can lead the motherboard capacitors to leak or bloat.
The burning smell:
When things burn, they raise burning odors. Therefore, if the Motherboard emits a nasty smell of burnt, it means there is an overheating issue. This burning could also lead to severe damage like you may lose your laptop or Pc.
This primarily overheating happens when you try to fit incompatible hardware on the Motherboard. Like the graphics card or ram not being compatible with the motherboard capacity can lead to overheating. And ultimately, the Motherboard will start emitting a burning odor.
Appearing of BIOS menu when windows startup:
On windows, you mainly deal with the BIOS manually. But if It starts appearing on the screen whenever you start it up. It means there is an issue with the Motherboard. The appearance of the BIOS menu on the screen signifies that a component on the motherboard is causing the problem. So, you can also check this out through this indication.
Multifunctioning of applications:
Another issue that reveals the dysfunctionality of the Motherboard is this problem. There might be several applications on the screen that are facing lags. Or may not be working correctly. This means the components on your Motherboard need attention.
Blue screen:
BSOD-Blue screen of death is also known as the failure of your system. This is a Windows stop error that will stop the normal working of the window. But it doesn’t always mean that the problem is the Motherboard. However, there will appear an error code on the screen whenever this problem happens. So, you can google it to check if it is a motherboard issue.
Freezing Issues:
The Motherboard is not feeling good if your laptop or PC has random locks up and freezing issues. You can resolve the freezing issue by troubleshooting your PC. Because sometimes, there might be a software issue. However, if you cannot solve the problem, it’s time to check out the Motherboard or other hardware.
Related: Why Are Laptops More Expensive Than Desktops?
Other things to look for motherboard failures:
- The computer is taking too long for booting up
- It’s challenging to know about the peripherals as they are not showing up or stop working
- Strange lines might be appearing, or your PC is not showing the flash drivers
- The Motherboard is not officially working and cannot pass out the Power on Self-Test (POST)
So, if you see any of these problems regarding your laptop or PC. Your Motherboard is required to troubleshoot, or maybe in some cases. It requires replacement.
Frequently Asked Questions
What to do if I figure out a problem with my Motherboard?
Since then, I have heard that you can troubleshoot the software. But if there appears a problem with the hardware like especially with the Motherboard. I suggest you not do it yourself because only a technician or a laptop/Pc expert can solve this problem.
Suppose if there appears a problem with any hardware related to the Motherboard. Or you are required to replace your entire Motherboard. I am damn sure that nobody will prefer doing this by himself.
That’s why it’s okay to take your laptop or PC to a nearby computer repair center and get it recovered. This may cause you some bucks. But definitely, you will sort out the problem.
What to do if I am not able to recover the Motherboard?
The basic idea is, nothing works out if there is no motherboard. And I know that you do agree with this. So, if the Motherboard doesn’t recover, unfortunately, it’s time for a new PC or a laptop. I will feel sad if this happens because you will have to spend a lot of money.
How can I test to see if my Motherboard is terrible?
There are hundreds of things that you can try to check if your Motherboard is terrible or not. You can do a physical check-up or internal testing. In both cases, you will be able to figure out the problem. But if you are not able to find this out. Check your laptop or PC with a computer expert.
However, the most recommended things to do in this regard are,
- Complete check the visual hardware
- Have complete lookup at PSU (Power Supply Unit)
- Check for the necessary beep codes
How do you check if your Motherboard is fried?
If you open or start up your computer randomly. You need to check whether the display fills with random colors and halt. Because if this happens, this will lead to motherboard failure, or the video clip gets fried. You need to reset it by replacing the dedicated graphic card. This will save your laptop from any other severe issue.
Final Thoughts
I hope that after reading the information given here. You’ve probably known about how to test Motherboard for faults. The simple and easy thing to do is to run a POST. However, one can check it through several symptoms. This will lead you to identify if there is a problem with the Motherboard. And what you need to do in this regard.
Hence, this was all for today. Would you mind letting me know if you have any queries or want to add something? Now, I will take a leave until the next idea. Take care of yourself and have a good day.
