# Solved: How to check if a motherboard is dead



## Tylerpp (Sep 29, 2005)

Hello guys, just a quick question, what are some ways I can test a motherboard, to see if it actually works, or is dead? I have a motherboard and when I plug it into the power supply, the little green light on it lights up, and the CPU fan turns on, so i know theres power to the motherboard, but when I plug in a monitor to either the onboard VGA connector, or my AGP Video cards VGA connector, the screen says no signal input and stays like that. I know all my stuff works, the monitor, the RAM, the CPU, the harddrives and the like, I have used them all in other computers, but how can I possibly know if this motherboard is dead or not? I was going to throw it out but im just not sure about it, for all I know it could be something minute thats stopping it so I thought Id ask before i did it. Thanks in advance


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## TekTime (Sep 22, 2009)

When you turn your computer on, the fans are spinning which could mean the motherboard is not dead. 

Your video card could be the problem, do you have a laptop or desktop? What is the make and model # of your PC?

The more details you can provide, the better.


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## Tylerpp (Sep 29, 2005)

I cant really give you one, because I built it myself. the motherboards an Asus P5VDC-MX though, and the video card i was using is a nVidia GeForce FX5500, but that didnt work either


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## TekTime (Sep 22, 2009)

Your mobo has onboard video..has it been disabled while you are using the FX5500?


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## Tylerpp (Sep 29, 2005)

No I'm pretty sure it wasnt disabled, and if it was I couldnt get into BIOS or anything to check if it was... and I dont really have a spare BIOS chip to test out sorry haha


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## TekTime (Sep 22, 2009)

Are you familiar with "clearing CMOS"? If so, try doing that to see if that solves the problem.

http://www.wikihow.com/Reset-Your-BIOS


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## Tylerpp (Sep 29, 2005)

I've tried doing all of that but the motherboard still just lights up with the fans on but nothing shows up on the monitor still... maybe it is dead? I'm also curious, because in the process i think i short circuited the motherboard a couple of times causing it to shut off straight away, could that possibly be a reason why it doesnt work? I'm not sure what to think because it still turns on and everything, just that it shut itself off


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## TekTime (Sep 22, 2009)

From what you have stated altogether, it seems like the problem is a dead motherboard.
By the way, if you "short" the motherboard, it's possible that it will just shut off quickly to avoid any further damage, but that may not have caused the actual damage in itself.


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## Tylerpp (Sep 29, 2005)

hmmm.. i see... so just for future reference, if I should have another motherboard that powers up fine, but nothing comes to screen, CMOS reset and taking the battery out for 5 mins may fix it, so then it could come up on the screen? I really dont know what happened to it it was a good motherboard and one day my bro screwed up the computer probably with a bunch of spyware and stuff, then it died... and i was just reading and it seems most motherboards have a surge protection thing in them, well most newer ones that is.


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## Rich-M (May 3, 2006)

Don't give up so quickly. The one thing you did not mention is trying another psu and that is what is sounds like is the issue anyway.
Spyware can mess up an OS but it doesn't kill a motherboard.


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## TRS-80 vet (Jun 18, 2005)

Does the broken computer show up on your network?


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## TekTime (Sep 22, 2009)

Rich-M said:


> Don't give up so quickly. The one thing you did not mention is trying another psu and that is what is sounds like is the issue anyway.
> Spyware can mess up an OS but it doesn't kill a motherboard.


I agree. I recently had an issue where my computer kept taking forever to boot, and when it did it would hang on post, or with nothing but a black screen. Many times I'd have to shut it down and turn it on several times to get it to boot. Then, after many times of doing that - I got an error message and my computer buzzed right after it posted. The error was "Bad Bios Checksum." It would not boot.

I figured "ok.... I have another BIOS chip but let me switch power supplys to see what happens." I did, and the problem was fixed.

Bad PSUs can cause many random issues so I learned to rule out the PSU first and foremost when troubleshooting.


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## Tylerpp (Sep 29, 2005)

Hi guys, well actually I was trying a different power supply last night when I was trying to get it working again, and still no luck... but the thing is, I have 2 power supplies, one is from the P4, and one is from an older Celeron comp I have, but both power supplies work with the Celeron one, and neither of them make a difference with the P4 one. So I'm not too convinced that its the power supply this time around. And as for the broken computer showing up on my network, no it doesnt, but thats because I don't have a wifi card in it, well I don't have one at all, all I have is a USB Wifi adaptor but I don't think that works either...


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## maxima88 (Sep 28, 2005)

Since you are absolutely sure all the other parts work fine then it would most probably be your mobo. I also just went through replacing my Abit NF7-S just a month ago. Had the same problem. Mobo leds come on, fans spin but no post beeps. As a last resort, remove the mobo from the case and with only the CPU (with heatsink of course), RAM and video card, see if it will boot and give at least some error code. That will eliminate the chance that something may have been shorting it while in the case. Good luck.


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## Tylerpp (Sep 29, 2005)

tried that, still the same story... I'm guessing its safe to say this motherboards had it? It's a shame though it wasnt even that old and I dont even know what happened to it! Well thanks for all your help guys, at least later on if I have any other motherboards in question, which I most likely will because I build my own computers, and some for other family members and the occasional friend, I'll have all the help you guys gave me to check them out with. Thanks again everybody for your help, greatly appreciated


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