How do i know if my laptop motherboard is dead

How do i know if my laptop motherboard is dead

The motherboard "is" the computer, so the usual symptom of a defective motherboard is complete death of the system. Fans, disk drives and other peripherals may work when the motherboard dies, but usually nothing happens when the computer is turned on. No beeps, no lights, no fans, no nothing.

If you think your motherboard is defective, you're wrong. The most likely cause of a system failure is a blown fuse or circuit breaker in the power outlet. If you are sure your system is on and you have just installed a motherboard, it is much more likely that you forgot to plug in the cables or made some other basic mistake than that the motherboard itself is defective, assuming, of course, that the defective motherboard is a high quality product.

When a bad motherboard becomes a good one

For this reason, many online retailers no longer accept returns of "bad" motherboards. It turns out that of the 20 defective motherboards returned, about 19 were perfectly fine. The buyers simply did not install the motherboard correctly. Despite this, many people opt to buy their motherboards from large distributors or other local suppliers because they have better return policies. Some people have even solved their system problems by buying off-the-shelf motherboards and returning them when they discover they are not the problem. We believe this is unethical, but as any retailer will tell you, it is common practice.

What's behind the name?

Most brand name motherboards, especially those from Intel and ASUS, are of very high quality; cheap motherboards, including those used in most consumer systems, are of very low quality. We have been using Intel and Asus motherboards for many years. It is not usual to find even one DOA in a batch of 100 motherboards. It is not uncommon to find defects in half or more of a batch of 100 low cost motherboards, and many others fail shortly after installation .......

High-quality motherboards rarely fail in a working system without lightning damage (see Power and Computer Protection) or other serious ailments. In particular, it is almost impossible for a motherboard to fail while the system is running, not at startup. A dead system is more likely to be due to a power supply failure than a motherboard failure. Therefore, the first step in troubleshooting an apparently dead motherboard is to replace it with a healthy power supply. If the system is still completely dead despite a healthy power supply, the motherboard may be defective and should be replaced.

It is not uncommon for parts of the motherboard to fail. For example, the ATA interface or the integrated video, audio or LAN interface may stop working while other motherboard functions appear to work properly. It is possible to resolve these partial failures by, for example, disabling the defective function in the BIOS settings and installing an expansion card to replace the defective integrated function. However, we do not recommend this, as partial motherboard failures are often followed by complete failures.

CMOS configuration

The BIOS boot screen appears briefly each time the system boots. When this screen is displayed, you can press a specific key to start the CMOS setup program found in the firmware. The CMOS setup is used to configure BIOS and chipset settings, from something as obvious as date and time to something as vague as memory timing and bus settings.

Beauty is only on the inside

Some motherboards replace the standard BIOS boot screen with a logo boot screen. To see the standard BIOS boot screen on these systems, press the escape key when you see the logo.

To enter the CMOS setup, you normally have to press F1 (AMI), Del (Award) or F2 (Phoenix). Other BIOS manufacturers use different keys, and some system and motherboard manufacturers modify the standard BIOS to use different keys. The key that invokes the CMOS configuration almost always appears on the BIOS boot screen. However, if the BIOS boot screen does not display or does not show this key, try Esc, Del, F1, F2, F10, Ctrl-Alt-S, or consult the documentation.

Exactly what the CMOS configuration looks like and what options are available depends on the chipset, the brand and version of the BIOS, and the changes made by the manufacturer to the BIOS and CMOS configuration software. For example, two motherboards may use the same chipset and the same BIOS, but one of them gives the user complete freedom to configure the chipset options, while the other motherboard only gives access to certain settings and applies fixed values to others.

All BIOSes are configured by default with a reasonable set of settings to allow the system to boot and run properly. Beyond that, it is up to you to choose the settings to configure your system to your liking and optimize its performance. Some BIOS settings are obvious things, such as time and date, power management, boot sequence, and so on. Others, especially those labeled Advanced Settings and Chipset Settings, are not so obvious. The brief help descriptions that come with them are usually not very helpful unless you already understand the subject. The most important rule is: "If you don't understand what a setting is for, don't change it."

This is easy to say, but it ignores the fact that accepting the defaults for obscure settings can cause your computer to perform well below its potential. PC and motherboard manufacturers vary in their "aggressiveness" in choosing default settings, especially for memory timing. Those who favor slower, more conservative default settings claim (with some justification) that they cannot predict what components the user will install, especially the speed and quality of memory. By choosing a conservative configuration, they can ensure that the motherboard is, if not optimal, at least capable. The most aggressive are usually computer manufacturers who control the specific memory and other components installed and assume that the user will want the highest performance possible and will use components that support these aggressive settings.

Detailed instructions on how to configure CMOS can be found in the computer or motherboard manual or on the website that supports the particular product. Some manufacturers provide detailed explanations of general CMOS settings and chipset configuration options, but many only discuss basic BIOS settings and ignore chipset configuration altogether. If this is the case for your manual, the best sources of information on advanced BIOS settings are Wim's BIOS (http://www.wimsbios.com) and Phil Croucher's The BIOS Companion (http://www.electrocution.com/biosc. htm).

Upgrading the BIOS

If you are upgrading your system without replacing the motherboard, the version of the BIOS you use can be a key factor. Some system features, such as support for faster or newer processors, large hard drives, high-speed transfer modes, and AGP, depend on the BIOS, so in-place upgrades often require a BIOS update as well. Fortunately, newer systems use a flash BIOS and can be upgraded by simply downloading a newer version of the BIOS to replace the existing one.

Do not take risks

Be very careful when updating your system BIOS. Make sure that the BIOS update patch you apply is an "accurate" patch for the current BIOS. Applying an incorrect BIOS update can render your motherboard unusable without having to send it to the factory for repair.

The exact method of BIOS update varies by motherboard manufacturer and model. Some motherboards are updated by simply copying the updated BIOS file to a floppy disk or CD and booting with it. Other motherboards use a DOS-based "flasher" program that runs from a floppy disk and installs the BIOS file when run. Intel motherboards support Intel Express BIOS Update, which allows you to update the BIOS from Windows by simply double-clicking on the executable file (fortunately, Intel also provides a disk-based BIOS update program that allows those of us with Linux or other non-Windows operating systems to update the BIOS).

Although updating the BIOS for the first or tenth time can be quite daunting, BIOS updates are usually successful if you follow the instructions to the letter. However, if you accidentally apply the wrong patch, or if the update process fails through no fault of your own, your computer may stop booting. If this happens, there may be no easy way to recover your data. Depending on your system BIOS, you can use one of the following methods to recover your data after a failed BIOS update.

Some motherboards have two BIOS chips. If one BIOS becomes corrupted during an update, you can boot from the other BIOS and reset the corrupted BIOS.

Intel motherboards have a jumper that sets the motherboard to one of three modes of operation: normal, BIOS update, and recovery. To update the BIOS, this jumper must be in update mode. If for some reason the update fails, you can set the jumper to the recovery position, which will give the motherboard enough intelligence to access the floppy drive at boot time and attempt to load the BIOS update from the floppy.