Windows 7: Scratched my Motherbaord

amandeepmail · 16 Oct 2010

I scratched my motherboard while removing the Heat Sink of the CPU. Actually, its the opposite side of motherboard where you mount the Heat Sink Holder bracket. While removing it i scratched hard on the motherboard and it looks damaged. I can't test it by starting it as I don't have other stuff ready. But I have uploaded some pics and you can tell if it is bad enough to cause damage.

PS: My Motherboard is Gigabyte EX58-Extreme

LiquidSnak · 16 Oct 2010

Do you have a test light handy? If so, grab a 9V battery, and hook up one side of the test light to the - side of the battery, and another wire to one end of the scratch. Run the probe end along the scratch lightly, and if it lights up (without physically touching the other wire), you have likely damaged the motherboard.

amandeepmail · 16 Oct 2010

I think if it lights up then the motherboard should be fine because there is not damage to continuity of current. Am i correct?

LiquidSnak · 16 Oct 2010

A motherboard is basically a Printed Circuit Board, or PCB. It is a giant sandwich of conducting and insulating layers of materials with paths for each circuit to follow on the motherboard.

Quote:

Conducting layers are typically made of thin copper foil. Insulating layers dielectric are typically laminated together with epoxy resin prepreg. The board is typically coated with a solder mask that is green in color. Other colors that are normally available are blue and red. There are quite a few different dielectrics that can be chosen to provide different insulating values depending on the requirements of the circuit. Some of these dielectrics are polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon), FR-4, FR-1, CEM-1 or CEM-3. Well known prepreg materials used in the PCB industry are FR-2 (Phenolic cotton paper), FR-3 (Cotton paper and epoxy), FR-4 (Woven glass and epoxy), FR-5 (Woven glass and epoxy), FR-6 (Matte glass and polyester), G-10 (Woven glass and epoxy), CEM-1 (Cotton paper and epoxy), CEM-2 (Cotton paper and epoxy), CEM-3 (Woven glass and epoxy), CEM-4 (Woven glass and epoxy), CEM-5 (Woven glass and polyester). Thermal expansion is an important consideration especially with BGA and naked die technologies, and glass fiber offers the best dimensional stability.

For a more in depth test to ensure no damage has been done, can you see each pathway right there, just below the surface? Touch the side by side paths with one end each of the test circuit. If there is a light, that is possible damage. If you touch the same path on either side of the wire, and you get a light, that means that the path is still good.

Basically. what you don't want to have happened is:

1. Severed a connection that was there already.

2. Created a connection that should not be there.

amandeepmail · 16 Oct 2010

Thanks for the help but i find it very confusing (i am not that good at hardware). I am not getting what to do? Is there a video demonstration at Youtube for such task? Any other method to test?

LiquidSnak · 16 Oct 2010

Frack, this is hard to explain on the internet. Let me see if I can find a video, and if I cannot, I will try to find a crappy old board in my stash and make a video for you

amandeepmail · 16 Oct 2010

No, you don't need to go that deep.

Look what I just performed.

1. I took one small light, 1 cell and wires.
2. I made the circuit.
3. When I touch one end of wire to scratch 1 and other to scratch 2 or 3 there is no light.
4. When I touch one end of wire to scratch one's top and other to scratch ones bottom there is light. Same goes with other scratch 2 and 3.

What do I conclude?

LiquidSnak · 16 Oct 2010

I have marked 3 sets of points. Can you test and report back? These are my major areas of concern.

LiquidSnak · 16 Oct 2010

Anywhoosle, if 2 is lit, it's good, if 1 and/or 3 are lit, try to track down where the traces go, and if they interconnect elsewhere you're all good, if it's not lit, then you're likely good.

I am off to dream land now, but I will reply to questions when I am conscious again

amandeepmail · 16 Oct 2010

Red- Not Lit
Yellow- Lit
Blue- Not lit

It was very tough to test as wires kept on moving from their place as it was very hard to hold them at one place.

Windows 7: Scratched my Motherbaord

Scratched my Motherbaord problems?