Scratched my Motherbaord

Dwarf · 16 Oct 2010

I'm sorry, but I would consider the board ruined.

Most motherboards are multi-layer boards, some with upto 6 layers of electrical tracks including the top (component side) and bottom (the back). These individual layers are not much thicker than a piece of thin card. Even if you can repair the damage to the tracks on the surface of the board (either top or bottom, whichever is damaged), it is not possible to repair the damage that may exist with the tracks on the internal layers.

Having said that, you have nothing to lose. It may be that you have only caused superficial damage which can be repaired with the use of an electrically conducting silver-based paint and a fine applicator. Be aware though, that if there is hidden damage to the inner layers, it is possible to destroy your CPU/RAM/PSU when you next power it up.

amandeepmail · 16 Oct 2010

@dwarf
have you seen the pics. does it look that bad? if yes, then what should i do?
I can't buy new one it costs RS. 20000+ in India. Its still in warranty, will they cover it?

Dwarf · 16 Oct 2010

It's hard to say what damage, if any, has been incurred by the inner layers. As regards warranties, then I'm sorry, but damage like this usually renders the warranty invalid.

pebbly · 16 Oct 2010

amandeepmail said:

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.

amandeepmail , If blue is not lit, red is not lit and yellow is lit , then this shows as being superficial surface damage with no interconnection between the tracks ,I think you have been very lucky this time , In future take more care

amandeepmail · 16 Oct 2010

But as per dwarf there are many layers and due to scratch internal layers might be damaged. I don't really want to buy a new motherboard knowing that this might be fine, but still i don't want to damage other parts of my pc (cpu, ram) by using the mobo.

pebbly · 16 Oct 2010

amandeepmail said:

But as per dwarf there are many layers and due to scratch internal layers might be damaged. I don't really want to buy a new motherboard knowing that this might be fine, but still i don't want to damage other parts of my pc (cpu, ram) by using the mobo.

looking at the photos' it looks like surface damage only ,Dwarf is correct in what he states as the mobo being multilayer and if sufficient depth of scratch as occured , then you would be looking at interconnection between the outer and inner layers of the board ,but in your case i personnally dont think the scratch is that deep

amandeepmail · 16 Oct 2010

Yup the scratch is not that deep. I rechecked and the yellow one is only lit and looks like it is fine. So, I applied some nail polish over it to prevent corrosion of visible copper. I took idea of applying nail polish from Google and hope it doesn't spoil anything.

I also checked that two lines go from CPU to DDR3_5 so will probably damage triple channel memory of its bad.

pbcopter · 16 Oct 2010

Hi,
First, I would not use a 9V battery to perform any tests. Since you don't know where those traces go, you could damage components that are connected with that much voltage.
From what I see, I doubt if you damaged any inner layers of the board, just my opinion.
The only concern I would have is with the two traces that are scratched next to each other.
I would get a magnifing lens and see if the copper from one was "smeared" to the other causing a short.
If not, then I would, in my opinion, say you were lucky and good to go.

amandeepmail · 16 Oct 2010

I used 1.5 V x 3 cells to perform the test. The tests are good and shows they are not short. So, I applied nail polish to cover it (thats what i had in home :)).

pbcopter · 16 Oct 2010

I probably would not have used nail polish since I don't know the conductivity or dielectric characteristics of it. Depending on what those traces are for, it may effect the circuit.