State and explain the causes of motherboard failure.

i. Electrical Surges or Spikes
An electric surge or spike is an energy bust in the electrical circuit. Usually, the spike is
fast and short-lived. This may be caused by wiring issues, appliances that consume high
energy, lightning strike, or issues related to power services outside your home.
However, electric spikes normally are because of a lightning strike. Lightning causes
unexpected changes in voltage damaging delicate circuits.
If you connect your PC to a power outlet that witnesses frequent fluctuations in power
supply, you are likely to spoil the Motherboard.
Though, in most cases, you will not observe immediate damages; it causes damages as
time goes by.
Ensure you use surge protectors of high quality to protect the Motherboard from
electrical surge or spikes.
Quality protectors are capable of neutralizing the effects of the spike. It is challenging to
control lightning strikes from affecting your Motherboard.

ii. Heating Issues
The Motherboard can overheat when you perform multiple activities simultaneously with the PC
and a continuous supply of power. Make sure that you leave the computer for some time to rest
when you are watching videos, gaming, etc. another thing that can make the Motherboard
overheat is the clogging of the computer fans. You already know that the work of the fans is to
ensure cooling when the computer is running. When the fans are blocking, it will mean an
insufficient supply of cool air in the computer hence overheating. Power supply fluctuations in
the PC or in the Motherboard’s circuit can also be the reason your computer is overheating.
Avoid using your laptop while it is on a soft surface or your lap covers up exhaust and intake
fans leading to overheating your computer.
However, you can avoid the problem of overheating by making sure the fan basins are clean
and clear.
Give the PC time to rest after using it to perform heavy tasks. Place your computer on cold hard
surfaces in a cooler room to minimize the overheating problem.
You can also decide to install software that tracks the temperature in your computers, such as
Speed Fan or Real Temp.

iii. Dust, debris, and Pet hair
Pet hair, dust, and debris can contribute to destroying your Motherboard. These substances
clog your machine hence making air circulation a problem in your PC. This greatly affects
the cooling system. This means that you will experience the problem of overheating in your
computer.

iv. Water Spill
Accidental spills on your Motherboard can greatly damage the circuits leading to motherboard
failure. In case of spills on your PC, avoid turning it on and rather take it immediately to a
qualified repair shop.

v. Design Defects
Motherboards are produced in high numbers, and thus manufacturer’s defects might be
witnessed. Cheap motherboards tend to fail more quickly. The manufacturer may have
made faults when installing the capacitors, and that is the reason the Motherboard will
fail at some point.
If the Motherboard’s bus architecture were not engineered in the correct way, cooling
issues leading to the board’s failure would face the PC.
Dealing with motherboard defects is expensive, and for that reason, they have a warranty
to cater for expenses that may come up within the warranty period. The only
disadvantage with these warranties is that they do not cover problems generated by the
user and mostly last for one year. Not all time that the manufacturer will admit to being
responsible for the faulty design.

vi. Normal wear and aging
As much as you will care about the Motherboard, it will, in the end, fail. It is a board
composed of electric circuits having a specific life span. The Motherboard can work for
50’000 hrs. even more if you care about it properly. They will reach a certain limit where
they fail, and you have to replace it or buy a new computer. The best thing is that when you
know the thing leading to your motherboard failure, you can easily prevent the issue from
minimizing the problem.

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Kavungya answered the question on September 1, 2021 at 04:45