Troubleshooting a Damaged Motherboard: My Journey from Frustration to Fix

Hello everyone,

Recently, I faced a rather daunting challenge while attempting to clean my PC. With the intention of removing dust buildup, I resorted to using compressed air. Unfortunately, during this process, some fluid from the can made contact with my motherboard (mobo), but it evaporated quickly.

While cleaning, I encountered difficulty detaching my GPU due to the size of my CPU cooler. In an attempt to resolve this, I mistakenly used a screwdriver on the small latch of the PCIe slot, which resulted in scratching the motherboard. This has caused me considerable concern about whether I might have damaged vital traces on the board.

Ever since the incident, my computer refuses to boot — not even reaching the BIOS screen. Instead, it enters a continuous cycle of rebooting, leaving me with nothing but a blank screen. I’ve dealt with similar issues in the past that were resolved by adjusting RAM connections, but this situation feels different.

I did manage to capture an image of the scratch for reference:

Did I inadvertently ruin my motherboard? I would greatly appreciate any insights or assistance.

Update on the Situation:

For clarity, my setup includes an Aorus Elite Z390 motherboard paired with a 9700K CPU. Notably, the motherboard’s status LED is lighting up red — a detail I found in the manual on Page 21.

I’ve tried resetting the CMOS, removing and re-seating the GPU, SSD, sound card, and RAM—switching RAM slots in the process. However, my efforts have been stymied in accessing the CPU pins due to the NH-D15 cooler being incredibly large, and I lack thermal paste to remove it safely.

I found discussions online suggesting that a short between traces could potentially lead to issues. Unfortunately, I do not have the necessary skills or tools for soldering repairs, so I’m leaning towards alternative solutions. My plan for tomorrow includes picking up thermal paste and a replacement motherboard. Initially, I’ll try reseating everything on the original board before moving on to the new one. I’ve even wondered if it’s worth booting the system with just the motherboard and power connected to see if it starts.

**Final Update