Troubleshooting a PC Startup Failure: Lessons Learned from a Scratch on the Motherboard

In the ever-evolving realm of PC building and maintenance, mistakes are an inevitable part of the learning process. Recently, I found myself in a frustrating situation that I believe could serve as a cautionary tale for fellow DIY enthusiasts. I wanted to share my experience, hoping it might help others avoid similar pitfalls.

The Incident

During a routine cleaning session, I decided to use a can of compressed air to blow out the dust within my computer. Unfortunately, a bit of fluid from the can inadvertently made contact with my motherboard, but it evaporated quickly.

While attempting to detach my graphics card, I encountered another challenge: my large CPU cooler obstructed access to the PCIe latch. In an attempt to finesse it open using a screwdriver, I accidentally scratched the motherboard. Immediately, I felt a twinge of concern—had I damaged critical traces on the board?

After this mishap, my PC refused to boot. It wouldn’t even reach the BIOS; instead, it repeatedly rebooted, displaying a persistent black screen. I remembered a previous experience where similar symptoms were resolved by properly re-seating the RAM, but this time, that wasn’t the issue.

Seeking Solutions

I reached out to the community for advice, sharing the scratch and detailing my setup, which included an Aorus Elite Z390 motherboard and an Intel 9700K CPU. The LED status indicator on the motherboard lit up red, suggesting a problem. I undertook various troubleshooting steps, such as:

• Resetting the CMOS
• Unseating and reseating the GPU, SSD, sound card, and RAM (even testing different RAM slots)
• Double-checking all connected cables

Despite these efforts, my PC remained unresponsive. I couldn’t access the CPU pins without removing the NH-D15 cooler, which posed an additional hurdle due to the need for thermal paste that I didn’t have on hand.

Many suggested the possibility of creating a short between traces, leading to further damage, even if the traces themselves appeared intact. It became clear that my skills didn’t extend to motherboard soldering, so I decided to seek a more straightforward fix.

The Resolution

After much deliberation and conversation with knowledgeable friends, I made the decision to purchase a new Aorus Elite Z390 motherboard. I began by reseating everything