Dealing with a Scratched Motherboard: My Troubleshooting Journey

Greetings everyone,

Today, I want to share a daunting experience I faced while attempting to clean my PC, which ended in a bit of a disaster. In an effort to maintain optimal performance, I decided to use compressed air to remove dust from the internal components. Unfortunately, a small mishap occurred during this seemingly simple task.

While cleaning, I inadvertently sprayed a minor amount of fluid onto my motherboard (Mobo). This quickly evaporated, but I was unaware that I was also causing damage in a different manner. When I attempted to detach my GPU, I grappled with the CPU cooler that was, regrettably, quite large. In the heat of the moment, I resorted to using a screwdriver to unfasten the latch on the PCIe slot, accidentally scratching the motherboard in the process.

Now, my once-reliable PC refuses to start. It loops endlessly while displaying a black screen, and no signs of life come from the BIOS. In the past, I encountered a similar issue, but that was easily resolved by properly reseating my RAM—a step I confidently ruled out this time.

Check out this image of the scratch. – Am I facing a motherboard crisis?

I truly appreciate any insights or advice on this matter!

Update on My Situation

After some reflection and research, I found myself back at the drawing board. Additional pictures can be found here for further analysis.

Motherboard Model: Aorus Elite Z390
CPU: Intel 9700K

The status LED on the motherboard lights up red, which I found concerning. For reference, you can review the manual here (see page 21 for specific details).

In my troubleshooting process, I reset the CMOS, removed components like the GPU, SSD, and sound card, and reseated the RAM in different slots. I double-checked all cables, but I avoided removing the CPU due to the constraints posed by my NH-D15 cooler, which would require new thermal paste—something I don’t currently have access to while the stores are closed.

Many individuals suggested a potential short between the traces might be the culprit. My lack of soldering skills