Anyone have tips on repairing a broken/burnt/lifted trace on a PC motherboard?

What plugs into that empty slot to the right of the burnt trace? My guess that trace connects to it and what was plugged into shorted.
 
When I got the machine it had two sticks of RAM. One 8gb and 0ne 2Gb. I notice the machine was specced as coming with only one stick of 8Gb, so that's what I put back in. And it's currently running with that single 8Gb stick.

EDIT: That trace goes towards the first (closest to CPU) memory slot. But it might stop there or continue on to the second memory slot. I can't really tell

The 8Gb stick I'm using is in the first slot, closest to CPU.
 
You'll need a lot of tools but eve that won't guarantee a repair. Just buy a new pc or build one yourself its not too hard
 
Toss t he 2G stick. It's not worth much if it still works. And if its shorted and you try to use it.... You know the routine.
 
small one might be wrong voltage . hard to say what happened . what counts is its working .

Agreed though I'm still trying to see if you guys know something that I don't. Is bad RAM something that typically blows out a mobo, versus some other factor ?


You'll need a lot of tools but eve that won't guarantee a repair. Just buy a new pc or build one yourself its not too hard

Look back earlier in this thread. The machine is up and running. I'm using it to type this message.....


Toss t he 2G stick. It's not worth much if it still works. And if its shorted and you try to use it.... You know the routine.

Yeah.....I'm a little nervous about plugging that 2Gb RAM in now with the suggestion that bad RAM is what caused this. Part of the reason I left it out is because it appeared to be the only thing that didn't originally come with this machine. We know the 8Gb stick is ok !
 
maybe study the ram on the net to see if it happened before . also check specs .
in any case if it only runs on 8 it is no use adding more as it wont work unless you are a geek
 
maybe study the ram on the net to see if it happened before . also check specs .
in any case if it only runs on 8 it is no use adding more as it wont work unless you are a geek
The sad news is anyone that is reading this thread is geek. or wanna bee geek. Yours in geekness,
Mac
 
I think I'm gonna leave it as is and call it a win.....

IIRC this machine will support up to 32Gb RAM, ........ but 8Gb is what it was supplied with and is probably sufficient for my use.

I ran Belarc Advisor and it says I have 8098 Mb useable on an 8192 stick...... so that seems normal.
 
Got it....... so does that mean that onboard gpu stresses RAM (and the traces on the mobo related to RAM) more than if you have a separate gpu?

Based on what was left on the HDD by the previous owner, it looks like he was trying to do some gaming on this machine.
 
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the fact that it came with two unmatched sticks of ram is a bad sign. Just go to PC part picker dot com and you can build your own pc and it automatically tells you what parts are compatible with each other
 
Burned trace like that is not likely to be from a "just over the limit" component. That looks more like a "poof" event, where something drew at least one amp of current, and possibly more. Could be incorrect spec add-on, faulty or dying add-on, or hot-plugging when one shouldn't, causing quick short. You've got it running, and if it works to your satisfaction, I wouldn't "poke the bear".

Chip
 
You'll need a lot of tools but eve that won't guarantee a repair. Just buy a new pc or build one yourself its not too hard

th e fact that it came with two unmatched sticks of ram is a bad sign. Just go to PC part picker dot com and you can build your own pc and it automatically tells you what parts are compatible with each other

Hi Nick. Not sure if you caught it or not but this thing is fixed. I removed the damaged portion of the trace and soldered in a jumper wire and it's up and running.

I picked up the computer because it was only $5 cash out of my pocket, and I figured worst case if it was malfunctioning /dead it still likely could offer up more than $5 worth of parts. Best case, ..... it might work..... and that's exactly where we're at now. Seems like a nice little machine.

I don't just automatically disregard a machine because it doesn't work, then run out and buy, or build, a new one. For the record I've built several systems over the years. My office computer, all four of the kids computers, media computers for the bedroom and family room. Last year I built a cool little "silent" machine with zero moving parts using an AMD apu, Gskill RAM, Asrock mobo, a laptop power supply, Solid state drive and Arctic fanless chiller.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index....-parts-desktop-pc-build.768105/#post-10498349

I also inherited ( $0) and modded a cool system from a friend that I use in the basement. A bit dated as it uses an Intel 9550 processor and is housed in a beautiful Lian Li aluminum case . Currently I've got another system I'm cobbling together from some new parts I have laying around. AMD x4 860k processor, Gigabyte MATX mobo, Gskill RAM, SSD and HDD, DVD-RW. Just waiting on my PS and SSD to show up in the mail. Got a monster Zalman CPU chiller to mount on there.....it might get the job done without a fan.... we'll see.

Anyway back to the $5 system I agree with you about the mismatched RAM. Unfortunately no way I can go back and find out the history of this thing. For all I know the previous owner might have tried to install that second stick of RAM while the machine was running...... who knows? Or maybe there was a power surge at the house, or lightning or ?????? I'm just gonna' leave it's 8gb in place and call it a day.
 
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ahh i wasn't sure if you were just one of those "old farts" (nothing wrong with being one) who didn't understand the first thing about fixing a computer. No offense but most people in the audiophile community seem to be older as "kids these days" dont have the appreciation for music like kids used to.

Me and my dad (im 19) built two computers. One with 32 gigs of Gskill ram and an intel core i7 6700k along with an AMD vega 64 in a all tempered glass PC case and the other in a BeQuiet case with dual AMD Radeon RX 480's and an intel i7 7700k. needless to say, i do not suffer from low FPS syndrome.
 
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