motherboards

Larry is having an issue where the computer he built is suddenly freezing up and not letting it reboot. So he's gotten into the habit of using a bootable backup. But now he can't get the computer to boot back up. Leo says that most problems like this can be solved by just reinstalling Windows from scratch and starting over. But if it's freezing during the boot, then it could be a host of things, including cabling. One key is to wait for the "beeps," or Power On Self Test (POST). If it beeps, that indicates an issue.  Also, pull out your dedicated video card and try rebooting.

Brant is having an intermittent problem with his USB ports not working. He has to reboot to get them working again. Leo says it could be hardware or software. Hardware-wise, the solders could be coming off and the computer has to warm up to reseat the solder connections. The easy fix is to get a USB card to add to your system and bypass the onboard connections altogether. It could also be your computer is underpowered or your power supply is getting flakey. Try unplugging your USB items and reboot. If could also be a bad USB driver. You can try removing them and then rebooting.

PJ replaced his Windows XP machine with Windows 8.1. But lately, he's gotten the "amber light of death" and it won't boot up. His tech guy says he needs a new computer. But could he replace the motherboard? Leo says it could be a power supply, so swap that out first. If that doesn't work, then check the RAM. It may be that the RAM has become unseated and the computer can't load into it. You also want to be sure that the cables are all connected. PJ replaced the motherboard and it's worked ever since. 

Jeremy wants to know if he should get a new sound card for his computer. Leo says that today's motherboards have really good sound cards built right on the board. They're very good for 99% of all sound needs. You'd need to be a hardcore gamer or recorder to squeeze that extra percent out, and most people won't even be able to tell. 

Can you trust a motherboard for $59? Leo says that it depends. Gigabyte, Asus, Acer are all good brands, and they're also very affordable. PC Perspective likes MSI and they're around that price.

Frank is having trouble getting his PC to boot up. He's replaced the power supply, but it still doesn't work. Leo says if there's no power on self-test (three beeps), and the fans are coming on, then it's likely a dead motherboard. Can he just replace the CPU without the motherboard or vice versa? Leo says if the power supply is eliminated as a culprit, then Frank could try replacing the processor and see what happens. But before he does that, he should pull all the USB devices and see if they're the culprit. It could be a short in his USB hub. There's so many possibilities.

John wants to know if he can reactivate Windows after replacing the Motherboard. Leo says he probably can. He'll just have to contact Microsoft and tell them what he's had to replace, and they will understand and authenticate. If he replaced more than half the computer, they may take issue. But with just replacing the motherboard, he should be able to get it authenticated. Windows may reject him when he tries, but then he can just contact Microsoft.

Bret has to constantly change the time on his computer because it keeps going back to another time zone. Leo says that he'll need to go into the settings and look for the time zone for his area. For New Jersey, it would be UTC-5. If the problem still perstists, then it could be a dying battery of the motherboard. That battery looks like a coin.

Brad built a computer running Windows and now it just shuts down while he's still using it. Leo says it sounds like a bad power supply. Brad replaced it, though. Leo says that's the downside of building his own machine -- he'll have to hunt down the problem himself. Leo suspects that since the power supply didn't fix it, the motherboard is probably the culprit. It could have been from a power surge. He should try replacing the battery for the BIOS and see if that resets it. If that doesn't work, it could be the motherboard. The next thing to address would be the CPU.