Troubleshooting MOBOs takes a lot of time (measuring traces / capacitors / chips) and a lot of equipment. Once you find a problem repairing it is not that paramount either. This is why I personally harvest removable chips and then put the MOBO in for recycling. Obviously for people with the skills / tools / time it makes more sense to repair it. 😀

Weird problems with multiple motherboards, CPUs, and memories, usually not POSTing, points to a bad PSU.

But if "washed" means submerged in water then you may have worse problems now.

I've read several times about people putting their retro hardware in the wash and was always under the impression that electronics and water just don't mix. Compressed air and a cloth brings filthy old hardware up like new again every time....minus the water!

My Abit IS-7 turned out fine after a shower 😊

I only do it for very filthy boards. Some boards you do wonder a bit...

I wouldn't wash electronics with regular water.. maybe distilled water but not tap water.

No, not submerging in water. Merely giving each board a shower. This has helped quite a few times, but mostly on boards that POST, but produce other problems like instability. This has been discussed before and the trick is to let them dry properly.

The thing is, these boards were producing these results before I gave them a wash. Nothing changed. A couple of others I washed turned out fine. Not much use for them though, they're Apollo Pro 133 based and I'm rather looking for a 440BX board for example.

Also, it's not the PSU, I've tried different ones, just in case, and the result was exactly the same.

F2bnp wrote:

I'm rather looking for a 440BX board for example.

If you are looking for a 440BX MB, there is nothing like brand new:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009K779I/r … 0?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also, if you are buying from eBay, I have found that purchasing used motherboards is best done through the original owner. The sellers who sell equipment that they know nothing about tend to be far less reliable so far as good quality out of the box goes.

The term "tested and working" has a lot of room for interpretation on eBay and I have been burned on supposedly "Mint, Like new, In box" motherboards that turned out to be crap. Some people sell stuff as new "open box" just because it has the box. Certainly doesn't make the contents new- often makes the contents a warranty exchange w/ install by done by shop and crap MB placed back into the box. Know what I mean? Anyway- I look for stuff that has a known history from the original owner these days. So far, that strategy is working out just fine.

Half-Saint wrote:

I wouldn't wash electronics with regular water.. maybe distilled water but not tap water.

This. I'm not sure why this is so popular, since it seems like a really bad idea. Leaving minerals all over the board certainly won't help its long-term function.

d1stortion wrote:

Half-Saint wrote:

I wouldn't wash electronics with regular water.. maybe distilled water but not tap water.

This. I'm not sure why this is so popular, since it seems like a really bad idea. Leaving minerals all over the board certainly won't help its long-term function.

Some boards are in such bad shape that it doesn't matter and usually the only way to clean them but too valuable to ditch. It all depends on the methods and how the boards are dried, using compressed air to dry the boards works best. I have had to wash several boards multiple times before they would work but those were salvaged from machines that were left rusting on a farm for more than a year by the time I got them. Some boards had no trouble at all but a few had serious issues, leaking batteries does far more damage than tap water. If your tap water is too bad for washing boards you shouldn't drink with it either. In some places the tap water is so bad that some have to fork out thousands on filtration systems (high iron content ect).

Don't wash your boards in water... This won't help one bit. If you want to get your boards spotless, just vacuum them with a brush attachment. Washing with soap and water is only useful for reviving boards with gum residue like tar from heavy exposure to cigarette smoke, and the likes.

I'm 99% sure the boards just need capacitor replacement. All those boards you listed came with poor quality caps in the first place IIRC.

🤣

I actually have one of these little USB PC vacuum cleaners. I think I got it from our local Woolworths. Must give it a go on the next dirty motherboard 😀

nforce4max wrote:

d1stortion wrote:

Half-Saint wrote:

I wouldn't wash electronics with regular water.. maybe distilled water but not tap water.

This. I'm not sure why this is so popular, since it seems like a really bad idea. Leaving minerals all over the board certainly won't help its long-term function.

Some boards are in such bad shape that it doesn't matter and usually the only way to clean them but too valuable to ditch. It all depends on the methods and how the boards are dried, using compressed air to dry the boards works best. I have had to wash several boards multiple times before they would work but those were salvaged from machines that were left rusting on a farm for more than a year by the time I got them. Some boards had no trouble at all but a few had serious issues, leaking batteries does far more damage than tap water. If your tap water is too bad for washing boards you shouldn't drink with it either. In some places the tap water is so bad that some have to fork out thousands on filtration systems (high iron content ect).

I'm not sure how drinkability of water is relevant here. As a general rule, tap water does contain electrolytes and there is always a chance of them accumulating somewhere on the board and shorting something out. Maybe this isn't very likely unless the water is very hard, but why take any chances?

If it's really dirty but valuable there are enough other options like compressed air, distilled water, a toothbrush and maybe soap. I wouldn't use a vacuum cleaner because of the static electricity it can create.

I think I should have never mentioned washing those boards...

I have had motherboard that were from computers taken out of warehouses. They were covered in a black soot. I used automotive break cleaner on them with great results. Break cleaner evaporates quickly, does not leave a residue, and is non-conductive.

Our earliers two office computers were of the Asus P4P800 family. They both died on the job.
One died of the mysterious power issues we had in that particular office room, where several electronic devices just dead over the years. It wasn't really dead though, it just locked up often.
The other P4P800 was my own, and was always treated well. It was functional for 6 years before it became totally unresponsive. I guess the Pentium 4 power requirement stressed it too much.

F2bnp wrote:

I think I should have never mentioned washing those boards...

🤣

intel wrote:

I have had motherboard that were from computers taken out of warehouses. They were covered in a black soot. I used automotive break cleaner on them with great results. Break cleaner evaporates quickly, does not leave a residue, and is non-conductive.

Not a good idea... It's probably very corrosive, and if you didn't meticulously blow-dry underneath the BGAs, it's almost guaranteed that some got left underneath the chips.

mockingbird wrote:

intel wrote:

I have had motherboard that were from computers taken out of warehouses. They were covered in a black soot. I used automotive break cleaner on them with great results. Break cleaner evaporates quickly, does not leave a residue, and is non-conductive.

Not a good idea... It's probably very corrosive, and if you didn't meticulously blow-dry underneath the BGAs, it's almost guaranteed that some got left underneath the chips.

I did not dry them at all. The boards have been running solid for almost six years now. Break cleaner is not corrosive your are thinking of carb cleaner that stuff will eat away at pcb.

I checked the MSDS of a brake cleaner brand... It said 85% or so petroleum solvent (probably a clean hydrocarbon like charcoal fluid), and 15% alcohol. Is this not the case with your brand of brake cleaner? I've got to admit though, charcoal fluid does evaporate pretty well... Maybe their is something to your way. More expensive than detergent though.