Motherboards are essential components of computers because they connect all the different parts. So, if something bad happens to your motherboard and it gets bricked, it can be a terrifying experience. But what is a bricked motherboard?
A bricked motherboard is a motherboard that has completely stopped working. This most commonly happens after the BIOS has been updated. If the motherboard has never worked even when brand-new, then it is dead on arrival (DOA). The term “bricked” is often used with technology, which includes other computer parts like your graphics card as well.
But can you fix a bricked motherboard? What is a bricked motherboard? You can learn about that as well as how to avoid bricking your motherboard by reading the whole article.
What Is a Bricked Motherboard?
So, if you have bricked your motherboard, it won’t start up or the BIOS does not work, but the system boots into Windows. The term “bricked” comes from the word “brick“, which implies that your once functioning motherboard is now a completely useless brick. So, what is a bricked motherboard?
It is a motherboard that has been rendered useless and it is irreversible. In other words, it can’t be fixed using conventional methods. But don’t lose hope just yet because, more often than not, the term “bricked” is also used for temporary states.
Before even determining that your motherboard is bricked, you have to actually rule out other options. It could be that you just need to reset your BIOS. To do this, locate and take out the CMOS battery on your motherboard for half a minute and then put it back in. Next, turn on your computer and open your BIOS. This should fix any unusual errors with your BIOS.
If your computer still does not work after a CMOS reset but you can enter your BIOS, you are in a good spot. You can use another computer to download the BIOS image on your USB stick and then install the update through the BIOS.
But what if your computer won’t turn on at all and you know that all your other components are fine? If you have a dual BIOS motherboard, the first logical step is to switch the BIOS from primary to secondary. The secondary BIOS is the original backup BIOS, so it should work just fine. But what can you do if your motherboard does not have two BIOSes?
In that case, your motherboard is bricked and it can’t be fixed, at least not using conventional methods. You will have to RMA the motherboard or take it to a professional who can replace the physical chip where the BIOS is stored on your motherboard. Once that is done, the motherboard should work like brand new.
So, those were some methods that you can use to fix a bricked motherboard. But why does the motherboard get bricked in the first place?
By far the most common reason why people brick their motherboards is BIOS updates. It does not matter whether you are using the Windows program for your motherboard or flash the BIOS yourself via USB, a new BIOS update can brick your motherboard. The rule of thumb here is that you never update your BIOS unless absolutely necessary.
Even if you do all steps correctly, a BIOS update always has a small chance of bricking your motherboard. Moreover, if a power outage happens during the update, the motherboard will be bricked. That’s why having a dual BIOS motherboard is such a convenient feature.
Conclusion
A bricked motherboard does not work at all or not properly. It is broken and has to be sent back to the manufacturer for repairs or a replacement. A motherboard gets bricked when a BIOS update has not been installed properly. The only way to repair a completely bricked motherboard is to replace the physical BIOS chip on the motherboard itself to make it work again.
Naturally, dual BIOS motherboards have a great advantage here. If a new BIOS update has bricked your main BIOS, you can use the backup BIOS to boot your system and then attempt to install the new BIOS update again on the main BIOS. But the main takeaway is that you do not update your BIOS if you do not need it in the first place.