Of all the components that a PC has, there is no doubt that when it comes to assembly, the most delicate of all is the motherboard socketwith hundreds of thin pins that, if not careful, can end up bending or even breaking. This is not the first time we find ourselves in this situation, but is it possible? fix really a pin on the motherboard socket that is broken? The answer is yes, although, as we will explain below, it is a process that requires quite a bit of skill.
Usually when you buy a new motherboard, if it came with a broken or bent pin, you can use the warranty and you won’t have to try to repair it or directly throw away the motherboard. However, if the pin broke due to poor handling on your part or if the card is already out of warranty, then the story changes quite a bit. We do not recommend that you try it, but if you have the tools, the capacity and above all the desire… by power, it is possible.
How to Fix a Motherboard Socket Pin
A Chinese enthusiast demonstrated how to repair the motherboard socket simply with a lot of care, but also with a lot of sight and above all a lot of pulse. One of the biggest problems is that on current Intel and AMD platforms the card socket pins are not rigid, as was the case for example on AMD’s AM4 platform, which also , the pins were on the processor and not on the motherboard. They are curved to ensure better contact and also act as a shock absorber when we place the processor on top.
Damaged pins can sometimes be realigned with great care and precision tools, but there is a risk that in trying to do so they will break. If the pin is too far from its original position, most people would throw that motherboard in the trash, but bilibili user Mu Ziwen showed that a broken pin can be replaced with a set of Pretty basic tools.
Here is the process the user followed to complete the repair:
- Using tweezers, a heat gun and very carefully, remove the broken pin completely.
- Heat the pin to around 300 degrees with the heat gun, give it the appropriate shape and place it in place using tweezers.
- Let it cool and check with the tweezers that the pin is secure and does not move from its place.
- Using a multimeter, check that the pin has power.
- Place the processor and test to see if it works.
In this user’s case, he was lucky and the first time he managed to get the system to boot. In his case, the faulty pin prevented the system from properly detecting RAM, and after this process he managed to boot the computer without problems.
This process obviously demonstrates that through the power supply a broken motherboard pin can be repaired, and in this case simply with tweezers and a heat gun. Of course, the user warns that you have to be careful with the temperature and not exceed the 300ºC that we mentioned previously, because if you reach around 400ºC the plastics in the socket will start to melt.
