I was trying to remove the backplate and my hand slipped and I accidentally scratched it with the screwdriver. I think there used to be a transistor here. Is this fixable? I have basic soldering skills.

Edit: This is the back of the CPU socket so I’m kind of freaking out.

  • ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    1·
    2 months ago

    If you visually inspect it and it doesn’t appear the copper that is exposed is broken you’re probably okay. If the copper traces are broken the issue will be more instability/unable to post. If the traces are shorting (eg lifted from the board and touching) more damage could occur theoretically but you should be able to see this and the damage doesn’t look that extensive

    I would unplug all peripherals to test. Basically minimum needs to post - psu, cpu, 1 stick of ram. It’s very unlikely that anything would break but this ensures all that stays okay and more importantly eliminates a bunch of variables all at once

    • daggermoon@piefed.worldOPEnglish
      3·
      2 months ago

      I’m happy to say it works great and now that I installed the new cooler it works better than ever. Thank you for helping me overcome my doubts! Is the cooper okay being exposed though? I couldn’t find clear polish.

      • ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        1·
        2 months ago

        It’s not the end of the world but sealing it at some point is probably a good idea. Uv mask is the best option and is online even at places like amazon/ebay for like $8, often comes with a (shitty but workable uv lamp to cure it

        Clear nail polish might work too but I don’t know longevity, like if it would get hard and flake off after awhile especially with heat cycling inherent to that section of the motherboard

        Another cheap and easy option is kapton/polyimide tape, a roll of this is dirt cheap (unless you get a crazy amount), it’s non conductive, and it can withstand far more heat than your cpu will ever make. It’s just tape so you just stick it on there. But that’s the stuff I use to mask off sections of the board that I don’t want to get hot when I’m doing hot air rework soldering so it can easily withstand like 4-500F

      • rnercle@sh.itjust.works
        1·
        27 days ago

        exposed copper will oxide. Oxidation on a mechanical piece, i wouldn’t care. On a board, you better cover it.