good mobo diagnostic tool?

[sykopath79]

Where I work we use a program called PC Check for hardware diagnostics, since it will check all the basic components (CPU, mobo, RAM, hard disk, etc.). However, I often work on systems where I determine that the motherboard is bad however PC Check passes all the mobo tests.

Can anyone recommend good motherboard diagnostic software? Preferably freeware, though shareware/licensed recommendations are good also.

 

[Navid]

Check these two out and see if either is good enough for you.

http://www.lavalys.com/product...p;lang=en&pageid=3
This is Everest. The home version is free. It has 2 benchmarks and lots of diagnostics.

http://www.sisoftware.net/
This is SiSoftware Sandra
It has a free version.
It has many benchmarks and diagnostics.

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php
This is CPU-Z.
It is a very simple diagnostic tool. It shows you things like FSB, CPU and memory frequency.
It also shows you if your memory is running in dual-channel mode or not.
It is not as extensive as Everest or Sandra.

 

[Zap]

What is the nature of the problems you are trying to diagnose? I've been using PCCheck by Eurosoft for years (uh, around 8 years maybe) and it will pass systems that are flakey. It also (of course) can't check for driver problems or for incompatibilities (such as a particular card not working in a particular PCI slot).

Besides just swapping out the motherboard to see if the problem disappears, take a good look at the capacitors on the motherboard. If even a single one is bulging or leaking, time to tell the customer they need a new motherboard.

 

[sykopath79]

Oh yeah we are quite familiar with the bulging/leaking caps problem where I work (we even have a couple dead mobos with 8-9 severely corroded capacitors that we keep on hand as examples to show to customers of what bad caps can look like).

I am not trying to troubleshoot a particular issue at the moment, I have just been frustrated on a few instances lately with systems where I have deduced that some component on the motherboad is the source of the problems, but I am not able to determine precisely what on the motherboard has gone bad (no visible damage).

I am asking more for the sake of having something which will sate my curiosity and tell me more specifically what the failure is, and not for the sake of being able to tell the customer, since for 90% of customers, "your motherboard is bad" is a sufficient explanation.