how do I test a motherboard if its working properly?

Question

I just bought a refurbished motherboard is there a way to test if the motherboard is working properly or you just have to see if everything boots up? and if everything boots up fine it means its working?

Answer 1

Yeah, you pretty much got to boot it up. But you don't need to totally install it in a tower case to do that. Just lay the MB on a table. Plug in the cables from the power supply (if you have one laying around, otherwise you're gonna have to sit it real close to the case). Plug in video card and at least 1 stick of memory. You don't need to install floppies, hard drives or cd's for this test.

So 1Mb, 1 Video Card, 1 Stick of Memory, 1 Power supply sitting on a table is enough to do a test.

Answer 2

Yep, that's pretty much it. Most mainboard manufacturers have test board systems that can test a mainboard.

In your situation you can check for any bubbled or blown capacitors by a physical inspection of the board. Other then that you just have to boot it up. The BIOS ROM will run a few tests anyway.