Scratch on PCB While Removing CPU Heatsink

[RickGG]

I just noticed that there is a tiny scratch (about 3 cm) on the PCB near the AM2 socket heatsink harness on my brand new ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition board. I am not sure if I did this or if it came like that, but I have two questions:

1. Is it possible to repair the scratch using some sort of compound (provided there isn't any circuit damage)
2. Could this scratch cause strange problems in the future if the board boots fine now?

To give you an idea of where the sratch is, it is just left of the left side notch on the AM2 fan/heatsink harness.

TIA,

Rick

 

[tool_462]

If it works fine now, I doubt anything will go wrong. I don't think it will degrade over time, and if you don't see any cut circuits it should be ok. How deep is the scratch? Like can you hook your finger nail in it? Or just a very light scratch.

 

[Slobogob]

Put some tape on it to prevent processor goblins to crawl into the gap. Otherwise they´ll dig a tunnel to your CPU and start eating your Athlon like a box of fruit loops.

 

[RickGG]

Hi,

The scratch looks pretty minor. It just looks like the PCB coating flecked off to expose copper or some metallic layer.

Do you know of any way to "touch it up" so that the metal is not exposed?

 

[misry]

Clear fingernail polish. Let dry a couple of days if you are as paranoid as I was the first time I did that.

 

[dean7]

If it's not causing any problems now, it seems unlikely that it will be an issue in the future. But, if some sort of metal is showing, you might want to look in to getting your mobo RMAd just for your peace of mind.

 

[bazza]

you can clean it then stick some gauze tape on it

as long as it isnt broken it'll be fine

if it needs to be RMA'd sometime, i'm not sure whether Asus will repair it or not

 

[RickGG]

That sounds reasonable- I had found some epoxy for PCB adhesion and it makes sense that clear nail polish would do the trick. Have you tried this yourself?

 

[RickGG]

Clear fingernail polish. Let dry a couple of days if you are as paranoid as I was the first time I did that.

That sounds reasonable- I had found some epoxy for PCB adhesion and it makes sense that clear nail polish would do the trick. Have you tried this yourself?