Broken Motherboard Trace

Broken Motherboard Trace When you're fairly certain that a motherboard trace is broken near the CPU (i.e.: you suspect heatsink / fan was improperly inserted) is it advisable to attempt a repair?
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Guest [Entry]

"Cut copper traces are not easily repairable using things around the house. Traces around the CPU are typically critical to the motherboards functionality.

First a few questions:

Is the cut trace visible? Typically copper traces around the processor are 4-5 mils wide (1 mil = 1 thousandth of an inch).
Is it just one trace that is cut? If a improperly installed heatsink has cut a trace, then more than just one trace could have been damaged.
Can you check with a meter to make sure that the trace is disconnected?
Does the cut trace connect to the memory slots or chipsets?

I've intentionally cut traces with a scalpel and it takes a little effort to do correctly. A heatsink cutting a trace is very unlucky.

To repair a trace (depending upon the size of the gap), I would use some solder and a small piece of bare wire, if necessary."

Guest [Entry]

well, there's a significant chance you won't get it to work, unless its the top layer - motherboard PCBs are multilayered and very carefully designed to keep traces precise lengths. I've heard of people fixing simpler pcbs with a conductive ink pen, but never a motherboard. I'd say, try it at your own risk, but replacing it would be what i recommend.