how can i test a board

[richnsue]

what happened was, bought a new motherboard for a relation, msi neo socket 939, along with a athlon 3500 processor. he put the processor into the socket the wrong way round (don't know why the makers allow this, should be one way only) anyway, would not boot, checked the processor and found a lot of pins were bent. tried to straighten them but broke one, so binned it. question is this, is it safe to put a new processor in this board, or is it possible the socket is damaged? and would it damage the new one. and how can we be absolutely sure it is correctly orientated?

[Sterling_Aug]

You can't install any processors the wrong way,m there are notches that pprevent this. There are also markings on the mobo and processor that show how to line them up (a small triangle or V).

The board should be fine, you can't damage a mobo with a processor.

[rmanet]

he put the processor into the socket the wrong way round

based on the number of bent pins he must have used both hands to put that CPU in the socket - how the heck did he get the HSF on and actually try to boot that thing? Bummer you lost a pin - I actually put a pin back in on one of the kids CPUs when they were messing with it, pressure was enough to get a connection and it actually ran (as an extra gamer machine for friends who come over) for over a year.