πŸ“˜ Text guide

Chip-Level Repair Lab

Interactive blueprint boards. Click any part to see animated multimeter probes move to it and measure it. Press ⚑ Power-up to watch the power sequence flow through the board. Choose Simulate fault to practise finding real faults, then use πŸ”₯ Inject voltage to see the shorted part heat up. β–Ά Auto demo plays the whole diagnosis like a video, with captions.

How to use each board

1
Board OFF checks

Click a part β†’ choose a β†’| diode or Ξ© test. The red probe goes to GND and the black probe to the test point. 0.000 = short.

2
Power-up

Watch each rail light up in order. The current graph shows what a bench power supply would show. The first rail that fails is where the fault is.

3
Voltage checks

Choose a VβŽ“ test after power-up. The black probe goes to GND and the red probe to the rail.

4
Fault practice

Pick a fault, find it with the meter, then open Show answer & fix.

πŸ“· Diagnose a real board

Take or upload photos of the faulty board, enter the model number and the complaint, then follow the guided checks: look first β†’ power-OFF component tests β†’ power-ON voltage checks β†’ repair. Type each meter reading and the lab tells you whether it is good, and what it means and what to check next if it is not. For an AI opinion on your photos, πŸ†“ Free AI writes a ready prompt for free Claude chat (no API key, no cost) and turns the answer into the same step cards; πŸ€– AI (API) does it automatically when your website has an API key.

1 Β· Job details

2 Β· Photos

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Photo viewer β€” click the photo to mark test points

    Jobs

    Saved jobs stay in this browser. Use Export to keep a copy or move a job to another device.

    Real multimeter & component bench

    A realistic 3Β½-digit manual-ranging multimeter (DM-9205 style). Turn the dial by clicking a range label, clicking the knob, or using the mouse wheel on it. Pick a real component, then a test step: the probes move to the right pins and the meter shows what a real meter shows β€” including β€œ1” = overload when the range is too low, and fewer digits when it is too high. Switch to ✘ Faulty part to see bad readings.

    Range scaling (Ξ© example)

    Rule: start on a HIGH range and turn DOWN until just before β€œ1” appears. That range gives the most digits.

    Part condition:

    Complaints library β€” fault types

    Every common complaint for laptops, desktop boards, SATA SSDs, NVMe, RAM and HDDs, split into its real sub-types. Each one lists the checks in order: meter mode, where to probe, the good reading, and what a wrong reading points to. Where a simulator exists, practise that fault on the board.

    Multimeter & circuit basics

    Try the meter on example parts, learn the diode-mode scale, and watch a buck converter and a MOSFET test in motion.

    Meter playground

    Pick a mode and a part.

    Diode-mode reading scale (red probe on GND)

    Click an example to place it on the scale.

    Buck converter: how every rail is made (animated)

    Phase 1: the high-side FET is ON and current flows from VIN through the inductor. Phase 2: the low-side FET is ON and the inductor keeps current flowing from GND. If the high-side FET shorts, VIN reaches the output and damages every chip on that rail.

    MOSFET test: step by step

    Meter

    All types: SSD Β· HDD Β· laptop

    Every drive or laptop type uses the same circuits as the boards in this lab. Use this page to identify what is on your bench and which board simulator applies.

    SSD types

    HDD types

    Laptop board types

    CPU / GPU / BGA rework (animated)

    A CPU or GPU die cannot be repaired. The chip can be removed, reballed and re-soldered, or replaced. Press play to watch the whole process.

    Steps

      Is it the CPU or the board?

      • Measure VCCIN/VCORE to GND (Ξ© and β†’|).
      • Socketed: remove the CPU and measure again. If the short is gone, the CPU is bad.
      • Soldered: inject 1 V. If the CPU package heats up evenly, the die is shorted.
      • Check the tiny caps on the CPU package first. One shorted cap is common and removable.

      Temperatures

      • Preheat bottom: 150–180 Β°C
      • Lead-free melts ~217 Β°C, peak 235–245 Β°C
      • Leaded balls: peak ~200–215 Β°C
      • Use a thermocouple next to the chip

      Socket & package faults

      • Bent LGA pins: missing RAM channel, no POST
      • Cracked BGA: works when warm or pressed
      • Reflow = temporary test; reball = real fix
      • Replacement chip: same part number/stepping

      Fault finder

      Answer the questions with your meter readings. Every result can open the matching fault on a board simulator.