I saw the thread
about a dead CatWeasel and the problems to find the fault. As he has to make the right combination of attached hardware, interface hardware, drivers, configuration, and user software for it to work. Something missing = doesn't work, no explenation.
So it might be a good idea to create some test software for the board. Once the flashmemory with test software is inserted it would test the onboard MCU. If it works it could blink with a easy recognisable cycle. Then the MCU is used to test the FPGA. The FPGA is used to test the video ports, audio, keyboard, mouse, flashport stresstest for timing errors and so on..
That way it's easier to diagnose "bricked" boards without resorting to a heap of external test instruments. It could help with bad soldering diagnose too.