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CPU HSF installation: 3 questions

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Ok this is a long story, but I'm going to be very brief and just get to the point.

Today I decided to switch my retail AthlonXP 2000+ HSF (GA-7VAXP) with a Volcano 7. When I turned my system on, it wouldn't "post". I thought I had put the processor in the wrong way in my hurried foolishness, and tried to take the HSF off. I tried so hard so many times, inserting my screwdriver into the socket thing and prying, but it wouldn't come out. Weird, because it came out of my K7S5A just fine. I almost broke the motherboard, I imagine, and seemed to wiggle my HSF around. I read that it's bad to do that because it would create air pockets in my arctic silver. Eventually, I figured out that my system wouldn't start because I forgot to put the RAM in, silly me. Well now it's just fine.

Anyway, questions are:
Does kinda wiggling and making the HSF seem to move up and down create air pockets?
Any idea why my Volcano won't come off? I tried so hard, with no success.
Should I go back and re-do the installation? (assuming I can remove the HSF somehow.
 
1. It could crush or crack the core.

2. I had the same problem recently when trying out a volcano 9. At one point I was thinking of using a hacksaw or crow bar. I knew it'd ruin my mobo, but it seemed worth it just to remove that darn thing. 😀 Some are just like that. Depends on the mobo/heatsink combo but usually a not very well put together heatsink clip, imo anyway.

I finally removed the v9 and it took mucho pressure. Added a few new cracks to my core in the process, but the cpu still worked somehow. Never again will I install a v9.

3. If the temps seem normal and stability is ok, I'd leave it alone.
 
I can push the clip down, but I can't make it unhook from the extruding thing. It just doesn't seem to want to move.

Temps don't seem quite normal. Only 5-8 degrees difference from stock HSF, and it's using arctic silver II, while the stock was using the useless thermal pad.
 
What you are calling the extruded thing is a hook with a lip. You must press the clip down far enough that it can move past the lip and unhook. It doesn't require force but it does require finesse.
 
I had some old Cooler Master aluminum hsf for an old duron 1.3G. When i 1st installed it there was massive contact pressure. I tried to take it off a day later to try an connect my L1 bridges but i couldn't get my hsf off and gave up

A month or two later the hsf just came off like magik!!! i found you should press down with a medium amount of force them using a screwdriver to slip it off works great. I stuck the screwdriver between the 462socket and the clip next to the lip. Also i think leaving it on awhile loosens the clip. try not to wiggle it around u can break the die. I've seen all too many horror story's of cracked dies. AMD needs heat spreaders for heat, duh, and to protect the die.
 
I guess I'm pretty lucky I don't have a cracked die. I took the mobo out of the case and tried it again, no luck. I pushed the heatsink towards the slot side a bit, and it came off easy as pie.
 
One screwdriver to push the clip down, and one to pry it from the socket. You may get shavings of the socket, but that's why many of us want all HSFs to go to bolt mounts. Solves this and many other problems, with the only downside being abnormally long (but pretty safe) installation and removal.
 
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