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Did I break this computer? :X

W

Wrongagain

Junior Member
sorry it looks so long, it kinda is, but im kinda distraught, i think i ruined my friend's computer

rough system specs: (its not mine i dont know em by heart)
p4 3.0E processor
aopen 865pe motherboard
single ide hard drive

thats basically all the relevant information

my friend wanted to put a diff hsf in his comp (retail hsf was running at 60*C load)

ive been telling him the 3.0E just runs hot (i heard it somewhere..)

so we begin
he takes off the northbridge heatsink for "more room to work"

i help remove the retail hsf and he cleans the old thermal compound off the cpu

we pull out the other hsf (something like this thermaltake hsf)

Heres where i think i broke it:

we plug in the new hsf to the mobo and just flip it on for a second, with the processor in but no hsf on it...

yes.. we turned the computer on with no hsf on the processor, but since it wasnt going to boot all the way through, we figured it wouldnt damage the chip

anyway.. new thermal compound and the thermaltake hsf goes on easy

Another point where i may have broken it

i squirt some thermal compound on the northbridge chip. the northbridge chip is very small, and i really squirted it, i got it all over the place.

some thermal compound ended up on the pcb around the northbridge chip, but instead of cleaning it up i just slapped the northbridge hsf back on and we tried to boot the comp back up

instead of the bios posting etc, there was nothing... then aopen's cool little talking voice came on and said "your hard drive has encountered an error" or something like that

we tried a few times and it wouldnt work, so first thing we did was try to get the bios to load without the hard drive

disconnected the hard drive and it still said the same thing

reset cmos jumpers

nothing

took cpu hsf off, removed processor, and it appeared some thermal compound had oozed dangerously close to the pins on one side (thatd be very bad right?)

i kind of scraped it off and popped it back in and put the hsf back on..

still nothing..

im reluctant to do anything else for fear of ruining more components

ive built a few computers and never had this kind of trouble getting them to work
(ive also never ruined components like this, if they are in fact ruined)
 
Originally posted by: Wrongagain
yes.. we turned the computer on with no hsf on the processor, but since it wasnt going to boot all the way through, we figured it wouldnt damage the chip
Click to expand...


Why on earth would you do that?
 
Gerbil gave you one. Clean everything up and cross your fingers. I've never heard of anyone purposely posting without the HSF...then again I've never heard of someone taking the NB hsf off to get more room. If it ain't broke, don't break it 😉
 
hrm.. well thanks I'll try that and see.

any confirmation that thermal compount on the underside of a processor and/or on the pcb is damaging? It didn't touch the pins on the processor, but could it have shorted it out?
 
you could have killed it when you booted the comp without the hs/f on it...and then the compound could have shorted the mobo also.
first try running the cpu in another comp if that doesnt work then cpu = dead

if it works then try getting a new mobo.
 
Most thermal compounds are functionally nonconductive. Some are capacitive enough that they can stop things from working while they remain on the traces(so do clean up any stray compound); but that is unlikely to have fried anything. About the rest, though, good luck.
 
Make sure there aren't any scratches on the PCB. One tiny scratch can kill a motherboard. Reminds me of Resident Evil. 😀
 
Originally posted by: NightTrain
Originally posted by: Wrongagain
yes.. we turned the computer on with no hsf on the processor, but since it wasnt going to boot all the way through, we figured it wouldnt damage the chip
Click to expand...


Why on earth would you do that?
Click to expand...


that wont break an intel CPU anyway, they throttle right the way down when this happens. tomshardware tested this. the removed the HSF during a quake3 game, the cpu slowed right down after a few seconds, computer didnt crash and you could still play the game, the hsf was put back on....everything returns to normal

linky to video is bottom of the page

definately need to clean around the northbridge

and it sounds to me like you turned the computer on with no north bridge hsf, seen as u said you took it off to get more room to work

thats not gonna be nice to the northbridge
 
I agree, you cant hurt an Intel E CPU by running with no HSF, it just throttles down - tho you wouldnt want to leave it like that

The most imortant question here is what brand HS compound was used to evaluate if it has any conductive or capacitive properties.
The paste on CPU pins is def not a good idea - might actually impede contact, or short.

I would get a box of que tips some cotton CD wipes, and a bottle of 99% isopropyl alcolhol and remove every remant of the goop.
 
Yeah, just clean off the compound and re apply, then try again. The P4's thermal protection will keep it from burning itself up if you boot without the heatsink, but's it's still not the best of ideas. Your friend should have listened in the first place..60c is a pretty normal temp for a prescott, my 3.4 runs at almost 60c on water cooling..what thermal compound did you use?
 
i actually tested my 1600XP chip in my friends mobo cause his cpu wasnt working and it fried my chip and then i put it in my comp (was working 100% before) fried my mobo...i had to buy new cpu+mobo.

i dont know why this happened but it did. just warning ya.
 
ok, update:

cleaned thermal compound off the northbridge, reapplied it neatly and tried to boot
didnt work
took my processor and put it in friend's mobo
didnt work
took my friend's cpu and put it in my mobo
it worked (so the processor is ok)
back to friend's comp, took out one stick of ram
didnt work
took out both sticks of ram, put one of mine in
didnt work
put my other stick in
didnt work
one thing i didnt try was putting his ram in my mobo, but if my ram didnt work in his mobo that would mean his ram AND mobo are damaged, and putting damaged ram in a working mobo = bad idea?

i think ive tried everything
its either the mobo or the mobo+ram?

time for a new mobo?

if i've left anything important out ask etc.. i will check back soon

ty guys for all the help so far😕

EDIT: the thermal compound is some random brand from bestbuy :|
ive only seen the white compound that comes with heatsinks and arctic silver, and the compound we've been using looks very similar to artic silver. (probably similar conductivity)
 
yes two huge mistakes.

next time, just leave retail hsf on unless you are going for silence. waste of money otherwise.

and yes the process of elimination works. new mb time.. at the very least.
 
Originally posted by: NightTrain
Originally posted by: Wrongagain
yes.. we turned the computer on with no hsf on the processor, but since it wasnt going to boot all the way through, we figured it wouldnt damage the chip
Click to expand...


Why on earth would you do that?
Click to expand...

Agreed. I can't believe the thought even crossed your mind. Look like you'll be shelling out some cash for a new chip. Good luck.

-sp

 
Originally posted by: NightTrain
Originally posted by: Wrongagain
yes.. we turned the computer on with no hsf on the processor, but since it wasnt going to boot all the way through, we figured it wouldnt damage the chip
Click to expand...


Why on earth would you do that?
Click to expand...
My guess is that they wanted to hear how loud the new HSF was before commiting to the final install. If this is the case, why not just hook up the fan to an open fan header with the other HSF on and listen closely to the new fan? (done this before myself)
 
Originally posted by: Splork
Originally posted by: NightTrain
Originally posted by: Wrongagain
yes.. we turned the computer on with no hsf on the processor, but since it wasnt going to boot all the way through, we figured it wouldnt damage the chip
Click to expand...


Why on earth would you do that?
Click to expand...

Agreed. I can't believe the thought even crossed your mind. Look like you'll be shelling out some cash for a new chip. Good luck.

-sp
Click to expand...

they wont be buying a new chip...he even said it still works. intels thermal protection is very good
 
w0w...if its not broke dont fix it! thats like the golden rule in computing....

Anyway make sure you cleaned it off very throughly (examine the area with a magnifying glass becuase even the smallest trace can screw something up)...then wait for it to dry and settle for about 2 days..then try....anyway sounds like you screwed ur friends mobo...is the mobo northbridge heatsink connected properly??...it might be something as small as that considering what it does and that error message you go...the mobo's voice does work...
 
What did you use to clean it up? Alcohol is about the safest thing to use. Be careful of using contact or electronic tuner cleaner. Some leave a residue.

Exactly what POST steps is the board completing? You mentioned Aopen's voice so aparrantly it has life somewhere. Do you get any video at any time during the power on? You mentioned "squirting" the NB. What kind of thermal goop are you using? If the chip works in your board then you can rule that out as the problem.

Did you apply any force to the socket, NB or anything else other than the HS while you were working on it? Just getting a little thermal paste on teh board should not have killed it unless it was conductive. I'm thinking there must be something else.
 
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