Does removing processor ruin memory or operating system?

[jr22jess]

My uncle ended up removing his processor from his motherboard to clean it off because of overheating issues. His PC will go no further than windows xp screen now. Was removing the processor the problem?

 

[hennessy1]

something could have come loose or changed during that. try clearing cmos.

 

[law9933]

Not the removal itself.
Bad reinstall?
Static electricity damage?
Knocked something loose?
The overheating did damage?

 

[RallyMaster]

Is he missing a pin or two?

 

[Cutthroat]

Bad re-install, or bent pins. Have him remove it again, check for bent pins, make sure it's installed correctly again and that TIM and the HSF is installed correctly. If he uses SATA drives especially check those connections they come loose easily.

 

[KB]

Did he re-apply the heatsink correctly along with adequate thermal grease?

 

[SpunkyJones]

Another vote for a broken pin or three.

 

[RebateMonger]

One recent client's PC wouldn't boot. Touching the CPU fan, it was loose.There was time to ALMOST get to the BIOS Temperature readings.

Intel CPUs, at least, will shut down very quickly if the heat sink isn't properly attached. You can tell if overheating is the problem if the shutdown time gets less and less if the PC is restarted several times in quick succession.