noob fried his computer (no laughing)

[stover21]

I was happily running my k7s5a / xp 1600+ for the last two years. Over the last month, for some bizarre reason, I felt that I HAD to upgrade my computer and as a result started shopping around. I thought if I was going to replace my then exisiting system, I might as well play with it a little and see what I could do with it.....

So I removed all peripherals (hd, gpu, sound cards, etc) and had only my MB, cpu, and ram. Then I thought "Boy, that hsf sure looks dirty, maybe I should take it off and clean it". So I then took the hsf off and wiped it clean with a cloth. I was then going to put it back on but then I thought why bother when I was going to take it apart anyway. Then I proceeded to notice how dusty the RAM was so I took those chips out too and now I was left with a K7S5A mobo with one Athlon XP 1600+ with no hsf, no ram.

Of course then I HAD to see if the computer would run with just the cpu in it. I think I read somewhere that you need at least the mb/cpu/ram combo to at least get to the BIOS, but I thought what-the-hell. I plugged the power cable into the motherboard (and I don't know why this happened) and as soon as I did, the powersupply fan started going and I guess power started flowing to the motherboard because in a matter of *seconds* I could see/smell/hear the effects something burning. I panicked, pulled the power cable out and waved the fumes out of the air...

Now I don't know what exactly happened, but now the computer won't start (i put the hsf and ram chips back on). The mb and cpu both *look* ok but I really don't have a clue if they really are. Any ideas what happened?

Now I wouldn't fret if I just burned a two year old mb/cpu, but then I just realized that I didn't prepare winXP for the mb switch nor did I back-up my important files on my computer. So what I'm trying to do now before switching over to a new board and cpu is to somehow fix my existing system so I can get the files off before switching. So here are my questions...

1) What are the chances I toasted just my cpu (or just my mb)?

2) Where can I get a really cheap cpu to fit on my k7s5a (even better if it's free)?

3) If I just fried my cpu, can I buy a recent athlon xp (such as a barton 2500) and get it to work with my k7s5a?

Thanks for reading and not laughing.

 

[fisheye]

why would you need to 'prepare' XP for the mobo switch? Just do a repair install, all your data will be left intact.

Can't believe you turned on the PC with no CPU heatsink!!

 

[bartdood]

You should NEVER run a CPU without a heatsink and fan on it, even with no fan it will overheat in a matter of 1-2 minutes.
Sounds like your CPU is dead.

 

[Concillian]

Originally posted by: stover21
1) What are the chances I toasted just my cpu (or just my mb)?

2) Where can I get a really cheap cpu to fit on my k7s5a (even better if it's free)?

3) If I just fried my cpu, can I buy a recent athlon xp (such as a barton 2500) and get it to work with my k7s5a?

1) Probably just CPU, I'd guess
2) Duron 600-900 on FS/FT or eBay, should be under $20. Worst case is an Athlon 1.33 from newegg at $43.
3) Ceck the manufacturer's website for BIOS/CPU compatibility, keeping in mind that you cannot flash the BIOS until you boo tthe system.

 

[imported_elwood]

You just fried the CPU. Just get your new cpu and motherboard like you had planned. Slap it all together. And XP will boot right up.
And dont feel bad. I learned the hard way too. I also burnt a few chips in the beginning the same way you did.

 

[stover21]

Thanks folks, I appreciate your inputs.

So to clarify...I don't need to prepare XP for a new mb/cpu ? XP should detect the new settings all on its own?

(Actually, to throw a curve ball into this, I've been dual booting with Suse and WinXP ... will grub be smart enough to detect all the changes?)

Thanks again.

 

[AnonymouseUser]

Originally posted by: stover21
XP should detect the new settings all on its own?

No, it won't. As fisheye said, you'll need to perform a repair install.

will grub be smart enough to detect all the changes?

Grub won't have any problems so long as "hda" is still "hda", "hdb" is still "hdb" (if there is one), etc.

 

[imported_whatever]

Originally posted by: bartdood
You should NEVER run a CPU without a heatsink and fan on it, even with no fan it will overheat in a matter of 1-2 minutes.
Sounds like your CPU is dead.

you are wrong about the 1-2 minutes. it will overheat in under 1 second. by 5 seconds, it has most likely caught on fire. this has been true at least since the thunderbird core athlons, probably before that too. note that the p4 and a64 have thermal protection, though, so they will keep from harming themselves.

 

[Dman877]

Originally posted by: whatever

Originally posted by: bartdood
You should NEVER run a CPU without a heatsink and fan on it, even with no fan it will overheat in a matter of 1-2 minutes.
Sounds like your CPU is dead.

you are wrong about the 1-2 minutes. it will overheat in under 1 second. by 5 seconds, it has most likely caught on fire. this has been true at least since the thunderbird core athlons, probably before that too. note that the p4 and a64 have thermal protection, though, so they will keep from harming themselves.

Without a heatsink, yes under a second, but bartdood's point was that a heatsink without a fan would also overheat the cpu quickly, and I believe unless it's an undervolted mobile-type cpu, he is correct with his 1 - 2 minute estimate.

 

[540mb]

It's possible that XP will recognize the new mobo and everything will keep running as usual. I've swapped mobo's 4 times and 3 of those times I didn't have to do anything. XP booted as normal and I just had to reinstall some drivers. A quick 15 minute process.

 

[zephyrprime]

Even if XP doesn't recognize the new MB (I think there's a pretty good chance it won't because new MB have that thingie that provides more IRQ's than old MBs), you can just do an inplace reinstall of XP from the CD onto your existing install and that will fix things up.

 

[carlosd]

The first you have to do after putting the processor is putting the HSF. Especially when it is a crappy old motherboard like ECS k7s5a. I had such accident with my MSI MB and Axp 2400+ CPU. The board shut down the power source inmediately and protected my CPU from frying. Old Athlon crappy MB won't do that. Athlon XP have the thermal diode, but it is MB responsability to poll the temperatures and shut down inmediatly.

 

[iwantanewcomputer]

how long will it take to burn a pentium 233 with mmx with no heatsink attached? i have this system sitting in a closet and can't reseat the heatsink right. i have run it for a few minutes and i can feel the heatspreader getting hot. would it be possible to have some airflow over the heatspreader with no sink and run it for extended periods of time? i guess ther's only 1 way to find out, and i've always wanted to burn a chip

 

[AWhackWhiteBoy]

Originally posted by: bartdood
You should NEVER run a CPU without a heatsink and fan on it, even with no fan it will overheat in a matter of 1-2 minutes.
Sounds like your CPU is dead.

minutes?

1-2 seconds.

its toast,esp since its a pally

 

[TGHI]

Oh....laughing there shall be.

 

[THUGSROOK]

Originally posted by: TGHI
Oh....laughing there shall be.

yep, i cant help it either ~ im laughing

 

[IronMentality]

Yikes. I recently built my first computer from scratch and even I sure as hell wouldn't start up a PC without the heatsink on top of the CPU.