# replaced heatsink , computers now won't boot



## stevearno (Mar 16, 2009)

hi guys 

as the title suggests 

my sister gave me her computer to take a look at ( i bought it for her last christmas ) 

it kept crashing , i knew what it was as soon as i turned it on .... the heatsink was either not good enough or clogged with crap 

i removed heatsink to take a look at which socket ( never had any manuals she binned them ) 

on removing the heatsink , it seemed pretty decent ( enough for what she uses it for ) ...... it's not a basic cooler ... so i just cleaned the build up of dust from it and replaced it .....( works fine now ) 
the AM3 socket with the pins is a bit alien to me ...and fitting i think on the first try i bent 1-3 pins and it did fit right , but the clips seemed to click into place ....

on a reset of the fan , i noticed 1-4 pins bent ...... i carefully bent them back ( perfect alignment ) and placed the fan back in without any problems 


i have replaced the fan over 10 times now, also checked all connects and reset everything on numerous occasions to include RAM and graphics card 

even taken mother board and ran outside case 

the PC will turn on , most certainly the HD is booting as well ..as can hear it and feel the rumble from it ...also heatsink is spinning 

but no booting to windows on display 

( used HDMI connection for display via graphics card , and both VGA connections via board and card ) 

i think i have tried pretty much everything i can think of .... i think i might have shorted the board or is there something else i am not thinking of ...

is there anything else i can try ? 

and what hardware would i need at looking to replace ?

many thanks in advance 

steven


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## etaf (Dec 28, 2008)

did you take antistatic precautions at all - static may have damaged the chip

Also did you apply any thermal compound between the CPU and heatsink at all?


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## stevearno (Mar 16, 2009)

i usually touch the side of the case or something metal to get rid of a static discharge ( but i wouldn't rule being a fool out ) 

i am currently redecorating my bedroom ... so am also standing on rubber underlay 

my computers and my old ones have always been intel sockets 775 ... where i needed to clean and apply paste on removing 

the AM3 socket by just looking at it .... is just pinned .... the flat surface of the heatsink is just a pinned square ... which looks like fixed in place with a permanent 
glue to the heatsink ( where i would normally apply paste ) 

the surface it connects to .... is just a female pin board .... to marry up with the one on the heatsink 

it does have release lever , but it does nothing ...just slightly moves ( unable to access the chips ) ... so i just tighten it back up ( by locking lever ) 

so i could have , done the chips ? or board ?


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## JimE (Apr 16, 2009)

From you description, you removed the cpu with the heatsink still attached. Heatsinks are ALL the same in how they sit on the cpu. The only difference is the type of paste used. The heatsink should simply come off, but depending on the type of paste used, may be more difficult from brand to brand. The lever is used to lock/release the cpu from the socket. Most likely the cpu was damaged when removing or reinstalling (ie: bent pin, inserted incorrectly, static, etc.).


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