Went to clean my computer out, added new thermal paste - no longer works

Discussion in 'Tech Talk' started by The Cox, May 7, 2012.

  1. The Cox
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    its done this before, but I took my heatsink off to add new thermal paste which it needed, and now it turns on for 5 seconds and then shuts off. I have reseated the heatsink multiple times and its a pain in the ass since its a pushpin type connector. First time I resat it it would turn on and stay on but i had no beeps, no post nothing monitor stayed blank, second time I did it, it just turns on and off now.

    I am thinking it has to do with the heatsink but I am not entirely certain. I think this was the reason why my computer would restart during a game of League of Legends, but it never did it during skyrim, so I don't know. I do know my GPU only went up to about 53 or 54 C before it shut down. So not entirely certain what is going on.

    I do hear the hard drive clicking and then it will shut off and constantly reboot until I unplug the system. Any help would be appreciated ladies and gentlemen.
     
  2. Deadend
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    Have a look around make sure you didn't knock anything else out, connecters, card everything make sure its all in and down tight.
     
  3. Sogetsu
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    Yeah, taking out the heatsink and reapplying TIM shouldn't do anything at all, aside from changing temp's if anything.

    Sounds like your HDD is fucking up. Shouldn't have anything to do with the heatsink unless you knocked some cables off or you didn't seat it properly and its heating up real fast for some reason and shutting off.

    Hard drive clicking though sounds pretty bad, that's be my best bet.
     
  4. The Cox
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    I meant clicking as in starting up. I don't mean like clicking like its going bad clicking.. should have clarified. Its one of those stupid pushpin plastic knob thingies.. retarded as hell.

    Once I get home tonight, I will take another stab at it, if not just go to a tech shop and see if I can't get the thing fixed.
     
  5. The Cox
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    Well I made sure all my plugs were in I plugged the video card back in and the hs is snug on the processor. So I'm at a loss here gents.
     
  6. EniGmA1987
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    Two things I can think of:


    1) make sure the fan is plugged in and working. Some motherboards will not post if no CPU fan is detected. Rare but it does happen. If the connectors are loose it may be plugged in but not making proper contact of the pins and thus the motherboard doesnt know the fan is there.

    2) your got some thermal paste in an area it shouldnt be, or you used too much and it smashed out of place and over the sides when the heatsink was pushed down. Thermal paste is electrically conductive and if it it touching a couple pins or making contact with the motherboard then there will be a short.
     
  7. The Cox
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    The fan works it turns on I hear the hard drive start working then it shuts down. I did have a lot of paste on there but I cleaned it off and reapplied it. I didn't see any paste down in the pins. When I had a crap ton of paste on it ot booted fine but monitor wouldn't detect anything. I guess I should maybe take it to a shop? Or just get a new mono and hs?
     
  8. EniGmA1987
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    Could your power button be getting stuck in when you push it? That would cause the computer to shut down immediately after a 4-5 seconds.

    It could also be not enough pressure from the heatsink. You could try re-mounting the heatsink. CPUs and motherboards often have built in safeties where the computer will not boot if it doesnt detect enough pressure from a heatsink being mounted. You said it is a push-pin type so maybe it isnt pressing hard enough.
     
  9. The Cox
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    I have pushed down hard on the heatsink while the computer was booting and it still shutdown.

    Doubt its the power button it clicks right back out like normal.

    Did I mention how much I hate this stupid heatsink?
     
  10. EniGmA1987
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    Well, if you want to verify it isnt your heatsink then you could get the Cooler Master Hyper 212+ for like $20. But at this point I dont think that will have a good chance of fixing the issue if you tried pressing down on it yourself too. The only way this would fix the problem is if it is simply and overheating issue and you need a better heatsink. But that shouldnt happen and if the CPU is overheating that fast then you have something more serious, like the heatsink not even making proper contact with the CPU.
     
  11. The Cox
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    Hmm... so what do you suggest then? Do you think it might be the mobo that is messed up? Or do you think it could possibly be the HS not making direct contact? So lost at this point, but thanks for the help so far everyone.
     
  12. Sogetsu
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    Like I stated before, it might not be making direct contact but if you said you gently (I hope gently) pressed down on it to make sure it was making contact then you were still having issues then I don't know. Never use a lot of paste, as Enigma said it can run over the surface and make contact with the board, causing havoc.

    The hard drive clicking is still bugging me, I think your hard drive is failing - maybe.. Swap out HDD's if you got one lying around and try?
     
  13. The Cox
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    It's not a clicking. I guess clicking was the wrong word. It makes the normal noise of the HD starting and then shuts down. I'm going to try and research the hs and see if that works.
     
  14. Deadend
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    It's kinda hard to trouble shoot this kind of problem long distance so I'm going to go with take to a shop before too much frustration sets in.
     
  15. The Cox
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    well I resat the HS one last time and put the video card back in the slot it originally was in, and now I have the computer stable, it boots up, but after the initial hard drive starting up I get no beeps, no bios, no post nothing, just a black screen but the computer is currently on and running, so.. i don't know at this point haha.. maybe the HD failed? Not entirely sure I do have a back up TB hd that I installed for all my games and such, maybe I will keep fiddling with it until I get it to work.

    Or just say fuck it and buy new parts until I have a brand new computer lol..

    Update: Keyboard works and monitor shows a blue light and they both function, I can see my keyboard turn the light on and off for the capslock key when I press it, and the monitor shows something is there and plugged in but i still get no response..

    Update 2: Saw my HD cable somehow came unplugged, so I fixed that and added all the cables back to the initial HD, but it is still stable but still won't boot or BIOS or anything.. I'm thinking a cable is still unplugged, but I will keep checking and letting you guys know..

    Thanks again for all the help so far =)
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2012
  16. Deadend
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    Sometimes the only way to find out whats wrong is to replace parts (with old spares) one at a time until you eliminate the problem.
     
  17. EniGmA1987
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    I really dont know what else to tell you for possible problems. The only thing left really would be faulty hardware.

    I dont recommend taking it in to a place, as they will run through the same steps we just did and then start to swap out parts. They will call you and say part N is broken and you need a new one. Then you will get charged for that part, probably marked up 20%, plus the probably $150 labor or somewhere around there and you will be out over $200.

    Or you could just take the $200 you will spend if you take it in for repair and just buy a new MB and processor. That will 95% sure solve your problem and you will have new hardware for the same cost you would have spent fixing this stuff.




    Do you have DDR3 memory already? If so that would really help.

    EDIT:

    This is your best deal IF you already have DDR3 memory:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157304
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116405

    Or your best deal if you also must buy new memory:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157258
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103943
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147095

    That memory is the shit if you want to overclock it. I know people have have gotten it running at 2800MHz on stock timings. And if you can afford another $25, moving up to 8GB would be the way to go.
     
    Last edited: May 11, 2012
  18. Blackice
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    Boots up to black screen? Your HD shouldn't click at all. Like, not even once. It should spin up and still be near silent unless it's over 7200RPM. Sometimes when you open up a computer, dust flies around, or gets bumped around in components that it already set into. There is no way to dust it out after that. You should test your video card and hard drive in a friend's computer and get back to XoO.
     
  19. dr_jay
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    Just a thought, but i forgot to plug in the power cable to my video card when i changed over to my new tower. Hopefully it's just that?