doesnot power up

JimGJimG
edited March 2006 in Hardware
Was trying to do a favor...the problem is with a dell demension 4550...I said I'd open the case and see if there was a slot for a wireles card. There was, and there was cubic inches of dust mites,bunnies, heck the farm was in there.
I cleaned it out pretty good. However when I pushed the power button nothing. I talked to the owner, found out it was left on except for power outages. Put in a new dell psu, still nothing. Remembered i'd tried to pull the cooling fins off the cpu, but the spring loaded clamp for the fins brought the
cpu (glued) with. There is a lever next to the cpu that seems to grab the pins and hold the cpu in place, this however is not usable, visable etc. when the cooling fins are in place.

I've checked to make sure there are no bent pins so I'm thinking this spring loaded fin clamp is not intended to insert the cpu and with the lever next to the socket down and caught can't. so how do you remove the cpu from the fins (some silver glue) with no damage, and is the glue necessary?

I read the thread concerning another wont power up. The cpu was successfully removed from the glue.

Ideas thoughts answers redirection anything would be appreciated.

Thanks
JimG

Comments

  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited March 2006
    It sounds like the thermal paste (used to ensure good heat transfer from the CPU to the Heat Sink) is what is holding the parts together. It may also be a thermal pad, which is a postage stamp sized piece of material which serves the same purpose (though not as efficiently). If you are mechanically inclined you should be able to insert a very thin object between the two and get them apart. Something like a single-edged razor blade should work.

    CAUTION: I can't see the parts you are referring to. If you have any doubts about this I'd suggest asking a friend with lots of experience in the subject.

    If you could post a picture of the parts in question it would be easier to advise you. :)

    Whatever you do, don't try and force the CPU back in place with the lever in the down position - that's only going to leave you with bent pins and a possibly ruined processor.

    Assuming you can get the parts separated properly, some rubbing alcohol should simplify cleaning up the old goop. Get all the parts squeaky clean and reinstall the CPU. Then apply a thin layer of thermal compound and reattach the heat sink.

    As I said before - please ask before proceeding if you have any doubts at all about what you're doing. :wave:
  • JimGJimG
    edited March 2006
    Prof, Thank
  • JimGJimG
    edited March 2006
    Prof, Thank you for your timely and on the money advise.

    Not quite sure what happened on the last attempt to send my thanks. Question, is it 'bad' for the cpu to be yanked out like that, or is that thermal compound supposed to give?

    Thanks again... it booted.. new psu oh well a good learning experence.

    JimG
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited March 2006
    JimG wrote:
    ...is it 'bad' for the cpu to be yanked out like that, or is that thermal compound supposed to give?...
    It's supposed to give, but it's not unheard of to run into the situation you encountered. As long as the pins on the CPU don't get bent or broken it's usually not a problem.

    Glad you got it going. :)
  • muddocktormuddocktor
    edited March 2006
    I've had that happen more than once with both socket 478 P4 machines and also A64 processors too. One thing I've found that helps to prevent this from happening is to try to wiggle the heatsink around a bit after releasing the clamping mechanism before trying to lift the heatsink off the proc. It helps break the suction. :)
  • skankinredskankinred
    edited March 2006
    This has happened to many more times than I can remember with my socket 478 Williamete P4. To makes matters worse, I have the clunky annoying thermaltake beetle cooler. If you as so much tap it you will not be able to POST because the cpu has been yanked out of the socket just barely enough to not make contact.
    Try to twist it off instead of pulling it off. It's less likely to pull the cpu out of the socket by moving horizontally.
    I'm lucky my cpu still works; I've pulled it out so many times and tried shoving it back in which bent quite a few contacts. :shakehead Luckily I was able to bend them back in place using my fingernail in the dark while holding the mini flashlight in my teeth. I was lucky I didn't short it out just by touching it.:rant:

    :eek3::aol:
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