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PC not booting. Processor damaged?!

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First post, by stealthjoe

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Hello all,

I am facing an issue with my retro pc (845GEBV2 motherboard, p4 2.4 ghz, 512 ram, fx5600). It no longer boots after cleaning the CPU cooler. A basic background of the issue.

I had recently opened the cabinet to clean the CPU and heatsink. When I tried to remove the heatsink after loosening the clips, noted that it was stuck to the board. With a gentle force, was able to remove the heatsink. Next, I noticed that the processor was stuck to the cooler. Something like the below image:

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Next, I tried to remove the fused processor from the heatsink. Instead of twisting action suggested by many, I tried to pull the processor out (my carelessness). With some gentle outward force was able to separate the processor from the heatsink. The processor was delidded simiar to the below image, but was present with dried thermal paste:

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However, the lid was still stuck to the heatsink and was unable to remove it. Next, I cleaned the top of the processor with iso propyl alcohol and the underneath of the lid. Then placed the processor on the socket. After cleaning the cooler, placed new thermal paste over the bare processor, fixed everything in place, but the PC wouldn't boot. There is led on the motherboard, the cpu fan is spinning and the system boots, but there is no display or any POST beeps. Tried most of the troubleshooting methods such as removing graphics card, sound card, disconnecting drives, changing RAM slots, different PSU, etc. but no luck. Also didn't notice any bent pins on the processor.

Is there a possibility that the processor was damaged while trying to separate from the heatsink? Or would it be a case of MB damage? I also noticed that the processor is cold even after switching on the PC and waiting for a few minutes and turning off. Appreciate your help. Thanks!!

Intel 845GEBV2, Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz, Geforce FX5600 256MB, 512MB RAM, 160GB HDD, Sound Blaster Live! SB0100 - Win 98/XP

Reply 2 of 9, by stealthjoe

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Hello Jasin! Visibly I was unable to see any signs of damage. The die surface looked shiny after cleaning the old thermal paste. However, while trying to separate the processor from the cooler, the green board surrounding the die was slightly flexing. So thinking that this could have caused the issue.

Intel 845GEBV2, Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz, Geforce FX5600 256MB, 512MB RAM, 160GB HDD, Sound Blaster Live! SB0100 - Win 98/XP

Reply 3 of 9, by stealthjoe

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Forgot to mention one more goof up. After I had pulled out the heatsink the first time, I noticed that the processor socket latch was still in the locked position (despite the cpu released and stuck to the heatsink). I had proceeded to install the cpu and the heatsink without releasing the latch first. Could installing the processor in this way damage it?

Intel 845GEBV2, Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz, Geforce FX5600 256MB, 512MB RAM, 160GB HDD, Sound Blaster Live! SB0100 - Win 98/XP

Reply 4 of 9, by retardware

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Possible, but I guess the socket will be OK.
Have done such things myself, so do not feel bad 😀

BTW, CPU/cooler replacement should be cheap.
I tried to sell a similar mobo with similiar processor for a while.
Nobody wanted the working mobo with CPU, cooler and RAM, even for a price of only 3 euros. So it will go into the e-trash...

Reply 5 of 9, by stealthjoe

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retardware wrote on 2021-09-28, 05:06:
Possible, but I guess the socket will be OK. Have done such things myself, so do not feel bad :) […]
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Possible, but I guess the socket will be OK.
Have done such things myself, so do not feel bad 😀

BTW, CPU/cooler replacement should be cheap.
I tried to sell a similar mobo with similiar processor for a while.
Nobody wanted the working mobo with CPU, cooler and RAM, even for a price of only 3 euros. So it will go into the e-trash...

Hello Retardware! Too bad nobody wanted that. I would have bought yours for sure. Here in my place (3rd world), it is extremely difficult to get a quality P4 processor/board or any other retro computing stuff. So have to only rely on ebay from international sellers.

Intel 845GEBV2, Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz, Geforce FX5600 256MB, 512MB RAM, 160GB HDD, Sound Blaster Live! SB0100 - Win 98/XP

Reply 6 of 9, by Jasin Natael

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You should be able to source a replacement easily enough. I doubt that the socket was damaged, I think most of us have removed a CPU with the lever down before. P4's are about as common as herpes, you shouldn't have trouble locating one.

Reply 7 of 9, by stealthjoe

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Have contacted a few sources for a p4 cpu. Hopefully will get one in a couple of days. Meanwhile, I checked the underside of the cpu and noticed that one pin is a little darkened (the right most pin on the 5th row from the bottom). Image below:

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Any ideas as to whether this could be an indication of cpu failure or (worse) socket damage? Thanks!

Intel 845GEBV2, Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz, Geforce FX5600 256MB, 512MB RAM, 160GB HDD, Sound Blaster Live! SB0100 - Win 98/XP

Reply 8 of 9, by stealthjoe

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Update:
Today morning, removed the heatsink and the CPU and then analyzed the socket. Moved the latch a few times back and forth to view the underlying binding pads. Noticed that these were missing in 2 of the pin holes (not sure if it expected). After I placed the CPU on the socket and locked it, noticed a screeching sound while locking the latch. Removed the CPU again, made sure that the latch was in full upright position, placed the CPU and then locked it in place. No sound now. Then proceeded to switch on the CPU.

VOILA!!!! The PC booted and was able to see the bios screen!!

Phew!! Guess it was improper pin(s) binding in the socket. Now the PC is back to its former glory. Thank you all for your help!!

Intel 845GEBV2, Pentium 4 2.4 Ghz, Geforce FX5600 256MB, 512MB RAM, 160GB HDD, Sound Blaster Live! SB0100 - Win 98/XP

Reply 9 of 9, by Jasin Natael

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stealthjoe wrote on 2021-09-30, 12:52:
Update: Today morning, removed the heatsink and the CPU and then analyzed the socket. Moved the latch a few times back and forth […]
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Update:
Today morning, removed the heatsink and the CPU and then analyzed the socket. Moved the latch a few times back and forth to view the underlying binding pads. Noticed that these were missing in 2 of the pin holes (not sure if it expected). After I placed the CPU on the socket and locked it, noticed a screeching sound while locking the latch. Removed the CPU again, made sure that the latch was in full upright position, placed the CPU and then locked it in place. No sound now. Then proceeded to switch on the CPU.

VOILA!!!! The PC booted and was able to see the bios screen!!

Phew!! Guess it was improper pin(s) binding in the socket. Now the PC is back to its former glory. Thank you all for your help!!

Good deal, I'm glad you were able to get it sorted.

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