TLDR: install the CPU properly and try to run it. If it works, you didn't fry it. If it doesn't work, you might have fried it.

Those pads are to assist with the force distribution when you are installing a heatsink. Chipping CPUs when installing a heatsink was a problem in those days. Once the heatsink is on, all of the force should be on the chip and they are not necessary.

Running a CPU without thermal paste generally shouldn't kill it. If you ran it hard AND there was really bad contact between the chip and the heatsink, I suppose you could cook it (especially since you are running one of the most notorious CPUs for frying itself).

Okay, Ill try putting it on in a little bit.

Also, the cpu wasn't running hard at all without thermal paste because my fan wasn't working at the time, i shut it off quickly. Ill make sure to use thermal paste this time

The Intel CPU:s had better overheating protection than the AMD:s, so I doubt your CPU survived, but maybe you were lucky.
The rubber pads are there to help support and balance the heatsink, but as they are soft, it is still possible to damage the chip if you are not careful when mounting the sink. (Thumbs crossed.)

as said the rubber things are not essential for it to work,
running without paste is not ideal but if it was touching it probably helped to cool it down, and unless you were doing some prime 95s or something I think it will be ok?

back in the early 2000s I had this to "protect" the die, maybe without the rubber they would be useful
https://images.anandtech.com/reviews/system/s … sn41g2/shim.jpg

I tested like 20 Athlon XP cpus without bothering to put a thermal paste on by booting into BIOS. Not a problem at all. Just don't run them for prolonged periods like that.

Crimes Against Silicon: Scuffed CPU/GPU cores