Someone plz help!!!

[Artex]

I just got through installing a new thermaltake heatsink on my mobo. I turned it on, and the post screen is a jumble of parantheses and other odd crap. So I pulled off the new heatsink, put old one on (no core damage detectable) and now the cpu fan header doesnt work. Is this the motherboard only, or possibly the cpu too?
Please help me quickly.

Artex

 

[Taurus]

try a different header or plug the fan right into the power supply. see if you can get it to boot.

 

[gonaads]

Check the MoBo, you may have cracked it putting on the Heat Sink.

Try the CPU on another Board and see if it Boots.

You also said,
Quote:
"So I pulled off the new heatsink, put old one on (no core damage detectable) and now the cpu fan header doesnt work."

Did the System Boot then or no?

 

[Nick M]

Uh, if your post screen is a whole bunch of gibbrish, then I would say two things:

You cracked your motherboard
You damaged your CPU,
or, I am not even sure if this can happen, but, possible too much pressure on the cpu, loosen the HSF a bit ( at your own risk )

Please reply and fill us in with a little more details about you problem.

 

[Artex]

Ok here's what it does. It will post up till recognizing devices, past the cpu and ram, but the screen is so jumbled I can't really read what the hell is going on. It says something about my cmos but I cant read it. I'm hoping its just my motherboard since it will post past the cpu and ram.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Artex

 

[Nick M]

So basically, everything is unreadable, and you can read the name of the CPU and RAM ( clear english ) and everyhing else is distorted...um...I would try first, just another CPU, just to be on the safe side, if everything works, its the mobo. if not, then you killed the cpu.

 

[Artex]

I can see it post past the cpu and ram, but it too is garbled almost to the point of unreadability. I dont have a cpu to swap into it. I'm about ready to get a new cpu and mobo, but I really dont want too. I've been having troubles booting last couple days (thread is xp won't boot), could this have been a warning about my motherboard. Oh well thanks for the help. Any other ideas would be great.

Artex

 

[Nick M]

So all text is messed up. Remove the CPU, then place it back into the motherboard, and place whichever HSF you want on it ( forget thermal paste for now ) maybe it will work then, it was inserted too tight somehow, although I doubt that can happen.

As in terms of what to buy and what not, I think you should get a CPU first, see if it fixes everything, then, if not, a new board.

I can't really think of anything else...

 

[Taurus]

Posted by Nick M
forget thermal paste for now

uhh... be careful... bare cpu-to-heatsink contact with no medium is almost as bad as no heatsink at all. you'll need some kind of compound in between or else your cpu will fry within a couple seconds.

 

[bruce_ers00]

Posted by taurus
uhh... be careful... bare cpu-to-heatsink contact with no medium is almost as bad as no heatsink at all. you'll need some kind of compound in between or else your cpu will fry within a couple seconds.

I've done bare cpu-to-heatsink and rank into no problems at all. My current P4 is bare cpu-to-heatsink. I've had the system for about 3 months. No problems at all.

 

[SickBoi]

next time..use a cpu shim to be on the safe side.. oh and a question.. does the inside of your case smell crispy at all?

 

[Taurus]

Posted by bruce_ers00
I've done bare cpu-to-heatsink and rank into no problems at all. My current P4 is bare cpu-to-heatsink. I've had the system for about 3 months. No problems at all.

well, it is a p4 which doesn't create much heat... and if it's temps go too high, it'll just automatically lower it's clock speed without you knowing.

and nick m never mentioned if he had an amd or intel chip or how fast it is... so to be on the safe side i recommended using thermal compound.

 

[scriptasylum]

Um, is it possible he has a corrupted BIOS? Before purchasing anything else, I would try clearing the CMOS with the jumper, or maybe leave the battery out overnight to clear it.

The fact you can even see anything before it turns to gibberish would lead me to believe at least the CPU is ok. The motherboard could be bad I guess, but the part where you can see *something* seems like it could be something else, almost software-like (or firmware-like as the case may be).

I know there are some BIOS level viruses around that may have done something like that, or maybe the BIOS chip itself isnt seated right in it's socket, assuming it is in a socket.

 

[Nick M]

Huh. That almost sounds like a possible solution. I never even thought of that. Taking out the battery, and leaving it out for a little while, or clearing the CMOS with a jumper ( if possible ) might help. Go for it!