Did I toast my CPU?

C

calpolyarc

New Member
I already know I screwed up, so keep your comments to a minimum if you can help it! ;) Got a new mobo, took my cpu/hsf out of the old one and noticed the gray crud between them... hmmm... that doesn't look right maybe I should scrape it off with my fingernail so the hsf will work better.... ok done laughing at me?? Yeah so now I know that stuff is supposed to be there. But before I 'knew' that I installed the cpu/hsf in my new motherboard and turned the sucker on :eek: fans spinning, LED on but no display or beeps or annoying ASUS voice yelling at me about 'failed tests'. Ok I call ASUS and do what they recommend which is take the mobo out of the case and connect only the psu and speakers. When I power on I should hear the annoying 'no cpu detected' and alas I do! Ok I'm getting somewhere. Now I add the cpu/hsf to the mix and turn it on, I should hear 'memory test failed' but I don't... I don't hear anything. Computer was only on for a max 2 minutes before I would turn it off. One time I turned it on with the hsf propped up a bit away from the cpu... done laughing again?? it stayed on for like 10 seconds and then shut off. Ok so now I find out about the thermal paste and think I'm screwed. I took my cpu to a computer repair shop to have the cpu tested. Whew, he says it's fine!! All he did is wait for it to post, and assumed from that that the cpu wasn't harmed. So finally my question: Should my cpu be toast based on how I tortured it? Or normally is it ok to not have the paste on for a short amount of time? Any suggestions on what could be going on with the mobo? I'm going to try turning it on again (after applying new thermal paste to the cpu/hsf :D ) with the RAM in to see what it does... it should yell at me, 'system failed vga test', we'll see! Thanks for taking the time to read this long thread!
 
I think it would be fine. No thermal paste would def bring your temps up to something high, and you obviously voided your warenty lol, but I dont think 2 minutes without thermal paste would kill the CPU. Only one way to find out though.
 
34erd said:
Only one way to find out though.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's why I took it to a repair shop and he tested it. Also, to validate that it is not toasted, when I don't have it in the mobo and I turn it on I get the 'system failed cpu test' and when I do have it in I don't get that message. I don't know if that conclusively means that the CPU is totally in tact, the ASUS tech didn't think so, so that's why I had it tested. I don't understand why I can't get further in the post though?!?
 
I agree, a couple of minutes without thermal paste shouldn't cause any huge problems. Turning it on without the HSF on the CPU is a much greater concern, but most modern CPUs will turn off as soon as they get too hot to prevent damage. The CPU can be damaged before this feature kicks in, however
 
seeing as its a P4 it should have throttled right back to stop it reaching insane temperatures, there a thread on this forum asking for a link to the video.
i would say your system is fine
*edit* as for the vga tests reseat the mempry and the graphics, they can be problamatic sometimes
 
Thanks for the reassurance guys! As someone suggested in a different thread, I put the cpu back in the old mobo (duh!) and it worked! So in the old mobo with just the cpu, speakers and psu plugged in I get the 'system failed memory test'. BUT in the NEW mobo with the same plugged in I don't get anything! So it's gotta be something with the mobo.

I just called ASUS, the tech said that the mobo probably doesn't have an updated 'bios chip', and therefore isn't compatible with my cpu yet. I've never heard of this before, does this seem logical to you gurus?? <- Looking for more reassurance ;) Thanks.
 
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