CPU Damaged?

[z0rz]

I attempted to do a BSEL tape mod on an Intel E7300 CPU (on a Dell). After booting, the computer would bluescreen, so I decided that the BSEL mod wasn't worth the trouble and proceeded to remove the piece of tape. After reapplying Arctic Silver 5, the computer would boot but would never get to the Windows loading screen. It would just go straight to a black screen and do nothing (it sounded like the hard drive was working, but the Vista sound that plays after successfully loading Windows never played, so I assume it's not a bad monitor or display output). During this whole ordeal, I noticed the PSU spark a little bit when plugging/unplugging it from the computer. Because of all of these factors, I'm having a hard time narrowing down what the problem may be.

Could the pins in the CPU socket be bent? I must have removed/cleaned/pasted the CPU at least 3 times, so that could be possible. Did the sparking PSU short circuit something? I also noticed that I got a little bit of thermal paste on the underside of the CPU after the last removal and decided to wipe it off since leaving it there certainly would do no good, but that happened after the bluescreen and failed load to black screen. I haven't even tried to reboot it after the pads were blemished. Is it unsafe to clean the pads under a CPU?

I think it basically boils down to whether or not the pins in the CPU socket were bent or if the PSU sparked and short circuited something. Which one is more likely to happen, and how would I find out which problem it may be?

I need help on this matter ASAP, and any help is GREATLY appreciated. Thanks in advance!

(I'm going to post this under the motherboard section too since I'm not sure if it fits here)

 

[13thmonkey]

can you get into bios, perhaps some settings were changed, i.e. choice of pci/pci-e graphics output.

 

[daft]

was the thermal past on the underside of the CPU when you turned your computer on? if so, there would almost certainly be a short. what it would kill would most likely be the cpu, but it could also have been the mobo, or PSU. but if your PSU did spark, i wouldn't try using it again and try to get it replaced. also, a good PSU over a cheap no name PSU ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mondoman]

There's no way the PSU could have sparked unless it was still plugged into the wall, or had just been unplugged from the wall a few seconds beforehand (remember, "shutting off" the computer does not shut off all the power from the PS to the computer). My first guess would be that the sparking indicates you fried something by not unplugging the PS first. Second, having thermal paste on the bottom of the CPU is bad and needs to be cleaned off before you try installing it again. The fact that you got thermal compound on the bottom of the CPU also suggests that you were not very careful/skilled in removing the CPU, so you certainly may have damaged the CPU socket or something else on the MB during your activities.

 

[buzznut]

First problem comes in the first sentence when you say you did a mod on a dell...

So the BSEL mod should only be tried on a processor that you wouldn't mind losing. It sounds like you fried this one.

If you really want to upgrade, I would get a new proc and mobo.

PSU spark? Exactly how did that happen? Do you mean an incidental spark from the outlet when you unplugged the power cord from the wall? Because that wouldn't worry me at all. An internal spark would freak me out tho.

 

[z0rz]

I know you're naturally inclined to believe I'm an idiot, but I have successfully BSEL modded my own Q6600 on my personal Dell with ease (not that it's a difficult task in the first place). This particular mod was on a friend's computer, and we both were well aware of the potential consequences of such a procedure. That being said, yes - I made sure to unplug the PSU before doing anything. I haven't found the source of the "spark" I heard, but the PSU has shown no other problems and seems to be working fine now.

The problem turned out to have nothing to do with the CPU or motherboard in any way. Apparently the BIOS decided it wanted to boot from a floppy disk without any warning, despite the computer having no floppy drive at all. I simply removed the floppy disk boot option from the BIOS and everything is back to normal.

So basically, the award goes to 13thmonkey for not assuming I'm a complete moron and was actually pretty close to diagnosing the real problem. Thanks for the help anyway, guys.

Also, to Mondoman: The fact that you didn't fully read my post suggests you were not very careful/skilled in reading English, blah blah, etc. I posted it in two forums because my issue was so broad that I couldn't limit it to just a solitary "CPU" or a "motherboard" issue, as you should have noticed in the second paragraph of my first post. Instead of breaking it down into single posts about individual possibilities, I saw it fit to lump everything together and post it in two different forums with a disclaimer explaining that I did indeed post it in two forums, and my explanation for doing so.

Furthermore, I find it hard to believe anyone would be "confused" by my multiple posts as, once again, I clearly stated my reasoning for posting it multiple times. The same can be said about "wasting everyone's time." Flawed logic always bothers me, and it seems people spend more time pointing fingers than actually helping on forums now. Mondoman's response is much like a student going to a public tutor asking for help, and the tutor saying "Well, I can see by how many algebra questions you got wrong that you're a dolt and shouldn't be doing math. Don't ask for help next door, either. That door is closed to you." Whatever.

Anyway, the problem is solved; feel free to close this thread as well. And thanks again to everyone that gave tips/advice. I know I come off as very cynical, but I do appreciate the effort.

 

[Mondoman]

z - thanks for posting the outcome. Regarding the double-posting, while it's easy for you to keep track of your own posts, some of us read hundreds of posts in a day and it's not so easy to remember if a given post is the duplicate of another, as the other might already have been locked by someone else or perhaps never made, etc. In addition, people responding to one post likely won't see the responses to the other post, which adds to the confusion and often leads to wasted effort.

Deciding on a category for posting can be tricky in some cases, as you note; next time, if you're not sure, make a single post in your first choice category. If nothing comes of it after 2-3 days, try again in your second choice category.

 

[z0rz]

I understand that, and although I haven't read the posting rules on these particular forums, I'm aware that double posting is generally frowned upon. I was willing to accept that at the time, given that I thought that I essentially ruined a friend's computer and wanted to get results as quickly as possible to rectify any possible mistakes. I could normally wait 2-3 days, but that just wasn't an option for me at the time. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Thanks again for all the help.