Need diagnostics plz!

[nasijen]

Hello all,

yesterday, I opened up my recently home-built computer to clean some dust out. This PC was built in february of 2010. I opened my computer up on concrete in a basement, took out the graphics card, the power supply, the hard drive, and the heatsink off the processor.

everything was AIR cleaned- no water invovled.

After putting everything back in, and turning it on- it seems fine at first but whenever I launch a game- or a CPU stresser- or a graphics stresser- or launch ALOT of programs at once- the screen turns black & and the audio goes out as so does the keyboard and mouse. Sometimes when I start it up, it pixel-ates ALOT and then that scenario occurs again.

Do you guys think the PSU was somehow destroyed through the process and the graphics & the mobo arnt getting enough watts anymore? Or is the graphics card messed up? or what?

It turns into a vegetable. Note that the computer ran perfectly well for all those months until I opened it up.

Thank you!


6GB DDR3 Ram
RADEON 5850
500GB 7200RPM
i5 720
700 Watt PSU

 

[Rustyy117]

Well I take it you touched the case to open it ( and didn't use some weird special ability) so you should have grounded yourself before touching any of the components.
So static shouldn't have been a problem.

Are you sure all the PSU connectors are secure, like the PCI-E cables, 24Pin and 8Pin CPU?

What make and model is your PSU?

 

[Timop]

Did you reapply TIM when you cleaned the CPU?
Try reseating the RAM/GPU and check all connections..

How did you clean the GPU? Did you take off the fan shroud or just blew compressed air into the fan?

There is a possibility that you could have scratched a PCB somewhere..

 

[Deleted member 217926]

What you need to do is try reseating everything again. Did you clean the CPU and reapply thermal paste after taking the heatsink off?

Follow this list: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-boot-video-problems

 

[nasijen]

Well I take it you touched the case to open it ( and didn't use some weird special ability) so you should have grounded yourself before touching any of the components.
So static shouldn't have been a problem.

Are you sure all the PSU connectors are secure, like the PCI-E cables, 24Pin and 8Pin CPU?

What make and model is your PSU?

Yes, all of the PSU connectors are secure. the 24PIN is secure and so is the 8pin

I am using a 700WATT from OCZ.

 

[nasijen]

Did you reapply TIM when you cleaned the CPU?
Try reseating the RAM/GPU and check all connections..

How did you clean the GPU? Did you take off the fan shroud or just blew compressed air into the fan?

There is a possibility that you could have scratched a PCB somewhere..

I reseated everything twice and double checked all connections.
I blew air all over the GPU. i did not open one screw.

 

[nasijen]

What you need to do is try reseating everything again. Did you clean the CPU and reapply thermal paste after taking the heatsink off?

Follow this list: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-boot-video-problems

I reseated everything. I did not clean the CPU and I did not reapply thermal paste after taking off the heatsink because there was still some left on the CPU.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Have you checked temps? Anytime you take the heatsink off you really need to reapply thermal paste.

 

[coozie7]

Could be the CPU is overheating, it is good practice to renew the thermal grease every time any component is removed.
Either Coretemp or Speedfan will tell you the CPU temperatures and Rivatuner or GPUZ will do the same for the graphics card/s. Download them and check your temperatures then post the results, please.

 

[Kkkk1]

I reseated everything. I did not clean the CPU and I did not reapply thermal paste after taking off the heatsink because there was still some left on the CPU.

mmm, not good. Please do the following:-

Take off the heat sink from the CPU, and use an alcoho basedl solution to clean the paste off the CPU and Heat Sink. If you don't have any use a spatula (nothing sharp) and take it off and clean it off as best you can with lint free cloths etc. Apply the new paste and re-seat your heatsink. Make sure that the paste covers the whole CPU. You want about a pea size amount in the cetre of the CPU and spread it. An old credit card or spatula is ideal for this leaving a very thin layer across the whole of the CPU. Make sure it goes to the edges as if it doesn't you can end up with hot spots which over time will destroy yuor CPU. re-boot and see how it goes. (Sorry if you knew this already)

 

[nasijen]

mmm, not good. Please do the following:-

Take off the heat sink from the CPU, and use an alcoho basedl solution to clean the paste off the CPU and Heat Sink. If you don't have any use a spatula (nothing sharp) and take it off and clean it off as best you can with lint free cloths etc. Apply the new paste and re-seat your heatsink. Make sure that the paste covers the whole CPU. You want about a pea size amount in the cetre of the CPU and spread it. An old credit card or spatula is ideal for this leaving a very thin layer across the whole of the CPU. Make sure it goes to the edges as if it doesn't you can end up with hot spots which over time will destroy yuor CPU. re-boot and see how it goes. (Sorry if you knew this already)

I figured this might be a problem but I don't think its a CPU heating problem because I just let it cool down for 2 hours and when I turn it in- right when it gets to the desktop screen it pixelates and then the screen turns black. A CPU overheating should take atleast 5-10 minutes. I will try this though, thanks.

 

[geofelt]

If the cpu cooler is not properly installed, it can take only 5 seconds or so to cause a problem.
If you have a push pin type cooler mount, realize that
push pin coolers can be tricky to install.
A bad installation can lead to higher temperatures, and even cpu throttling.
With the pc powered down, gently rock the cooler to see if it is on solid, or if it wobbles a bit.
Push pin coolers are best installed while the motherboard is outside of the case.
You need to be able to look at the back of the board to verify that
all 4 pins are completely through and locked.
Play with the pins on the cooler first, so you can see exactly how they work.
Read the instructions that came with your retail cpu.
When pushing down on the pins, do a diagonal pair first.
If you don't, it is hard to get the last pin in.
Don't forget to clean the parts and reapply fresh thermal compound every time.
Don't try to reuse the TIM.
Rubbing alcohol is OK as a cleaner.
I use a paper coffee filter to clean with because it is lint free.
Any name brand TIM should be OK(as-5, Mx-2, etc.)
When applying the TIM, don't use too much, because it can act as an insulator.
Don't apply too little, either, because it won't spread and fill the microscopic
imperfections in the surfaces. A dollop about the size of a grain
of rice should be about right.

 

[nasijen]

ok well thank you all, i will buy thermal grease for my heatsink.

Any other problem you think might occur? Such as a bad PSU or my GPU got messed up?

 

[geofelt]

ok well thank you all, i will buy thermal grease for my heatsink.

Any other problem you think might occur? Such as a bad PSU or my GPU got messed up?

The other possibility is that the power to the graphics card or motherboard is not solidly connected. But, you have checked that.

I doubt that anything has been damaged.

What cooler do you have?

 

[nasijen]

The other possibility is that the power to the graphics card or motherboard is not solidly connected. But, you have checked that.

I doubt that anything has been damaged.

What cooler do you have?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154011

I have that heatsink. I understand that a heating CPU is bad in every aspect but does an overheating CPU explain the pixelation im getting right before everything goes out?

And if it is a graphics card problem, it doesn't make sense that keyboard/mouse/audio all go out as well.

 

[Timop]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154011

I have that heatsink. I understand that a heating CPU is bad in every aspect but does an overheating CPU explain the pixelation im getting right before everything goes out?

And if it is a graphics card problem, it doesn't make sense that keyboard/mouse/audio all go out as well.

Take the board out of the case and do the whole setup on a cardboard box, it could potentially be a grounding issue.

 

[nasijen]

So guys, I was trying to view my CPU temperature via desktop but it keeps dying before I could. So I waited awhile, rebooted and went straight to the BIOs. the bios said my cpu temperature is at a constant 51.5/52 C while in bios

is that a little too high for i5 750? espacially while in bios?

 

[Timop]

So guys, I was trying to view my CPU temperature via desktop but it keeps dying before I could. So I waited awhile, rebooted and went straight to the BIOs. the bios said my cpu temperature is at a constant 51.5/52 C while in bios

is that a little too high for i5 750? espacially while in bios?

Yup, with that cooler, it should idle at no more than 10C over ambient.

 

[geofelt]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835154011

I have that heatsink. I understand that a heating CPU is bad in every aspect but does an overheating CPU explain the pixelation im getting right before everything goes out?

And if it is a graphics card problem, it doesn't make sense that keyboard/mouse/audio all go out as well.

If the cpu is in trouble, anything can happen.

For how long can you see the temp in bios?
50c. +. is very high at idle

 

[nasijen]

If the cpu is in trouble, anything can happen.

For how long can you see the temp in bios?
50c. +. is very high at idle

I was sitting my computer in bios for 20-25 minutes..it went from 52 C to 54. should it not be that high during bios?