P55 System Lock Ups

[phlog]

Hi all,

My system was stable for over half a year and then began locking up when idle for extended periods. By 'locking up' I mean the screen simply freezes 'as is' and the mouse/keyboard lose power. This problem has progressed to the point where it locks up very frequently.

After going the through the troubleshooting process I discovered that I can reproduce the lockup when I touch the cpu cooler (Hyper 212 plus). This leads me to believe that the system is either shorting to the case, or the cpu is losing contact.

Before I take the whole rig apart (again), can anyone tell me if this type of lockup is indicative of a short? Or does it sound like a cpu problem?

Any other feedback would be great.

Specs:

i7-860
p55a-ud4p
4GB g.skill ripjaws ddr3 1600
Hyper 212 plus
HIS 5850
Corsair 650w psu
500GB WD Caviar Black x2
Windows 7 x64
Antec 300


Thank you

 

[phlog]

I loosened the 4 screws that attach the cooler to the bracket and the system stopped crashing. These screws are on springs so I'm hoping the heatsink didn't lose contact with the cpu... just relieved some pressure.

CM's documentation is somewhat lacking. It would be nice if they mentioned something about how tight these screws need to be.

 

[GenericUser]

I loosened the 4 screws that attach the cooler to the bracket and the system stopped crashing. These screws are on springs so I'm hoping the heatsink didn't lose contact with the cpu... just relieved some pressure.

CM's documentation is somewhat lacking. It would be nice if they mentioned something about how tight these screws need to be.

As a general rule of thumb, you want to get the heatsink on just tight enough to that its properly, secured, but no more than that. Too much pressure on your motherboard will definitely cause some problems and/or damage.

I'm not sure about the shorting. I don't believe that simply touching the heatsink was causing any type of short, but you might have been applying enough pressure by touching it to cause the motherboard to bend a little, especially when you mentioned that you were able to loosen the heatsink a bit and stop the crashing. Also, I would think that a single short would be enough to put your system out of commission for good instead of causing recurring issues, but don't quote me on that.

 

[phlog]

Best answer selected by phlog.

 

[phlog]

Thanks for the reply. The system has been stable after loosening those screws. Hopefully it stays that way.