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housewife needs help

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Anonymous   02-26-2002 at 05:06:22 AM

It appears as though my CPU chip is "fried". I smelled something like burning telivisions in the computer room the other day. Today I opened the case on my Compaq only to find a fan dangling loose. I've figured out it was supposed to be clipped to the CPU chip to keep it from melting, which is has.

Anyway, now I just want to replace the chip if I can. I can't find anything that says exactally what mine says on the top. It's a 900Mhz Athlon AMD made in 1999. Would any 900Mhz athlon do??

Also, there is the issue of the fan. some little piece of plastic crubled off and the fan came unclipped. It is a TaiSol fan. I don't know how to get it back on and I think I might have to replace the plastic "chip holder" thingey in order to do that.. (or maybe can I just screw it on??

help me if you can

kathy

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Pettytheft   02-26-2002 at 05:16:27 AM
- 0 +

If your not exactly sure what to do or if you cannot get someone to show you what to do then take your system to where you purchased it. Your warranty may still be good. If it isn't you may need a new CPU as well as a new Motherboard, sometimes when Athlons fry, they take the motherboard with them as well. If you have to take it to a shop to get it fixed dont let them replace anything other than the CPU and the motherboard (If needed). Personally I would try contacting Compaq as well.

Good Luck

Blah, Blah Blahh, Blahh, blahh blah blahh, blah blah.

Reply to Pettytheft
somerandomguy   02-26-2002 at 05:17:00 AM
- 0 +

My first piece of advise would be: If you have no idea what you're doing, find someone who has a least some idea or you might end up with another fried CPU.
You might need to describe the "plastic chip holder thingey" a little better.
Is it the socket that the Athlon is plugged into that you're talking about? When you say the fan came unclipped, do you mean the heatsink as well as the fan, or just the fan?
Also, do you know what motherboard you have?

"Ignorance is bliss, but I tend to get screwed over."

Reply to somerandomguy
texas_techie   02-26-2002 at 09:03:02 AM
- 0 +

Hey housewife,

It was probably just the fan clip that came off. Unfortunately, there is a 99.99% chance the CPU is dead (since ya smelt burning). 900 mhz athlons go for about 80$ ( just a guess there).
Find a nerd in the neighborhood and ask him. We could tell you exactly how to replace/fix your problem, but it would take 18 pages in this forum to do it ( at least do it right). We would have to know if your motherboard is ok, what kind it is, walk you step-by-step in removing the heatsink and cpu. How to properly replace the cpu, where to get thermal paste for the cpu, how to install the paste, how to get teh heat sink back on etc etc etc....
Its kind of complicated when ya break it down into written instructions.
Good luck!

Benchmarks are like sex, everybody loves doing it, everybody thinks they are good at it.

Reply to texas_techie
peteb   02-26-2002 at 09:46:46 AM
- 0 +

hmm do I smell Melty around here somewhere?

-* <font color=red> !! S O L D !! </font color=red> *-
To the gentleman in the pink Tutu

Reply to peteb
JCLW   02-26-2002 at 03:05:37 PM
- 0 +

Kathy:

#1) If the computer is still under warranty call Compaq.

#2) If I understand your post correctly one of the lugs/tabs on your CPU socket ("plastic chip holder" ) broke off, the heatsink and fan fell off, and your CPU overheated. I might be wrong 'tho, so let's consider three different scenarios:

A) If one of the plastic lugs/tabs on the socket did indeed break off you will probably need to replace your motherboard which will be a bit of an ordeal. Being a Compaq, it will probably be both hard to find, and expensive. Call Compaq and try and get more information about availability and pricing. I don't think regular ATX motherboards will fit in your Compaq case. Something to consider is why the tab broke in the first place. Did the computer get a big bump or jar which caused it to break? Did the socket have a manufacturing defect which caused it to break? Or is the heatsink clip defective and place too much pressure on the lugs/tabs causing them to snap off?

B) If the lugs/tabs on the socket are still OK and it is only the heatsink/fan which broke (ie: the clip holding the heatsink onto the CPU socket broke or the fan fell off the heatsink) you will only need to replace the CPU and the heatsink/fan. Any "Socket A Athlon-900" will work. Open the lever on the socket, remove the old processor, drop the new one in, close the lever. The new heatsink/fan should come with installation instructions. Keep in mind that if the new heatsink doesn't have thermal compound on it when you get it you will need to purchase some.

C) If both the heatsink and fan only fell off and nothing broke (apart from the processor) then you will probably only need a new processor. But again consider why it fell off. Did the computer get bumped heavily or dropped? Is the spring clip on the heatsink too weak? Again I'd look at purchasing a new heatsink/fan.

Good luck,
- JW

Reply to JCLW
ath0mps0   02-26-2002 at 07:33:29 PM
- 0 +

Since the tab broke off the socket, most regular heat-sinks won't work. You need to look at the socket and see if there are additional tabs adjacent to the one that broke; if so, you need a heatsink that has a retaining clip that uses these additional tabs - your local computer store should know what I'm talking about. While you could use just any Socket A Athlon 900, you should also be able to take this "opportunity" to upgrade your system. Athlon processors in this range (900-1400) are extremely inexpensive now.

While I understand your new-found aversion to PC professionals, the most likely reason your heatsink/fan combo fell off and the tab broke, is incorrect transportation. If your PC was laying on the wrong side - i.e. the heatsink was hanging from the socket - upsidedown or sideways - instead of laying flat on the processor and socket - any strong bump could have broken the tab and, subsequently, the heatsink/fan (HSF) from the socket.

If it was an actual place of business that performed the last repair, I would recommend you return and attempt to receive compensation in the way of replacement parts. If not, or if they are not agreeable, find a more professional location and have your processor and HSF replaced. If this does not resolve the issue, your motherboard is probably fried as well. Compaq motherboards are hard to come by and expensive, so if you arrive at this point, your best bet would be to purchase a new computer. For under $500 you can get everything new to rival your existing system. For a little less, but not much, you could use some of your existing components and just replace the case - with powersupply, motherboard, and processor. For the latter option you would incur a labor cost.



I thought a thought, but the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought I had thought.

Reply to ath0mps0
Anonymous   02-26-2002 at 09:19:06 PM
- 0 +

Yes, there was much jostling about when I dumped it in the car to take it to those "professional" computer repair persons for a software problem. (Windows ME was caught in endless start-up loop... apparently I fixed it at home and just didn't have the patience to wait for it... they said it booted up ok after about 20 minutes). So, that's why it broke I'm sure. the rest of the "lugs" as I've come to know them, are OK.

I got a new heatsink and fan that uses just one lug on one side and two on the other. they didn't have any that screwed to the MB, but I can see there are holes for that on my board.

got a new chip AMD 1GHz Duron... the fan/heatsink says it's good for that too.

Now, I'm a little unnerved that there is Silicone Compound and no mention of how this is supposed to be applied. I've trowled some on the bottom of the sink to resemble the stuff on the bottom of the fan that came with the chip(only I can't use that one....it uses both center lugs). I'm waiting for it to firm up a bit, but I can see that isn't going to happen.

I'm just going to hook it all up and pray!

Reply to Anonymous
Tiberius13   02-26-2002 at 09:28:17 PM
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Basically you just put a *thin* coat of that goo on the cpu core (the raised center of the processor that is a little less than an inch square). Then you put the heat sink on over the processor.

There are some decent guides on installing heat sinks at the websites of the heat sink manufacturers... you can check out www.thermaltake.com as an example (they have guides for installing various types of heat sinks they make)... Use the website for the manufacturer of your heat sink if necessary.

Good luck.

Reply to Tiberius13
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