Accidentally got thermal paste in CPU socket... am I screwed?

[imported_Stew]

Title says it all. Accidentally put a CPU in backwards, and I had already put thermal paste on top of it.... so the socket got some thermal paste in it.

Is it possible to save the board? Or will that even hurt it?

We tried starting the system up, but we heard some sparks and smelled smoke.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Originally posted by: Stew
Title says it all. Accidentally put a CPU in backwards, and I had already put thermal paste on top of it.... so the socket got some thermal paste in it.

Is it possible to save the board? Or will that even hurt it?

We tried starting the system up, but we heard some sparks and smelled smoke.

think that answers your question.

 

[Abhi]

You could try pouring and quickly wiping iso propyl alcohol....

If the board is dead, you have nothing to loose anyway...

 

[Agentbolt]

We tried starting the system up, but we heard some sparks and smelled smoke

Why didn't you just stab it a few times with screwdriver first? Never ever ever ever do that, dude. Your board is dead now, even if you get it to boot it'll be unstable/unreliable.

 

[Gusty987]

what kind of cpu and board are we talking about here? Nothing too expensive I hope...

 

[Nathelion]

What kind of thermal grease was it? And the sparks and smoke sound bad. Both the board and the proc might be fried, and I'm not sure warranty will cover it. You should NOT have given it power with that kind of problems. Also what socket was it?
On most sockets, you can with a bit of careful violence remove the covering plastic grid that you put the cpu on. Once that's gone (and be CAREFUL these things are DELICATE) you'll have little metal things sticking up to make contact with the cpu pins. you could try opening it up, cleaning it out with 90% rubbing alcohol (and somehow not damaging stuff), putting it back on, making sure that your processor is clean too, waiting for a couple of days to make sure it dries out, and then trying it again. That's all I've got for ya.

 

[SparkyJJO]

If there is sparks and smoke, it is 99.999% certain that it is gone.

 

[schneiderguy]

Originally posted by: Stew
Accidentally put a CPU in backwards

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: schneiderguy

Originally posted by: Stew
Accidentally put a CPU in backwards

Dude, you should have bought a Dell.

Or, judging by your complete lack of DIY prowess, a Mac.

- M4H

 

[Old Hippie]

but we heard some sparks and smelled smoke.

If that's already escaped, give it a decent burial.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Judging by your screen name you should have added some cubed potatoes and diced carrots I think it's done

 

[CurseTheSky]

Just curious - not trying to pour salt in the wound, but...

How do you put a processor in BACKWARDS?

Was this an LGA775 socket chip (Pentium 4, Core 2 Duo, etc.) with the pins in the socket itself, and you dropped the silver-shiney side into the socket head first? If so... ouch.

Furthermore, if you make a fatal mistake like this, never EVER turn the computer on. Infact, if it's plugged in (I hope not when taking the processor out) take the plug right out of the wall. The motherboard may have been toast from the beginning (depending on how deep the thermal paste went, how much, etc.), but you just risked damaging all of your other hardware as well.

 

[Kromis]

Originally posted by: CurseTheSky
Just curious - not trying to pour salt in the wound, but...

How do you put a processor in BACKWARDS?

Was this an LGA775 socket chip (Pentium 4, Core 2 Duo, etc.) with the pins in the socket itself, and you dropped the silver-shiney side into the socket head first? If so... ouch.

Furthermore, if you make a fatal mistake like this, never EVER turn the computer on. Infact, if it's plugged in (I hope not when taking the processor out) take the plug right out of the wall. The motherboard may have been toast from the beginning (depending on how deep the thermal paste went, how much, etc.), but you just risked damaging all of your other hardware as well.

Yes, I'm wondering too...

 

[StopSign]

Me three. This is beyond mind boggling.

 

[corkyg]

Me four - all the CPUs I have ever inserted would only go one way. The socket has a couple of holes missing on one corner and that has to match up with the CPU's missing pins - also it has a mark on that corner. The opposite corner is usually beveled off.

 

[squirrel dog]

You must mean upside down?Smoke means the worst so maybe you should see a good pc shop in your area.

 

[Gusty987]

Maybe he was trying to put it in, lost his grip, and it flipped over?

 

[xtremeskier97]

Maybe this will end up being in this thread.

 

[Extelleron]

Originally posted by: Gusty987
Maybe he was trying to put it in, lost his grip, and it flipped over?

Processor isn't really all that slippery.

There's plenty of mistakes that can be made while making a computer, but this is just a really weird one. Placing a processor in the socket is not something that (at least I thought) you could mess up so greatly. Bending the pins is something that is possible, but putting it in the wrong way...

 

[manimal]

Go easy on the guy, he just had a very traumatic thing happen, Mistakes happen, all you can do is learn from them and follow simple guidelines when you work on your pc.


As my friends 70 year old grandma used to say, " If you dont know, you better ask somebody, mmmmhhhmmm"


Just reread the post: he put the thermal paste on BEFORE he put it into the socket? Those crazy kids these days.

 

[Cheezeit]

Originally posted by: manimal
Go easy on the guy, he just had a very traumatic thing happen, Mistakes happen, all you can do is learn from them and follow simple guidelines when you work on your pc.


As my friends 70 year old grandma used to say, " If you dont know, you better ask somebody, mmmmhhhmmm"


Just reread the post: he put the thermal paste on BEFORE he put it into the socket? Those crazy kids these days.

Well putting thermal past on before the cpu is in the socket is nothing abnormal... It's much easier to work with for me. The AS5 instructions also tell you to do it that way. However, putting it on backwards is

 

[Synomenon]

Same here. I usually apply the thermal compound on the CPU while it's sitting on the black foam thing it comes in. Much easier I think.

 

[Ruptga]

First, get another motherboard, then post about this in the "stupidest thing you've ever done" thread, and be sure to enclude all the details

 

[imported_Stew]

Yeah... I put it in upside-down.... it was probably a mistake to put the paste on before inserting it anyway...

The mobo is fried... but the CPU has bent pins and seemed to be DOA anyhow.

 

[corkyg]

I'm confused - "upside down" to me suggests the pins were all facing up with the flat surface of the CPU against the socket. ???