Aghhh have I just killed my CPU? System inactive with the CPU in the socket and the level down..

[Richdog]

Hi guys, having a bit of a new problem here so would appreciate a bit of help.

I was just replacing a GPU and I nudged (not banged) the heatsink attached to the CPU. I checked it was still seated ok then didn't think anything of it and put the system back together and pressed the power button. Nothing. Nada. The mobo power button lights up which is an ok sign, but it wouldn't post when pressing the power button. Reseated the GPU, checked cables. Again, wouldn't post. Nada,

The CPU and heatsink again seem fine and sturdily seated so I do some googling and see a lot of people having a similar problem and needing to reseat the CPU. So I take off the heatsink and there is a lot of thermal paste glooped at the sides so I must have put too much on originally. My bad. So I clean up the CPU and heatsink with alcohol lens wipes and some of it goes around the CPU, but I clean it off as best I can with and reseat the CPU. No post.

I then unseat the CPU and press the power button and the mobo whirrs into life. I repeat this successfully multiple times, so the problem is definitely the CPU. However, although the CPU looks clean and the pins look ok it just doesn't whirr into life with the CPU seated and the level is down. The moment I lift the level, it posts.

• Is it likely that there is some paste somewhere on the CPU that is shorting the mobo?
• Could I have got some traces ofthermal paste inside the socket itself and will this be a bigger problem?

Advice would be appreciated please.

 

[Richdog]

Can you post you specs? If it's an amd cpu, you'll need to check very carefully for bent pins from all angles. Also check the silly things like your power cables.

What thermal paste are you using? If it's non conductive then it won't short. Was it on the socket?

Thanks guys I appreciate it. Specs are in my sig but I forgot to put them in my main post.

l MSI Unify X570 l AMD 3300x l 1660 Super l
l 32GB Gskill Neo Z PC3600 l Scythe Mugen 5 l
l Adata SX8200 Pro 2TB SSD l BeQuiet! 500DX l
l Seasonic Focus GX850 l

• Thermal paste is Noctua NH1 which is NOT conductive (yay) https://noctua.at/en/nt-h1-3-5g
• Doesn't seem to be paste in the socket.
• PSU connections seem fine.
  
• Board connections seem fine.
• Tried resetting CMOS.
• Pins may be fractionally bent but it's really hard to tell, I need a magnifying glass.
• The fact everything boots up without the CPU lever down brings me hope that it's really just a dead CPU. Mobo would be a disaster.
• I may be forced to buy a 5800+ instead of waiting another 1-2 months for a 5900x. Not sure I will ever forgive AMD for this stock debaucle.

Well if it's an amd, nudging the cooler could have compressed the cpu. Otherwise, check all the cable connections at the psu end, sometimes when installing hardware you got loosen a connection from the psu end

Do you mean compressed as in pending the pins, or...?

 

[Richdog]

Interestingly, when I put the CPU in the socket (but DON'T put down the lever, it just sits loose in the socket) and the power is all connected then the PC spins into life without my pressing the power button...

 

[Richdog]

Yes, I know when I've had air coolers waaaaay in the past and I was fitting stuff into the case I would sometimes press against the heatsink.
Do you know anyone who could try your cpu in another mobo?
And one last thing, can you power up the system and get to bios without the cpu and the lever down?

Hmm no there was no signal to the monitor without the CPU inside either. Should it get to the BIOS? I've never tried it without a CPU before.

EDIT - Doesn't make sense that it would work though...

 

[Richdog]

Just trying to eliminate the possibility that it's the motherboard. I was rushing and responding to your thread. You should have Q-Led just by your 24pin motherboard socket. do you get a red light on the bottom most led which is the cpu warning light?
Or an error code on your Post display at the bottom right of your board.

I only get the LED warning when when I take out the power cable.

did you try refitting old GPU ?

Yes, same problem.

I wonder if the motherboard has cracked with the tap you gave it. When I say motherboard it could be a track, or solder joint or even a hole through plating.
I had that once and the moment I placed any pressure on anything, it just didn't work any more. Often heatsinks are a bit tight and can put the board under pressure. A tap can really overload an already stressed board.

Incidentally, some lens wipes contain fragrance which may cause harm. I would try getting a little bottle of isopropanol for future cleaning. It may be worth the cost of a bottle to rinse the CPU in just in case there are any deposits on it, but I think this is unlikely to work.

I didn't hear or see any signs of this and would be surprised.

I have just ordered another CPU to try so i that works then we know the old CPU was the problem... if not then it could be the mobo. Lets pray it's the CPU.

 

[Richdog]

Ok I just rechecked the CPU and one of the pins looked funny, so I tried to manipulate it a bit straighter and made it even worse. I tried to put it back in the socket and the mobo immediately started to turn on which seems to me, with my kindergarten level of electrical engineering, like the CPU is causing something to short. For now I am going to write this CPU off as destroyed until the new one arrives tomorrow. Very disheartening though, especially as it was my fault somehow in the first place.

 

[Richdog]

you shoudnt even have any power going to the motherboard if your removing components especially the CPU, PSU should be off.

Yes you are right I know its not ideal, but I was tearing my hair out troubleshooting. Tomorrow will be the day of judgement when I have a new CPU to try.... I will be very unhappy if the mobo is a problem but the fact it all lights up and does its thing gives me hope.

 

[Richdog]

The spontaneous power on definitely shouldn't happen. Hate to make things worse but I'd seriously look at the mobo as the culprit.

I fear you may be right Sir. I just tried a brand new CPU, perfectly installed, held my breath and pressed the power button, and it has exactly the same problem. Red light comes on the mobo power button, but no boot at all. I just don't know what I coould have damaged except perhaps the socket somehow. It's never happened before.

 

[Richdog]

What is the new CPU? (maybe needs bios update)

Could try flashing bios again any way, just in case.

It's a 5800x (I am so annoyed I have been forced tp upgrade to this but it was the only Zen3 in stock in Europe at MSRP. The 5600x and 5900x are either out of stock or scalped to hell and make the 5800x actually look reaosnable lol) and the BIOS I updated to was pretty recent. Considering I had the same probem with the 3300x which was working perfectly until I messed with the heatsink, it's not looking good. Butyou are right my good man, I have nothing to lose my trying a reflash other than time.

 

[Richdog]

Sounds like motherboard to me. Try it outside of the case, in case it is shorting on something. Also try it with a single stick of RAM installed.

I wonder if working on the system with the power on might somehow have caused the problem or made it worse, especially removing and re-inserting the CPU.

Good idea, I will try it outside of the case tomorrow morning. No idea if working with the system made it worse, but the moment I checked the heatsink was when everything stopped when I initially powered the system on again, so I think by that point it was game over and the damage was done.

Assuming it doesn't work out of the case I'm temped to buy another mobo and sell the RMA'd one when it gets back. Don't fancy being without a PC for 2-3 weeks.

 

[Richdog]

If the difference was between a lever up and down, then it was obviously the board. Sucks, RMA is long too.

How long do you think it will take? I'll be shipping from cental Europe to the MSI service center Poland so luckily no UK border stuff to worry about.

 

[Richdog]

Well guys, my usual persistence in no taking **** has paid off.

After 6 months the retailer I bought from tell you to go to MSI for support. However, under both UK and EU law the seller is obliged to deal with returns and replacements. I went on the retailer chat and reminded them of their legal obligations and asked them to sort me out a replacement board asap, I even linked them to the available stock. As a result of this they are sending a replacement to me immediately at no extra charge and have sent me a return label for the original defective board. No long or crappy MSI RMA service shall be used.

Really annoying that the retailer are trying this **** though... at least now I know how to get around it.

 

[Richdog]

Been watching this thread, let us know if the new motherboard sorts out the problem.

Also if the new motherboard does work, could you post the temperatures of the 5800x with the mugen 5 please, as it's the same combo I will be using.

If it doesn't sort out the problem I may be the forums first case of Seppuku.

No worries about the temps, I will report back here if it's up and running. I may also get new case fans as the Silent Wing 2 fans that I have are a bit feeble. Also the Mugen 5 fan is "ok" but can make a bit of noise when it gets going high.

I will have a 3080 ME (3090) in my rig so that will also undoubtedly dump a ton of heat in there. I will likely not be doing any overclocking, all stock.

 

[Richdog]

Might be a bit late, but sometimes thermal paste can get stuck inside the mounting holes for AMD sockets causing intermittent failures.

If you pretty much flood the socket with isopropanol move the socket around using the seating lever, then attempt to soak up as much dirty liquid with cotton bud you can clean the sockets up.

I've had a few instances of this due to over application of thermal paste or thermal paste between CPU pins during seating causing intermittent connection issues.

Too late for me mate im afraid but hopefully someone else will find your useful information a big help in future!

 

[Richdog]

ZOMG it's booted into windows yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy.

There is nothing as stressful as doing a new build with high value components, my heart was in my mouth when I first booted it all up outside of the case. Happily I saw the boot screen, so put it all together and now it's chugging away. Need to set the BOS and check temps and, well... just see how some games run.

 

[Richdog]

Glad your back up and working! Yes I think we all know that feeling! High end of not, no one likes to waste any money or watching things go up in smoke.

Even the cost of low to mid range components can be a lot to some people! that first power on is always the most worrying.

Heh thanks mate, you are right the first boot is a heart in mouth moment, but it's all running very sweet now, game tested for hours. I had another scare where I updated the BIOS and the system hung (******* MSI) and I couldn't get it to restart so thought t was bricked... but luckily the next day I managed to get it to reset.

Spent the weekend gaming on a TV and now considering an LG 65" OLED...

 

[Richdog]

I have an older OLED (c6v) and have never connected my pc to it.

Pc gaming for me is about refresh rate and KB and mouse at a desk kind of setup.

I'll try it one day though.

I thought the same until I bought a PS5 gamepad and then hooked up the PC to the TV to play Witcher 2 and RDR2 etc at 4k6. Holy crap... it's like having a PS8. Try it and see.