it would be more effective to get a mallet and hit the socket multiple times than use cotton buds
have you ever put a cloth in a cpu socket?
judging by your quote i would go as far as to say "no, no you havent" as pins get attracted to cloths
my advice:
thermal paste remover in the socket
tip it so the remnants run out of the socket
put it in the airing cupboard for a few days
- and be more careful
Another thing the Antec 200 does not come with a speaker cable, so the damn thing doesn't do any post beeps, is this the norm nowadays or is there a speaker mysteriously built into the mobo somehow!
How do i dry the mobo socket though?