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MY CPU IS STUCK...HELP!!!!!!

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4 Dec 2009
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I have just tried to remove my Phenom II stock cooler and found that the cooler was a bit stiff to come off. I gave it a pull and it came out....along with the CPU. None of the pins look damaged but the pre-applied thermal compound seems to have acted like glue to the CPU and they are pretty tightly stuck to each other. How can I safely separate them???? Thanks
 
Ouch... you're lucky you didn't damage any pins! Guess you'll find out when you put the cpu back in.

Did you not wiggle the cpu cooler first until it had freed itself abit?
 
Ouch... you're lucky you didn't damage any pins! Guess you'll find out when you put the cpu back in.

Did you not wiggle the cpu cooler first until it had freed itself abit?
I tried but that didn't work :( How do you recommend I warm it? Shall I run the computer, try and remove the cooler and then switch the computer straight off?

Thanks
 
Hmmm not sure how else you could warm it apart from to run the cpu upto load temps.

I tell you what, load the cpu up to temp i.e. run a game or something so its nice and hot then hold onto your cpu cooler and wiggle it until its lose enough that you feel you could remove it fully when the system is off. Don't pull on it though just wiggle it left and right and see what happens.

Make sure you touch a radiator or something thats grounded before you do so... just incase!
 
Put it back in, turn the computer on, perhaps whack a game on (it'll probably only need 20 secs), then turn your computer off and take it off.

Failing that, wedging a credit card in between the heatsink and heatspreader should work.
 
O.k. I am probably the luckiest man alive right now!!! I ripped my CPU out of its socket along with the stock cooler (not realizing they were stuck). I damaged no pins whatsoever but I couldn't put the CPU back in to heat it as I couldn't open the socket latch as the cooler was in the way. In the end my Dad made the best suggestion I have ever heard. He told me to hairdryer it :D (and so did Frozennova but I didn't read that in time :D). I hairdryered the heatsink for a bit and then suddely realized that the plate was REALLY HOT! I quickly wiggled out the CPU and got that off and then hit the 'cool' button on the hairdryer and cooled it as quick as I could. It is now running in my machine at 28 degreed quite happily with a venemous x! What a night though. It took me almost 4 hours to move around a CD drive, install a fan where it is not supposed to go in my case, install 2 cold cathodes and change the CPU cooler. The thermal compounding also took me AGES! lol

Anyway, keep an eye out on the new cases thread and the desk and room gallery ;)

Thanks for all your help
 
Glad you got it sorted mate, bet your heart stopped when the cpu came out with the cooler lol.. i know mine would have!
 
usual twist plus try plastic card under the heatsink and take off carefully, lucky u dint break the pins if u pull out too hard as pins are too easily to bent if pull out too hard..
 
Good work, glad you got there in the end! Hair-dryer was what I meant when I said warm it anyway, I guess I should have said that.

You don't need to cool it down quickly afterwards, just let it cool to room temperature and it should be fine. By cooling it down quickly, it can cause parts to fatigue, but I imagine at the rate you did it it's probably fine. Just not really necessary.
 
I tend to lift the corner with a scalpel, then just slowly work it round gently cutting them apart, in the end there's only a small amount of paste in the middle holding them together so you can twist it off pretty easily.
 
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