would missing cpu pins affect boot up

bigjonnyauk · 17 Mar 2006 at 21:11

hi all

well i took my comp apart cleaned put back and then it gave me the errors for dram error in dual channel mode never did this before

thought it was a mobo fault got new mobo and when installing dropped processor bent a load of pins and i think maybe snapped 2

my question is

if i had snapped these 2 pins before i dropped the processer and put back in my old mobo which did work fine would this affect the boot up and seeing of the ram

it worked fine in single channel mode in banks 1 and 3 but would see no ram at all in banks 2 and 4 in any combo

just i cant be bothered to redo just to test

do i sned this back to ocuk or not

ColinR · 18 Mar 2006 at 16:34

You can't just send it back because you clumsied the processor. And yes, 2 broke pins would screw it up, you're lucky it runs at all.
How someone can drop something so small that costs so much which is also so fragile is beyond me... :rolleyes:

Delvis · 18 Mar 2006 at 16:42

Indeed two snapped pins can affect boot up...If the pins are bent then try and straighten em we gets processors like that at work sometimes.

Dont quite get why it works in single channel but not in dual channel tho...

fornowagain · 18 Mar 2006 at 16:45

There is a little trick with some wire for missing pins, that I've used with some success. Get a lillte bit of thin gauge, but stiff wire. I use resistor offcuts. Cut it to length, just so that it's proud of the socket surface, only a gnats, works better if the end is flat. Clippers will pinch the end. Push the CPU down hard, if your lucky you may get away with it. Don't forget they're in there !!

bigjonnyauk · 18 Mar 2006 at 16:55

hey colin it happens

you never make a mistake

it has to be mobo has i got new one and ram is fine it was just 2 pins broke off not bent then it would not boot in dual chanell but fine in single channel

new mobo with processer works great with everything else i just asked if it was worth re fitting old mobo with new processor to see if it boots as i cannot see how 2 broke pins would cause it not to boot up in dual channel but allow single channel

powned · 18 Mar 2006 at 17:20

chill out colin, he came here asking for help not a lecture.. imagine how youd feel if you bent your pins :rolleyes:

ive heard stories of people taking cpus with bent/snapped pins to a jeweller for repair.. sort of sounds like an urban myth to me but it could be worth looking into!

bigjonnyauk · 18 Mar 2006 at 17:50

im not bothered about the pins on old proccy thats now in the bin and i have a new one

what my main question is is should i check it out with my old mobo that needs to go for rma first or dont you think it could have been the broke pins that caused the ram faults on boot up as it was fine

i dont really want to mess about re fitting again when my new mobo is in already and running fine

i cant see how 2 broke pins would affect it like said it wouldnt have booted

so has to be mobo

WJA96 · 19 Mar 2006 at 18:23

Don't bin it - put it in MM or on the 'bay. Someone will take a punt on it, especially as it boots up - even if only in single channel mode.

This could be a daft/insulting question, but the old motherboard was a dual channel board and/or you had the RAM in the right slots for dual channel?

Depending on what processor it is, they have lots of 'spare' pins. I'm told that on a S478 processor only about 100 of them do anything 'individual' - all the others are duplicates of other pins.

murkygrom · 19 Mar 2006 at 18:56

Are you sure there actually were broken pins? If it was also a socket 939 winchester as in your sig, there are a number of pin 'spaces' which are not used in socket 939.

Pics:

http://techreport.com/reviews/2004q2/athlon64-3800/index.x?pg=1

bigjonnyauk · 19 Mar 2006 at 23:58

oh yeah they were bust alright

there was a total of 3 pins broke on one side and about 8 really bent over

mobo was a gigabyte k8n sli mobo

it was all running fine i took apart to give a good clean and when i put back together then that when it wouldnt boot in dual channel

hence i got a new mobo and when fitting the proccy to this thats when i dropped it and had to get a new one for new mobo

hence my question what if i broke a couple of pins without realising whilst cleaning and then putting back in the giga board would it have booted up in single channel

only reason now is do i retry the new proccy in old giga before i rma it DO U THINK A COUPLE OF MISSING PINS WOULD ALLOW IT STILL TO BOOT BUT ONLY SINGLE CHANNEL

the old proccy really wound me up so just for the fun of it i took a great whacking screwdriver and bent every pin on there just to show it whos boss lol

chopchop · 20 Mar 2006 at 00:14

just throw it in the bin and be more careful in future.

Explicit · 20 Mar 2006 at 00:18

bigjonnyauk said:
it was all running fine i took apart to give a good clean and when i put back together then that when it wouldnt boot in dual channel

hence my question what if i broke a couple of pins without realising whilst cleaning and then putting back in the giga board would it have booted up in single channel

I'm not sure why you removed the CPU for cleaning, you should have left it locked in the socket. I know that's besides the point, but it might be useful to remember that in the future.

bigjonnyauk · 20 Mar 2006 at 00:22

not really my temps were going a bit higher than norm so wanted to reseat and re goop it

Explicit · 20 Mar 2006 at 00:29

bigjonnyauk said:
not really my temps were going a bit higher than norm so wanted to reseat and re goop it

The thermal paste can be cleaned off with the CPU locked in the socket. It's not possible to "reseat" a CPU as it's a guaranteed fit, but yes you can reseat a heatsink. I would personally have removed the heatsink, cleaned off the thermal paste (leaving the CPU in the socket), apply the new thermal paste and then reseat the heatsink. Maybe it's just me being too cautious, but I never remove the CPU from the socket unless upgrading.