Well, For the last couple weeks now I've been fighting with my compaq. I've managed to fix one problem and create a new one.

Compaq 5430US
Pentium 4 1.8Ghz
1Gig DDR Ram

Apparently my CPU was overheating before due to a thick layer of dust build up. To fix this I pulled the Heat Sink Fan (HSF) out and blasted all the dust from it. I then replaced it and it worked fine for about 2 days. After those 2 days my comp proceeded to just shut itself off. I've been told that I might have touched the thermal silicone on the bottom of the HSF, and to verify this I removed the fan again and removed all remaining silicone from both the CPU and the HSF, then I reapplied a new layer. This didn't fix the problem.
After that I was told to try checking the fan connections. Been there, done that. Even checked them in the BIOS.

After 2 weeks of fighting with one problem I get "514-CPU or Chassis Fan not Detected" at start up. Both fans are running and the comp boots fine, but then it gives me that error and the option to boot with F1.

Any ideas?

As it seems my problems just got a whole lot worse. Now I can't even get pass the Compaq start up load screen. The one that comes up first and says "COMPAQ" in red letters.