Heya,

My heatsink just really sucked, so I bought a new one. I took off the old processor and replaced it with the new one. When i turned the computer back on the computer would just power down, althought power light still stayed on. Did I miss a step in the replacement process?? Should I have cleaned the old themal stuff off and then replace it? Is it not turning on because it has no contact?

Any help would be appreciated.


Thanks,
Mateo

Yes, you need to completely clean off the old thermal paste/pad and apply the new stuff. If you didn't then the heat is likely not dissipating into the heatsink, and your CPU is overheating. Most motherboards will automatically turn off when the CPU gets too hot to avoid damaging things.

I cleaned it off completly, put the new one on still didnt work. Replaced it with the old one again. Wonder if i need more paste? It doesnt seem to be bonding. Used isopropyl alcohol to clean it.. hope that was right.

Thanks for your help!

Mateo

Used isopropyl alcohol to clean it.. hope that was right.
Yes. That's what everyone recommends. (But there's 20% water in there, should we recommend this, or ethanol would be better?)

Heatsink compound sticks after a while sometimes. You should just put a thin layer to make the core white. Do you know the credit card trick? (You spread it with a credit card)