OK, so I decided to open up my box today and clean out all the dust and crap. I got to messin around, and tried to take a look at my CPU. The heatsink was a little tough to get out, but it made it. I look down, and my CPU is missing! Turns out, it wasn't missing but stuck to the bottom of my heatsink. My question is, is this normal? More importantly, how can I get it seated back without destroying the chip?

Sometimes the thermal medium between the CPU and heat sink attaches the two together. I would just slide the processor off the heatsink, clean it off with acetone, and check for bent pins. If everything looks alright, apply thermal compound, reseat the processor, and mount the heat sink.

yes it is normal.. happens almost every time i take my hsf off. like fatty said just slide it off and its good to go... unless u fucked it up reall good like

Pulling the Processor off with the HSF isn't uncommon. I'm guessing your processor was idleing for a while before you shut your computer down, or had been off long enough to cool. This a problem seen more frequently with high-grade thermal grease and most thermal-pads.

Check your processor and socket for visible damage. If the processor had broken pins, removal is much easier as you don't need to save the chip.

Assuming your processor is un-damaged, you'll want to remove the fan from the heatsink and carefully heat it (the heat sink) until the processor loosens. I'll leave the method up to you but be careful of using too much moisture or flames. Both can damage the components, amoung other things, and be dangerous for fingers, hands and other bodyparts. I would personally try a good sized hair dryer first. It will take time but the thermal interface material (TIM) will begin to loosen as it warms.

Carefully, (being aware so as to not touch the pins on the processor, and otherwise using static discharge prevention techniques,) remove the processor from the heatsink and remove the excess thermal material as per the manufacturer's (processor and heatsink manufacturer's) instructions. Noting the type of interface mateiral. Hopefully it's a paste so you can find someone around here that will give you some Artic Silver or other high-quality paste to replace the old paste. If you have a thermal pad, you'll likely need to order one as I am aware of very few places that stock such itmes. (Most times a high-quality paste will work in place of a pad, despite the manufacturer's choice of a pad.)

If you need more guidence from here, feel free to ask.

In the future, if you plan to remove the heatsink, it is a good idea to strain the processor for a few minutes to allow the tempature to rise. The shutdown the computer and remove the Heatsink assembly promptly so the thermal material is more forgiving.

Yeah, that would be a confirmative on the fucking it up real bad. In retrospect, "cram the damn thing in there" isn't always the best solution. Oh well.


R.I.P. Dell Dimension 4500
(2002-2006)




Look out 64-bit, here I come!

did u kill ur comp... that sucks

I AM THE SMARTEST MAN ALIVE!!!!

I have risen the dead from the grave. All it took was some bright light, a $.99 pocket knife, and some elbow grease and those pins straightened up.

w00t w00t


Oh, and thanks for all the help, everyone. I'll keep that in mind for when I build a new comp, which should be pretty soon anyway.

dont do that to many times btw.. those pins can only take so much stress