Help request: PC won't start up after move

[Ryan Norton]

So I recently moved from Washington DC back to South FL. I had a PC system I had to let movers move. When it arrived, I saw no physical damage to anything. I'd packed t-shirts in the case around the CPU heatsink, etc. to keep it from flexing too much under the stress of moving and cracking the CPU, but I guess that's still possible.

Anyway, I plugged the system into power and flipped the switch on the PSU. I immediately got the normal red power LED and green single VGA operation LED my Abit KN8-SLI mobo has. However, hitting the power switch on the case does nothing. Not a single fan spin, etc.

I tried removing the RAM DIMMs and reseating them, trying just one of them. Also removed all PCI cards and reseating the VGA card. I've reseated all of the ATX power cords leading to the mobo, the CPU, etc. My next step will be trying a different power supply. Obviously the whole system will have to be taken apart.

So what am I missing? Is there a simpler explanation? If the CPU is FUBAR, would that produce the symptoms I'm seeing? Thanks guys.

[vitaminc]

You've reseated the CPU with thermal compound also?

The only way out is test each individual component on a seperate working system.

[Ryan Norton]

I know

Working on taking things apart now... arrrgh.

[RPost]

However, hitting the power switch on the case does nothing. Not a single fan spin, etc.

Have you tried the manual powerup on your motherboard? Maybe theres a faulty connection to the power button.
A different psu is a good idea.

[Ryan Norton]

Verdict: CPU

I removed my Ninja and found that the CPU had been twisted or torqued out of the socket without the bar releasing it. So most of the pins are slightly bent and a few at the corner are severely bent. There is also a tiny hairline that MIGHT be a crack in the die itself. I'll have to post a pic shortly.

Good thing I got insurance for this stuff, otherwise these yahoos would have me way up a creek.

Here are some bad pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ryannorton/BentCPU

[vitaminc]

damn


which HSF were you using on the comp?

Moral of the story: disassemble CPU/HSF before moving?

[Ryan Norton]

I was using a Ninja. I'd asked for advice last month, before the move, and most folks said to remove the heatsink, but I was lazy.

Fortunately I bent the pins back into shape and the PC is running now, but I'm still going to file a claim for a replacement CPU... who knows what could happen to this thing.

[QuietOC]

which HSF were you using on the comp?

I've always disliked the Ninja's mounting method (the S478 clips). The Ninja can easily rock back in forth and slide on the CPU. A good spring loaded screw-on system like the big old Socket A heatsinks used wouldn't have done this.

[qviri]

Fortunately I bent the pins back into shape and the PC is running now

Yep. Never give up on a CPU that still has all of its pins. (I did kill a Pentium by twisting a pin so much that it broke off on my attempt to straighten it.) I would run a Prime95 test or something to make sure the die is okay, though.

[QuietOC]

Fortunately I bent the pins back into shape and the PC is running now

Yep. Never give up on a CPU that still has all of its pins.

CPUs will work just fine with a lot of pins gone. Most of the pins are rendunant power or ground pins.

[Ryan Norton]

This is all reassuring, cause I have a pretty good feeling the movers will make getting the value of teh CPU back a pain in the ass.

[Fat_bloater_dave]

I remember a friend putting a computer together once and the computer not booting so he rang me up to come and take a look.

I took it apart to see what the problem was and one of the pins was bent flat against the chip, the computer was actually in a youth centre and I didn’t have much equipment so I bent the pin back into place with a large kitchen knife and its still working 6 months later.

Moral of the story
A: CPUs are hardier than they look
B: if your computer is broken fix it with a kitchen knife