I've got a home assembled PC about 18 months old. Asus motherboard with an
Athlon dual core processor.

For the last few months it's been shutting down at random. Thinking it
was the PS replaced it. No improvement.

It seemed to be at least slightly heat related or possibly peak energy -
it only seemed to happen after the machine had been on for some time and
when actually in use - usually coincident with a key press, etc.

Wondering if it was the processor overheating I removed the heatsink/fan
and to my delight found the thermal transfer compound was dry. Cleaned it
off, replaced with new and great - it then worked perfectly for a couple
of months.

Then the same fault came back. But the paste is fine. On fixing back the
heatsink and it once more worked ok for a while. Then the same fault. Put
some weight on the heatsink or wiggle it and it will usually fire up.
So I'm thinking poor connection in the socket? Dry joint? Broken track?

I remember the processor being very stiff to fit - so wonder just how I'd
get it out to check without doing damage?

Any other guesses?

--
*If you don't like the news, go out and make some.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...
I've got a home assembled PC about 18 months old. Asus motherboard with an
Athlon dual core processor.

For the last few months it's been shutting down at random. Thinking it
was the PS replaced it. No improvement.

It seemed to be at least slightly heat related or possibly peak energy -
it only seemed to happen after the machine had been on for some time and
when actually in use - usually coincident with a key press, etc.

Wondering if it was the processor overheating I removed the heatsink/fan
and to my delight found the thermal transfer compound was dry. Cleaned it
off, replaced with new and great - it then worked perfectly for a couple
of months.

Then the same fault came back. But the paste is fine. On fixing back the
heatsink and it once more worked ok for a while. Then the same fault. Put
some weight on the heatsink or wiggle it and it will usually fire up.
So I'm thinking poor connection in the socket? Dry joint? Broken track?

I remember the processor being very stiff to fit - so wonder just how I'd
get it out to check without doing damage?

Any other guesses?

Graphics card is another cause of random restarts

Have you the option to check the processor temp either in the bios or using
feature of the motherboard?

Also need to make sure that the heatsink is clipping on properly as I don't
think that they should wiggle about

Tony

In article ,
TMC wrote:
Any other guesses?

Graphics card is another cause of random restarts

It doesn't restart - it shuts down.

Have you the option to check the processor temp either in the bios or
using feature of the motherboard?

Dunno. The heatsink feels normal, though.

Also need to make sure that the heatsink is clipping on properly as I
don't think that they should wiggle about

Meant move slightly with pressure. It is clipped on properly.

--
*If horrific means to make horrible, does terrific mean to make terrible?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
"Dave Plowman (News)" writes:
In article ,
TMC wrote:
Any other guesses?

Graphics card is another cause of random restarts

It doesn't restart - it shuts down.

Does this coincide with high CPU activity?

Have you the option to check the processor temp either in the bios or
using feature of the motherboard?

Dunno. The heatsink feels normal, though.

What OS do you run?
The BIOS may well have a screen for setting up cooling
parameters (fan speeds, etc), and tell you the core temperature,
although that might be quite different from when the OS is
running.

Also need to make sure that the heatsink is clipping on properly as I
don't think that they should wiggle about

Meant move slightly with pressure. It is clipped on properly.

It shouldn't move. Make sure the mating surfaces are both
very clean (clear of old heatsink compound, and any scratches
which have resulted in any raised burr). Assemble without
heatsink compound initially and make sure the faces align
properly without any wobble. Then reassemble with the heatsink
compound. You want as thin a layer as possible which will still
guarantee contact across the whole area. Such a thin layer will
by itself generate sticktion between the two surfaces, so again
I would not expect any movement without a large enough force to
break the sticktion.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
I've got a home assembled PC about 18 months old. Asus motherboard with an
Athlon dual core processor.

For the last few months it's been shutting down at random. Thinking it
was the PS replaced it. No improvement.

It seemed to be at least slightly heat related or possibly peak energy -
it only seemed to happen after the machine had been on for some time and
when actually in use - usually coincident with a key press, etc.

Wondering if it was the processor overheating I removed the heatsink/fan
and to my delight found the thermal transfer compound was dry. Cleaned it
off, replaced with new and great - it then worked perfectly for a couple
of months.

Then the same fault came back. But the paste is fine. On fixing back the
heatsink and it once more worked ok for a while. Then the same fault. Put
some weight on the heatsink or wiggle it and it will usually fire up.
So I'm thinking poor connection in the socket? Dry joint? Broken track?

I remember the processor being very stiff to fit - so wonder just how I'd
get it out to check without doing damage?

Any other guesses?

Check the event viewer for clues

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

In article ,
TMC wrote:

Have you the option to check the processor temp either in the bios or
using feature of the motherboard?

Dunno. The heatsink feels normal, though.

Have a look at
http://www.almico.com/speedfan.php

Chris
--
Chris J Dixon Nottingham UK


Have dancing shoes, will ceilidh.

On Thu, 08 May 2008 14:59:59 +0100, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

I remember the processor being very stiff to fit - so wonder just how
I'd get it out to check without doing damage?

Erm, you did lift the little lever on the side of the CPU socket to fit it
didn't you? The CPU should just drop into the socket and even rattle a
little, you then push the lever down to lock it into place.

To get it out you lift the lever and lift the CPU out, no force or prying
required at all.

I'd take it out and look for a mangled pin but what damage may have been
done to the contacts matching socket hole is another matter. New mother
board time if that is damaged...

--
Cheers
Dave.

In article ,
Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,
"Dave Plowman (News)" writes:
In article ,
TMC wrote:
Any other guesses?

Graphics card is another cause of random restarts

It doesn't restart - it shuts down.

Does this coincide with high CPU activity?

I reckon so.

Have you the option to check the processor temp either in the bios or
using feature of the motherboard?

Dunno. The heatsink feels normal, though.

What OS do you run?

XP.

The BIOS may well have a screen for setting up cooling
parameters (fan speeds, etc), and tell you the core temperature,
although that might be quite different from when the OS is
running.

I have the 'cool and quiet' disabled. But haven't actually found a page
that gives actual core temp. Probably because I'd not looked. But it's
taken to shutting down while in that setup mode so I can't really look
much.

Also need to make sure that the heatsink is clipping on properly as I
don't think that they should wiggle about

Meant move slightly with pressure. It is clipped on properly.

It shouldn't move.

Think anything will move if you try hard enough. ;-)

Make sure the mating surfaces are both
very clean (clear of old heatsink compound, and any scratches
which have resulted in any raised burr). Assemble without
heatsink compound initially and make sure the faces align
properly without any wobble. Then reassemble with the heatsink
compound. You want as thin a layer as possible which will still
guarantee contact across the whole area. Such a thin layer will
by itself generate sticktion between the two surfaces, so again
I would not expect any movement without a large enough force to
break the sticktion.

Ok - I'll give it a try. What confuses me is that it worked fine for
several months after replacing the compound. And for about a year with the
original. My gut feeling is this is a red herring...

--
*A snooze button is a poor substitute for no alarm clock at all *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Count de Monet wrote:
Any other guesses?

Check the event viewer for clues

Don't know what that is.

--
*On the seventh day He brewed beer *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes
I remember the processor being very stiff to fit - so wonder just how I'd
get it out to check without doing damage?
The processor shouldn't be stiff to fit, it should drop into the socket
with zero force (apart from gravity), that's why they call it a zero
insertion force socket. You did open the socket before you put the
processor in didn't you?

Any other guesses?


--
Clint Sharp

"Dave Plowman (News)" wrote in message
...


I remember the processor being very stiff to fit - so wonder just how I'd
get it out to check without doing damage?

ZIF (Zero insertion force) sockets shouldn't be stiff.
Are you sure you opened the socket before you put the processor in?
(Assuming it has pins that is.)

On 2008-05-08 19:05:42 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
said:

In article ,
Count de Monet wrote:
Any other guesses?

Check the event viewer for clues

Don't know what that is.

In the control panel. Hardware funnies are often reported

In message 48235df2@qaanaaq, Andy Hall writes
On 2008-05-08 19:05:42 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
said:

In article ,
Count de Monet wrote:
Any other guesses?

Check the event viewer for clues
Don't know what that is.

In the control panel. Hardware funnies are often reported
Including the amazingly useful and accurate;

The last system Shutdown was unexpected.
--
Clint Sharp

In article 48235df2@qaanaaq,
Andy Hall wrote:
On 2008-05-08 19:05:42 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
said:

In article ,
Count de Monet wrote:
Any other guesses?

Check the event viewer for clues

Don't know what that is.

In the control panel. Hardware funnies are often reported

Don't seem to be any.

--
*If you try to fail and succeed, which have you done? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
dennis@home wrote:
I remember the processor being very stiff to fit - so wonder just how
I'd get it out to check without doing damage?

ZIF (Zero insertion force) sockets shouldn't be stiff.
Are you sure you opened the socket before you put the processor in?
(Assuming it has pins that is.)

Thinking back it might just have been the latch that was very stiff.

--
*Failure is not an option. It's bundled with your software.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

I've got a home assembled PC about 18 months old. Asus motherboard with an
Athlon dual core processor.
For the last few months it's been shutting down at random. Thinking it
was the PS replaced it. No improvement.

To help eliminate whether it's a hardware or software issue (almost
certain this will be hardware related though), you could try booting
up a live linux CD and seeing if it lasts any better. If not, it's got
to be hardware related...

I suppose there are a couple of random things it might be, such as
faulty RAM* (google MemTest86), or a known fault in the BIOS causing
timing issues or somesuch, but I doubt it, given that you said it
improved for a while.

* my worst weekend ever consisted of 26 failed installs of XP, each
failing at a random different point, with a random different error.

Any other guesses?

About the best I can come up with would be a dry joint on the board.

If it was an older machine i'd suggest the capacitors, but yours is
probably from the time they first went over to RoHS soldering methods
- which I believe are prone to this sort of crap :-}

"Dave Plowman (News)" writes:

I've got a home assembled PC about 18 months old. Asus motherboard
with an Athlon dual core processor.

[...]

Any other guesses?

Have a look for signs of URL:http://www.badcaps.net/ on the
motherboard and I/O cards.

--
Mark

On 2008-05-09 01:11:25 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
said:

In article 48235df2@qaanaaq,
Andy Hall wrote:
On 2008-05-08 19:05:42 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
said:

In article ,
Count de Monet wrote:
Any other guesses?

Check the event viewer for clues

Don't know what that is.

In the control panel. Hardware funnies are often reported

Don't seem to be any.

That points more in the direction of a hardware problem - driver type
issues usullay leave something in there or a blue screen.

You could try probing and tapping gently around with a plastic object.
This may find things like dodgy PCB or CPU/memory socket issues.
Swapping memory modules around and to different sockets might provoke a
different behaviour and give a clue. Generally, ASUS is a well
respected brand, but like anything else can have failures.

After that it's roll the dice on motherboard, CPU and memory.

In article 4823db86@qaanaaq,
Andy Hall writes:
That points more in the direction of a hardware problem - driver type
issues usullay leave something in there or a blue screen.

You could try probing and tapping gently around with a plastic object.
This may find things like dodgy PCB or CPU/memory socket issues.
Swapping memory modules around and to different sockets might provoke a
different behaviour and give a clue. Generally, ASUS is a well

With memory, assuming you don't have spare modules on the
shelf, you could try taking half the DIMMs out, again
assuming you have enough DIMMs in there to leave a working
system with half removed. Then swap out for the other half.

respected brand, but like anything else can have failures.

After that it's roll the dice on motherboard, CPU and memory.


--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

In article ,
Colin Wilson o.uk
wrote:
I've got a home assembled PC about 18 months old. Asus motherboard
with an Athlon dual core processor.
For the last few months it's been shutting down at random. Thinking it
was the PS replaced it. No improvement.

To help eliminate whether it's a hardware or software issue (almost
certain this will be hardware related though), you could try booting
up a live linux CD and seeing if it lasts any better. If not, it's got
to be hardware related...

Most recently - ie yesterday - it started shutting down before even
starting to boot Windows. So I'm thinking it's not even heat related.

--
*Sorry, I don't date outside my species.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Andrew Gabriel wrote:
With memory, assuming you don't have spare modules on the
shelf, you could try taking half the DIMMs out, again
assuming you have enough DIMMs in there to leave a working
system with half removed. Then swap out for the other half.

It has 2GB in four sticks.

--
*There are 3 kinds of people: those who can count & those who can't.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
I've got a home assembled PC about 18 months old. Asus motherboard with an
Athlon dual core processor.

For the last few months it's been shutting down at random. Thinking it
was the PS replaced it. No improvement.

It seemed to be at least slightly heat related or possibly peak energy -
it only seemed to happen after the machine had been on for some time and
when actually in use - usually coincident with a key press, etc.

Wondering if it was the processor overheating I removed the heatsink/fan
and to my delight found the thermal transfer compound was dry. Cleaned it
off, replaced with new and great - it then worked perfectly for a couple
of months.

Then the same fault came back. But the paste is fine. On fixing back the
heatsink and it once more worked ok for a while. Then the same fault. Put
some weight on the heatsink or wiggle it and it will usually fire up.
So I'm thinking poor connection in the socket? Dry joint? Broken track?

I remember the processor being very stiff to fit - so wonder just how I'd
get it out to check without doing damage?

Any other guesses?


Assuming still not sorted, have you cleaned the heatsink?

Some designs accumulate much better than a Dyson/Henry/Miele/write in
your own favourite. A surprisingly small amount of dust/dirt in the
wrong place can reduce effective cooling in that area. You did clean it
thoroughly when you took it out, didn't you?

(I saw you had clreaned off the thermal paste - maybe you meant to say
that you had cleaned the whole thing? Apologies if you have already
completed your housekeeping badge.)

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

In article ,
Rod wrote:
Assuming still not sorted, have you cleaned the heatsink?

No. It looked quite ok.

Some designs accumulate much better than a Dyson/Henry/Miele/write in
your own favourite. A surprisingly small amount of dust/dirt in the
wrong place can reduce effective cooling in that area. You did clean it
thoroughly when you took it out, didn't you?

No again.

(I saw you had clreaned off the thermal paste - maybe you meant to say
that you had cleaned the whole thing? Apologies if you have already
completed your housekeeping badge.)

I will do just that now.

--
*My dog can lick anyone

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In article ,
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
Rod wrote:
Assuming still not sorted, have you cleaned the heatsink?

No. It looked quite ok.

Some designs accumulate much better than a Dyson/Henry/Miele/write in
your own favourite. A surprisingly small amount of dust/dirt in the
wrong place can reduce effective cooling in that area. You did clean it
thoroughly when you took it out, didn't you?

No again.

(I saw you had clreaned off the thermal paste - maybe you meant to say
that you had cleaned the whole thing? Apologies if you have already
completed your housekeeping badge.)

I will do just that now.

The sparkling clean heatsink works just the same as the dirty one.
Looking again at the power management page in the BIOS the temperature
rapidly climbs from ambient to 75C or so and it shuts down. But the
heatsink is cool to the touch - certainly nothing like 75C. Just ambient
temp at a guess.

--
*If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
snip
The sparkling clean heatsink works just the same as the dirty one.
Looking again at the power management page in the BIOS the temperature
rapidly climbs from ambient to 75C or so and it shuts down. But the
heatsink is cool to the touch - certainly nothing like 75C. Just ambient
temp at a guess.


At least it looks nicer now! Shame.

Unfortunately, I cannot remember the temperature my PC gets to in a
similar period. Will try later.

--
Rod

Hypothyroidism is a seriously debilitating condition with an insidious
onset.
Although common it frequently goes undiagnosed.
www.thyromind.info www.thyroiduk.org www.altsupportthyroid.org

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes
The sparkling clean heatsink works just the same as the dirty one.
Looking again at the power management page in the BIOS the temperature
rapidly climbs from ambient to 75C or so and it shuts down. But the
heatsink is cool to the touch - certainly nothing like 75C. Just ambient
temp at a guess.

Is the processor actually getting hot then ?

Assuming that the Heatsink is doing what it should, the probabilities
are that

you have some kind of short which is ramping up the temperature too
quickly for the heat to be conducted away to the processor

or

the sensor is faulty and the processor is shutting down because the
reported temperature is incorrect

--
geoff

In article ,
geoff wrote:
In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes
The sparkling clean heatsink works just the same as the dirty one.
Looking again at the power management page in the BIOS the temperature
rapidly climbs from ambient to 75C or so and it shuts down. But the
heatsink is cool to the touch - certainly nothing like 75C. Just ambient
temp at a guess.

Is the processor actually getting hot then ?

Assuming that the Heatsink is doing what it should, the probabilities
are that

you have some kind of short which is ramping up the temperature too
quickly for the heat to be conducted away to the processor

One of my guesses too.

or

the sensor is faulty and the processor is shutting down because the
reported temperature is incorrect

Likewise.

Neither of which is likely to be fixable.

I phoned Stak who supplied everything and it seems the 939 socket MBs are
obsolete. A modern replacement MB also takes different RAM. And doesn't
have the same number of PCI sockets, etc. Which is a pain as my machine is
configured mainly for AV work with balanced sound inputs and video, etc.
He reckoned the on board stuff is pretty good these days - but only time
will tell.

--
*Why is the man who invests all your money called a broker?

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes
In article ,
geoff wrote:
In message , "Dave Plowman (News)"
writes
The sparkling clean heatsink works just the same as the dirty one.
Looking again at the power management page in the BIOS the temperature
rapidly climbs from ambient to 75C or so and it shuts down. But the
heatsink is cool to the touch - certainly nothing like 75C. Just ambient
temp at a guess.

Is the processor actually getting hot then ?

Assuming that the Heatsink is doing what it should, the probabilities
are that

you have some kind of short which is ramping up the temperature too
quickly for the heat to be conducted away to the processor

One of my guesses too.

or

the sensor is faulty and the processor is shutting down because the
reported temperature is incorrect

Likewise.

Neither of which is likely to be fixable.

I phoned Stak who supplied everything and it seems the 939 socket MBs are
obsolete. A modern replacement MB also takes different RAM. And doesn't
have the same number of PCI sockets, etc. Which is a pain as my machine is
configured mainly for AV work with balanced sound inputs and video, etc.
He reckoned the on board stuff is pretty good these days - but only time
will tell.

Send me a photo of the mbd, I'll see if I have anything similar

--
geoff

I phoned Stak who supplied everything and it seems the 939 socket MBs are
obsolete.

Not sure if you've heard of Freecycle, but it's a message board
service set up in "local" areas, where rather than throw stuff out,
you offer it for free to people.

PCs are *always* appearing on the one in Liverpool, perhaps finding a
local group might get you a close match for what you've currently got.

http://www.freecycle.org

Dave Plowman (News) wrote in message

The sparkling clean heatsink works just the same as the dirty one.
Looking again at the power management page in the BIOS the temperature
rapidly climbs from ambient to 75C or so and it shuts down. But the
heatsink is cool to the touch - certainly nothing like 75C. Just ambient
temp at a guess.



If the heatsink/cpu is not getting hot, so assuming a fault with the MB
sensing have you tried disabling or altering the cpu shutdown temp in the
bios.

Also how did you get on with the fake N95, it seems a customer in my pub has
also bought a dodgy one from ebay.


-

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

I phoned Stak who supplied everything and it seems the 939 socket MBs are
obsolete. A modern replacement MB also takes different RAM. And doesn't
have the same number of PCI sockets, etc. Which is a pain as my machine is
configured mainly for AV work with balanced sound inputs and video, etc.
He reckoned the on board stuff is pretty good these days - but only time
will tell.


Dave where are you? I have a spare socket 939 board here in Berkshire...

Andy

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Dave Plowman (News)"
saying something like:

In article ,
dennis@home wrote:
I remember the processor being very stiff to fit - so wonder just how
I'd get it out to check without doing damage?

ZIF (Zero insertion force) sockets shouldn't be stiff.
Are you sure you opened the socket before you put the processor in?
(Assuming it has pins that is.)

Thinking back it might just have been the latch that was very stiff.

A sharp whack with a mallet will cure that.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

"It's a moron working with power tools.
How much more suspenseful can you get?"
- House

In message , Grimly Curmudgeon
writes
We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember "Dave Plowman (News)"
saying something like:

In article ,
dennis@home wrote:
I remember the processor being very stiff to fit - so wonder just how
I'd get it out to check without doing damage?

ZIF (Zero insertion force) sockets shouldn't be stiff.
Are you sure you opened the socket before you put the processor in?
(Assuming it has pins that is.)

Thinking back it might just have been the latch that was very stiff.

A sharp whack with a mallet will cure that.

your inability to spell "angle grinder" correctly is worrying ...


--
geoff

In article ,
Mark wrote:

Dave Plowman (News) wrote in message

The sparkling clean heatsink works just the same as the dirty one.
Looking again at the power management page in the BIOS the temperature
rapidly climbs from ambient to 75C or so and it shuts down. But the
heatsink is cool to the touch - certainly nothing like 75C. Just
ambient temp at a guess.



If the heatsink/cpu is not getting hot, so assuming a fault with the MB
sensing have you tried disabling or altering the cpu shutdown temp in the
bios.

It's now shutting down so quickly there's not time to alter anything.

Also how did you get on with the fake N95, it seems a customer in my pub
has also bought a dodgy one from ebay.

Money has been refunded to Paypal after putting it in dispute with them.
Hasn't reached my bank account yet, though. The seller rolled over pretty
sharpish. Thank goodness I bought from one with a large and good feedback
- although I'm sure he knew what he was selling.


-

--
*It's o.k. to laugh during sexŒ.Œ.just don't point!

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote in message
...




If the heatsink/cpu is not getting hot, so assuming a fault with the MB
sensing have you tried disabling or altering the cpu shutdown temp in
the
bios.

It's now shutting down so quickly there's not time to alter anything.


Have you tried a good dose of freezer spray, not much to lose now.


-

In article ,
AJH wrote:
the sensor is faulty and the processor is shutting down because the
reported temperature is incorrect

Likewise.

Neither of which is likely to be fixable.

Switch the option off in BIOS then, worse case is you'll kill the
processor.

It's not switchable.

All this talk about it being the motherboard - wouldn't the actual sensor
- and possibly much of the electronics - be in the CPU?

--
*Can atheists get insurance for acts of God? *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

"Count de Monet" wrote in message
...
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
I've got a home assembled PC about 18 months old. Asus motherboard with
an
Athlon dual core processor.

For the last few months it's been shutting down at random. Thinking it
was the PS replaced it. No improvement.

It seemed to be at least slightly heat related or possibly peak
energy -
it only seemed to happen after the machine had been on for some time and
when actually in use - usually coincident with a key press, etc.

Wondering if it was the processor overheating I removed the
heatsink/fan
and to my delight found the thermal transfer compound was dry. Cleaned
it
off, replaced with new and great - it then worked perfectly for a couple
of months.

Then the same fault came back. But the paste is fine. On fixing back
the
heatsink and it once more worked ok for a while. Then the same fault.
Put
some weight on the heatsink or wiggle it and it will usually fire up.
So I'm thinking poor connection in the socket? Dry joint? Broken track?

I remember the processor being very stiff to fit - so wonder just how
I'd
get it out to check without doing damage?

Any other guesses?

Check the event viewer for clues

Thats one neat thing in a PC, I got broken into about 15 months ago and the
gits were tampering with the computer,anyway it was still on when I came
home but had frozen/crashed.
I gave the police the time they were in the house and they asked how I knew
this...simple I says,they were tampering with the computer and the computers
event viewer gave me the time stamp it crashed.

Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

ll this talk about it being the motherboard - wouldn't the actual sensor
- and possibly much of the electronics - be in the CPU?

http://heatsink-guide.com/content.ph...=maxtemp.shtml

suggests that the sensor is in the motherboard under the cpu for amd.

AJH

In article ,
andrew wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

ll this talk about it being the motherboard - wouldn't the actual
sensor - and possibly much of the electronics - be in the CPU?

http://heatsink-guide.com/content.ph...=maxtemp.shtml

suggests that the sensor is in the motherboard under the cpu for amd.

Interesting. Having the computer completely stripped down with a view to
replacing the MB and CPU with a later type I've had a good look at the
underneath and surrounding parts of the socket. And there don't appear to
be any components directly underneath the socket - although of course
being multi-layer could be inside the MB, I suppose. I also removed the
plastic slide on the socket with a view to cleaning everything. Cleaned
everything locally both sides of the board with contact cleaner. And did a
basic reassemble. Only one HD and the graphics card. Fired it up and it's
fine. Put everything back together and it's still fine. Left it on all
night - working ok. Probe reports a CPU temp of 45C.
But I've been down this route before - disturbing things seem to sort the
fault for a while.

--
*TEAMWORK...means never having to take all the blame yourself *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 2008-05-13 10:24:12 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
said:

In article ,
andrew wrote:
Dave Plowman (News) wrote:

ll this talk about it being the motherboard - wouldn't the actual
sensor - and possibly much of the electronics - be in the CPU?

http://heatsink-guide.com/content.ph...=maxtemp.shtml

suggests that the sensor is in the motherboard under the cpu for amd.

Interesting. Having the computer completely stripped down with a view to
replacing the MB and CPU with a later type I've had a good look at the
underneath and surrounding parts of the socket. And there don't appear to
be any components directly underneath the socket - although of course
being multi-layer could be inside the MB, I suppose. I also removed the
plastic slide on the socket with a view to cleaning everything. Cleaned
everything locally both sides of the board with contact cleaner. And did a
basic reassemble. Only one HD and the graphics card. Fired it up and it's
fine. Put everything back together and it's still fine. Left it on all
night - working ok. Probe reports a CPU temp of 45C.
But I've been down this route before - disturbing things seem to sort the
fault for a while.

A PCB track is probably aufgeficht.