Pooter Fixxorzed

Heatsink & Fan

So yeah, my computer abruptly up and died on me a couple of days ago, just shut itself off while i was listening to music and surfing the net. When I tried to turn it on again, it made a loud beeping noise then promptly shut itself off again.

I tried again later to turn it on, and managed to get to the 'select startup mode' screen, where it told me that the computer shut off due to 'thermal events (overheating).

It was quite annoying since I had taken special precautions to keep the CPU well aired, but I resolved to try fixing it myself before taking it to a computer repair shop, because its a waste of money and hassle to lug it all over.

So yesterday night, I unplugged all the cables and took it out to examine the problem. I already suspected it was due to the processor chip's heat-sink, which seemed loose.

Upon closer inspection, my guess was correct; two of the fastening pins on the heat-sink had come loose on the same side, so the heat conducting plate and paste weren't touching the processor chip. Their tips had completely broken off.


Broken fastener ends


Broken & intact ends

I figured out how to solve this problem, but first things first: cleaning 3+years of dirt off the heatsink and fan.


Clean and shiny!



More dirt than you realise could build up in your CPU!

So after cleaning it up, I removed the two broken fasteners.

Dismantled fasteners

And used one of the intact on the other end of the heatsink's anchors.

Switched

All that done, I locked the heatsink back into place (and praying it doesn't need me to replace the thermal conducting paste) and plugged the power back in, and it works fine now. And I got an excuse to practice photography too. :P

The End. :P