My pc was overheating so i open up the case a hoovered up the dust.. i went to remove the heatsink to get rid of the dust in the plates. however it pulled the cpu out with it.. all the pins were in place and i could not remove the heatsing from the cpu. once i cleaned it i carfully replaced it and carried on.. now my pc wont boot. i get no error beeps, the pc turns on everything seems to run as usual the CPU fan spins up howevere i get no image on the screen. if i remove the memory i get error beeps.. have i killed my cpu.. i dont want to purcahse a new on for testing prposes as i dont have the funds.. if i can get it working would be greatful? Bil

There is a lever arm that must be lifted to remove the cpu. It must also be lifted to re-insert the cpu and it locks it in place when the arm is pushed down. If your h/s was stuck to the cpu and that's how you put it back in then you more then likely bent some pins and/or it could not make full contact (because you could not lock it down via the lever with the h/s on). You have to get the cpu free of the h/s. Use a sharpie knife or razor blade to pry the cpu free. Being extremely careful to slide it between the h/s and die, not just the cpu. And don't cut yourself either. Clean both surfaces with alcohol or suitable cleaner and reapply thermal paste and put it back together. Provided none of the pins got bent or broken, you should be good again. If any pins got bent, use a mechanical pencil without the lead in it to carefully bend them back in place. If any of the pins got broken, drop it back in and hope for the best. You stand a good chance that only a ground pin got broken and it will still work.

You "hoovered" the dust?? As in - took the house vaccuum and cleaned it?? VERY BAD>>>> Never use any large, standard vacuum to clean your computer, it creates MUCHO static electricity. In pulling the CPU without first unlocking the lever on the socket, you may have damaged the socket or the motherboard (depending on how hard you pulled) There is a thread from 10/3/2005 by Cue_, his computer has same symptoms as yours. 98% of the population is asleep. The other 2% are staring around in complete amazement, abject terror, or both.

Is this an nforce2 board?? http://www.lostcircuits.com/motherboard/soltek_sl75mrnl/5.shtml 98% of the population is asleep. The other 2% are staring around in complete amazement, abject terror, or both.

none of the pins were bent i removed the heatsink again and the cpu was still intact.. i will remove the heatsink from the cpu tomorrow... yes i used a hoover... it has a slot in it to remove full power and the netal pipe was rested on the case at all times ti eliminate any static it ran stight trhough to the eath using a cable i specifically made up for hardware work... i will try this again in the morning and see if i can achive anythig. but by the looks of it i may have damaged the bother board as i usd the HS clips to eas the cpu back in o the ZIF socket... so looks like a new mobo.. if i dont thank god, at leat its not a new CPU will get back to you .. thanks for the help :)

well the cpu is stuck fast to the HS.. THE TERMAL PASE IS ROCK SOLID... prob because of the cpu temp averiging at 65c before the dust removal... looks like new cpu and HS for me unless you have any ideas?

Hi. You may need to be rather more forcefull in your attempt to remove your cpu from the heatsink. I had the same problem and used a flat edge screwdriver and a sharp jolt removed it.I suggest you conduct this task on a carpeted floor to reduce the risk of bending the pins.Then pray!!! Regards, Adamski.