Hello everyone, Recently my friend's DVD-R had broken, and I installed a new one for him - along with two new Cooler Master case fans (his old ones were looking a bit beat). Anyways, now we have a new problem however, after installing the new Cooler Master fans and the new DVD-R drive, my friend had noticed a concerning sound - (I haven't heard it myself) - but he describes it as 'ratatatatata' So at first we figured a wire was hitting the new Cooler Master case fans - I told him to open up the case and just tuck the wires in a bit more. Still, however - there was a sound coming from his computer. Long story short - he figured out that it was coming from the heatsink. The computer is a bit old anyways, and the heatsink was covered in dust... So I told him what to order (I picked out the Thermaltake Spark7+ Xaser Edition CPU HSF and some Arctic Silver 5), and they should arrive tommorow. However I am a bit worried, as I have never done this before. I have seen it done though, in fact with the same exact HSF (Thermaltake Spark7+). But I have a few questions. First of all my friend has an MSI motherboard and a Pentium 4 processor with stock HSF. Now, I know that to remove the stock P4 HSF, you unlatch those two white levers on top - and it should come off. But I was reading online a bit, and apparently the CPU can sometimes get pulled right out of the socket - and be stuck to the HSF. This worries me because I do not want any bent pins, and I do not want the CPU or motherboard to get ruined. Is there any way to prevent this from happening? Also, to clean whatever residue is on the CPU, is it ok to clean it with rubbing alcohol and a coffee filter? Rubbing alcohol is only about 70% alcohol though, correct? And the rest is water? Isn't water bad for electornics? Will it be safe to use the rubbing alcohol? Should the processor be kept in the socket when it is being cleaned? Can a q-tip be used also? That's about all of the questions I can think of for now, thanks in advance. I really appreciate the help. :) - Steven

Personally, I would have just removed the fan and cleaned out the dust from there. Sometimes the processor will come out with the heatsink. This is often caused by improper installation. If it does, there is no need to panic. Simply separate the processor from the heatsink, lift the locking lever on the socket. Look for the corner with the missing pin and line up the processor with the socket. It should just drop in. Once it's seated, lower and latch the locking lever. Don't worry about the water content with the alcohol, the top of the processor is covered with a metal plate. Artic Silver's web site has an excellent how to on applying the thermal compound.

I have no experience with the hsf you ordered but I can offer some help with the rest. The current hsf shipped with the P4 is one of the best for cooling and it's free or cheap on ebay. It is a little loud. Some heatsinks can be a little difficult to remove. Try it when the machine is at it's normal operating temp instead of cold and use normal care...twisting and wiggling may help. Rubbing alcohol also contains glycerine so it's nice to your skin. I use the 99% stuff available from most drug stores for $1.50 or so. I usually leave the processor in the socket when I clean it. A coffee filter works fine and again just use prudent care to get it clean. If the new heatsink has a thermal pad on it, you can use the edge of a clean credit card to remove it. You also need to clean it with alcohol...no fingerprints allowed. Be careful when using a Q-Tip on the processor; just insure no wild hairs are left on anything. Arctic Silver has instructions on their website and these instructions should be followed regardless of which brand heatsink compound is used. If, in fact, the processor is stuck to the heatsink and comes out of the socket common sense will help you get them separated. An orange stick (ask your wife) or other non metallic instrument carefully wedged between the two parts will get 'em apart. Skip

Ah, thanks a lot guys! I'll try to find a bottle of 90-something percent alcohol. When removing the HSF I'll try my best to just ease it off of the CPU, so as to try and prevent it from sticking. I'll just leave the CPU in the socket when I clean it, but I'll be sure not to have the coffee filter dripping with alcohol, heh. Thanks a lot guys! :) - Steven