Hey, I just found this old thread. See response #19...lol http://www.computing.net/answers/ha... "If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions" - Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) in Pulp Fiction

If you bothered to read that entire thread that jam just posted DON'T use Silicon adhesive caulk for thermal paste. Not if you want to get the HS off again.

I agree with Stuart about the screen problem. I would also suspect the video adapter or the monitor itself. Blaming a dusty CPU for that seems kinda far fetched, but I guess stranger things have happened.

You could try ordering some thermal paste online if you're at a place where they would deliver it.

I advise checking in BIOS the shutdown temperature of CPU. It could have been set too low. Regards SuatCINI

Well, good news... i got the thermal paste from a friend. He got it from some hardware store. So, i have cleaned the dust around the processor, put the thermal paste, and the PC is up and running again. Am so glad. Thanks for all the help guys. I think the PC should behave fine now. Will post if something happens. Will keep the homemade thermal paste in mind though, dont know when u might need it.. lol. I have a suggestion about the forum, i dont know where to put it or whom to tell. I think, the posts which receive replies should come to the top of forum again. That way, its easier to locate posts with new posts. Otherwise, its hard to tell which topics have got replies unless u put a watch on them. I have been on this site for quite some years now, and i love the recent new look... gave the site a new avatar. I really miss this feature though, that topics with new replies should appear at top of forum again. Thanks Anupam

After being up for about 3-4 hours, my PC again froze and screen went yellowish at places. Now i cant think why its happening. The monitor is OK. I dont think monitor would cause a PC freeze problem. The video is on-board chip : Intel 82915G Express Chipset. Now am getting scared if my motherboard is having any problems. Any suggestions what i should do? When the PC froze, i then restarted. The BIOS had reset itself. I changed BIOS settings, and checked temperatures. It was 75 degrees. And now am checking temperatures with speedfan.. its showing 55 degrees. I dunno whats the problem with my PC. Anupam

If your temps are that high then either you applied the paste wrong, the HS is installed incorrectly or the HSfan is not working properly. If you were getting video artifacts then the entire PC may be overheating. You didn't indicate how you cleaned out the dust. The best method, IMO, is to blow out the case with compressed air. Canned compressed air can be purchased at computer or office supply stores. Be sure to blow out everything, including the PSU. DO NOT use a vacuum. Doing so can damage the hardware due to electrostatic discharge.

I do not get why a vacuum cleaner should create electrical discharge. I have been using vacuum cleaning for a long long time with no problems. Vacuum power is 1500 watts. I am against compressed air method because it might force dust and other debris into tiny spaces between legs of a chip creating shorts when combined with moisture. My thinking is, if air draft creates electrical discharge, it should create discharge either way; when blown in or when blown out. Am I not right ? Regards SuatCINI

The motor current draw has nothing at all to do with electrostatic discharge from a vacuum hose. An air compressor can also create a static discharge. The difference is that in order to use a vacuum cleaner you need to touch the parts you are vacuuming. Not so with compressed air. The charge is not built up in the air stream but on the tubing carrying the air. Static discharge caused by airflow is well documented. The best example of this is the German dirigible the Hindenburg. If you don't know that history, Google for it. Knock yourself out using a vacuum cleaner on your computer but please don't advise anyone else to do so.

What range of temperature is considered normal, and above what its considered high. I dont know, if it was a temperature related problem, then when i reboot the PC again, then it shouldnt start for a while, and it should warn of overheating before. Coz, earlier in the past, it has happened, that due to dust on air fan, the system heats up and shuts down. And when i try to restart it, it gives a peculiar beep, and then it would come written that earlier PC shut down due to overheating. And it wouldnt start till the PC cooled down. But now, the system freezes, screen goes yellowish at places. But, again i restart the PC, and it works fine, as if nothing had happened. So, is the problem related to temperature? Its getting confusing. Anupam

And well, about cleaning the PC, i blew the dust with a vacuum cleaner using it in blower mode. And i cleaned the dust around and on the processor with a cloth. Didnt took out the processor first, and cleaned the dust around and on it. Also cleaned the old thermal paste. Well, i dont think it has anything to do with cleaning, coz PC has been freezing before all that, and also i have cleaned my PC in the past, taking proper care. Now, i cant think why this has been happening. Anupam

My problem is solved. I took out the RAM sticks to test them one at a time. Tested with memtest86+ .... didnt find any problems. And, after reseating the sticks, since then PC is working fine. No freezing problems now. I think the problem was with the RAM not seated properly.... or dust. Dunno, what it was, but problem is solved. Thanks for all the help guys. Anupam