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Since I've installed a new heatsink, SK-7, my computer won't boot rgiht...

The HDD's start up, along with the fans... But no screen (power saving mode logo) , no keyboard and no mouse!
Don't know what the heck is the problem here...
People say it's the CPU, some say it's the mainboard... Let's say I slipped a little witht he screwdriver, that don't TOTALLY waste the mainboard, rightr?! I mean yu should at leaste have the keyboard and screen working...

So, is it the mainboard or cpu??
Mainboard: Soltek 75drv4
CPU: athlon xp 1700+
PSU: 300w

you can whack a motherboard with a screwdriver, but they are fairly robust - get a magnifying glass and see if there is any damage to the traces where the screwdriver slipped -

also - does you mobo require a cpu fan to be in the cpu fan header before it will boot? i assume the sk7 is hooked to the main wiring harness and not the cpu fan header - you mght try plugging in some other fan and see it that helps -

if none of the above, try reseating your cpu, ram and vid vcard. sometimes things get bumped enough to make a difference during upgrading

if none of the above test your cpu in another rig, or try another cpu in your rig

the most common cause of death in amd cpus is forgetting to connect the cpu fan or having it come loose - 2 seconds and the cpu is well done.

If I were to injure the mainboard I would have to HIT the actual mainboard, not just slip from the heatsink?? Once in the installaton I slipped, but then it just got into the holder on the HS.. Stupid manufact. placing the sscrewdrive holder behind...
And you say it's fairly robust, then if I were to injure the mainboard I WOULD see definite markings, right?

But is as a common symptom that injuring the mainboard, not the CPU, causes the screen, the mouse, the keyboard out of function and BTW, the keyboard lights it's lamps one time... Maybe it works, but howeverer I see no screen!

Or simplified:

If the motherboard was injured, would there be no screen?
If the CPU was injured, would it be no screen?

It could happen in either cicrcum stance. If you don't have a CPU you won't get a screen because there's nothing to process the info and the boot won't proceed. If your mobo is dead, the same thing will happen. I think you should go through the things wvjohn said to do and see what you get. eGo

Originally posted by eGoCeNTRoNiX
It could happen in either cicrcum stance. If you don't have a CPU you won't get a screen because there's nothing to process the info and the boot won't proceed. If your mobo is dead, the same thing will happen. I think you should go through the things wvjohn said to do and see what you get. eGo

But he mobo isn't "dead", it's powered up: the red light next to the RAm modules i son, the fans are on, the HDD's are on...
I need to decide whether or not itäst he CPU, but I think so... About the fans... I have tried to hook it into the CPU FAN1 on the mobo, then direct to the PSU... Same result: no funciona!
And yes I have tried to reseat everything, and I eman everything.. CPU, AGP card, SOund card, Ram modules...

BTW, I have no oppurtunity to insert the CPU into another mainboard system...

I had an ASUS board that would power up and fans would spin, and everything would power up, but it still wouldn't post. Moved the CPU to a different mobo and VIOLA! Everything worked. I wouldn't rule out the possibility that the mobo is bad, but it may very well be the CPU and I've also experienced the same problem you're having now, before. I hope you find out what's wrong with it.. GL! eGo

Originally posted by eGoCeNTRoNiX
I had an ASUS board that would power up and fans would spin, and everything would power up, but it still wouldn't post. Moved the CPU to a different mobo and VIOLA! Everything worked. I wouldn't rule out the possibility that the mobo is bad, but it may very well be the CPU and I've also experienced the same problem you're having now, before. I hope you find out what's wrong with it.. GL! eGo

Let's view the possibilitys of "whacking" a CPU-core...

1. Burning it, noticeable by smell and viewable...
2. Cracking it, hearable and also viewable...
3. ???

Out of these possibilitys, none have occured as I know...
When I placed the heatsink on top of the CPU, I used caution and did it perfectly
straight/right on, e.g. not tilting...

I think it's a higher possibility being the mboard... ?
It's a pitty I have NO opp. to test my CPU in another system...

Like wvjohn said, it could be either the mobo or cpu. With ether going bad both can cause what you explained, lights and fans coming on, but no boot. That has happened to me when either was bad.

Do as wvjohn suggested, reseat the cpu and ram, try again. Sometimes if not seated right that would cause that problem. It's happened to me before several times.

But a bad mobo could also cause that problem. You just have to try and narrowit all down.


Though not having another system to test makes it more difficult. If you have any friends who have similar perhaps they will let you test the cpu on there system.


A cpu could still be bad if nothing is visible. But again, you should try what wvjohn suggested.

I've inspected my mobo by taken it out of the case and really looked in to it, and I can see a MARKING next to the socket, and it's caused by me
I see a broken 'circuit' (the lines right?) and it's probably a lethal injury?

Sounds like a lethal injury to me... You could always try to RMA it.. that really sucks man. I know whenever I've installed a heatsink (what, 3 times for me?) I have always been a little paranoid about slipping. You can always bend the truth a little...

Good luck with it...

You haven't ruled out the fact that you might not have mounted it properly. If you put ti on backwards, or too far forward and it wasn't contacting the core, it's almost instantly fried. W/o a fan, a nice copper sink like the SK7 could probably last for almost a minute or more. I've scratched my motherboards more times that i can count, and i see visible damage, yet they still work flawlessly. Unless you see green (or whatever color your board is) between to copper channels, you are fine. Definatly try remounting your CPU, clearing your CMOS. Also, what kind of thermal paste are you using? Is it applied properly? Did you clean the core before mounting if it had a thermal pad?

Originally posted by matt719
You haven't ruled out the fact that you might not have mounted it properly. If you put ti on backwards, or too far forward and it wasn't contacting the core, it's almost instantly fried. W/o a fan, a nice copper sink like the SK7 could probably last for almost a minute or more. I've scratched my motherboards more times that i can count, and i see visible damage, yet they still work flawlessly. Unless you see green (or whatever color your board is) between to copper channels, you are fine. Definatly try remounting your CPU, clearing your CMOS. Also, what kind of thermal paste are you using? Is it applied properly? Did you clean the core before mounting if it had a thermal pad?

To my GREATEST disappointment, my newly purchased mainboard verifies that it's the CPU that's causing the problem... I thought it could'nt be worse.
I have mounted the HS perfectly, applied AS3 nice and thin, did NOT slip with the screwdriver at all...
My god.. My birthday was in wednesday and all this s''t would happen, I'm so sad.
The thing would cost 666.93SEK, but now.. 666.93 + 700SEK (mobo) + 500SEK (new cpu) = 1866.93SEK

I'm so unlucky...
Any thoughts of you helping me to say it is a solevable problem without purchasing anew CPU???
I don't recall damaging the CPU!

Well, it is a really random thing to do, but whenever i have CPU trouble it helps... Try reseting your CMOS. When i thought i burned out my Agoia 1600+ trying to unlock, i just needed to reset the CMOS (for some unknown reason). I always reset my CMOS before i declared a problem.

Originally posted by matt719
Well, it is a really random thing to do, but whenever i have CPU trouble it helps... Try reseting your CMOS. When i thought i burned out my Agoia 1600+ trying to unlock, i just needed to reset the CMOS (for some unknown reason). I always reset my CMOS before i declared a problem.

I see you have also the SK-7 cooler...
That's what started the whole thing. Not the CPU-cooler itself but what happened after I've installed it...
I had installed it perfectly, from the right direction and all, applied AS3 paste and before that of course I cleaned the CPU with alcohol...
I and my father looked at my mainboard and yes we could see a circuit cut off, so "sure, that's the problem!" but after we've purchased a entirely new, unused mainboard, the problem remains!!!!
Now the only thing we can say is that the CPU must be the reason from the beginning! But we can't see how we injured the CPU...

So you have the SK-7, did you use the following pads??? I did not, because there were already four pads on the CPU that matched the widthness of the cooler... Right?
I do not know how I could damage the CPU-core.... Could I have wasted a CPU by slipping with a screwdriver at the installment of the heatsink??? I had a Taisol cooler, and I did not remove the mainboard from the case in te istallment, so the clip on the heatsink was placed in a not very good place, behind the actual clips.. Anyway, in one attempt to remove the heatsink I could say that I maybe, and maybe twisted the heatsink beacuse of the need to come into the clip from the side... I dunno...

I have cleared the CMOS (moving the jumper to "clear cmos" for 30 sec and then back right?) but no good results...

But after this post, could we find a truly believeable conclusion that it's the CPU?????

P.S. WHen I looked at the CPU I did see something leftbelow the letters (amd athlon.. ) If it was a crack or a spot or a raised glitch I do not know, but could it be someihng???
Also I ahve NOT burnt the cpu, NOT seen any huge cracks, but this one little glitch that I'm uncertain about..
But anyways.: could we find a truly believeable conclusion that it's the CPU?????

I actually just said something to you in a PM about clearing the CMOS (before i read the last three or four posts) and I think that it very well COULD be your CPU... it could be a million factors, but the CPU sounds like the most likely.. I fried one with the Volcano 7+ (kinda pretty actually.. shot out a neat little blue flame) and that was RIGHT after I got the new k7v333.. now I run a Koolance liquid coolded case and I LOVE it... the system idles at about 27C (in the 80s F) and when it gets hot (bascially ONLY because the room gets really hot... sun beats right down on it) it'll get up to 34C (94F)... that's still 20F cooler than my Thermaltake ever kept it. Anyway, enough rambling, what you can do is call the mobo manufaturer, they'll help walk you through some steps to see what the problem might be. Best of luck bro