What's up people? The 478 socket on my motherboard is totally messed up, and the CPU pins won't engage no matter how I stick it in there, so when I power-up, I get zilch (black screen, no BIOS, CPU is not detected). All I wanted to do was dust out my case; I decided to do a thorough job, since I rarely do it at all, and so pulled the heatsink out to clean the fins. But the heatsink was glued to CPU (thanks to the stupid thermal paste) and got ripped right out of the latched socket. I spent 45 mins trying to get the CPU off the heatsink without destroying it, reapplied thermal paste and stuck it back in -- the system started and everything was ok. While playing Far Cry this afternoon, the computer suddenly rebooted: the CPU was overheating. Annoyed, I pulled it out to reapply thermal paste all over again, thinking I probably did a crappy job the first time, but when I put it back in, I got a black screen. I figured the CPU might be fried, so I pulled out an old 478 Celeron I have and put it in -- nothing, just a black screen. I grabbed a flashlight and looked at the socket while playing with the lever; it's wiggling around in a weird way that doesn't look normal at all, like it's moving too far back. I'm also fairly sure it's the socket because I got the computer to boot once with the Celeron, but when I stuck the Pentium back in, the pins wouldn't engage. I tried the Celeron again and it stopped working too. So, can I replace the socket, or do I need a new mobo? Any advice? And if someone knows about how these sockets function (mechanically that is), please share that info -- maybe I can jimmy it and get the pins to connect. God I wish I had left the dust alone...
Hey, merry christmas. Sounds like when you pulled it out you smashed the socket as the lever is there to stop the cpu from coming out, seems like your going to need a new motherboard.
Merry Christmas. Damn, that sucks. Sockets on motherboards can't be replaced (I know the retention clip can, so I'm hoping sockets can too)?
I posted this on some other forums, and the general consensus is that you have to buy a new mobo (the socket can be fixed but the cost is very high apparently). I can't believe this happened...It's horrible...All I wanted to do was clean the case...I feel like punching someone... Well, thanks, and for all it's worth, have a Happy New Year.
Yeah, the pins are ok. I tested a 478 Celeron in the socket; the socket's finished, and I also tested the CPU in another mobo, and it's fried too. I bought a new mobo and CPU = $285 CAD. What a gyp... I'm having some trouble booting Windows though; in safe mode, I get a message saying "Press esc to cancel loading SPTD.sys", and whether I press esc or not, the system just reboots. Linux won't boot either. Any ideas?
Yea, when buying a new mobo you need to re install windows, dunno why but windows never boots when a new mobo has been put in. I also think its what your going to have to do with Linux too unfortunatly.
One thing to check: with the Pentium 4's (and P4-based Celerons), Intel required an ATX power revision for more 12V power through a 4-pin auxillary plug. Many motherboards will not boot without this plugged in, and if they do, instability can happen. Well, the reason for the recommended reinstall is this: the drive controllers. Windows has drivers to communicate with the chipset, which includes a hard drive controller, typically IDE or SATA. When you switch to a different motherboard with a different chipset, it's like taking your average Mexican and dropping him off in Moscow. He can't communicate. Obviously, that's not an option. You may be able to go into safe mode and remove everything from device manager once you get going again. If that doesn't fly, you can install Windows over itself. Basically, you would boot off your Windows install CD, but DO NOT format your hard drive. This is recommended just so you can snag your valuable data before doing a clean (ie with a hard drive format) install.
