CPU overheating after replacement

I have an old computer that has a Asus P5QL Pro motherboard, a Intel Core2 Duo E8400 CPU and the heatsink on it is the stock intel fan. I ordered a new CPU online, wich is an Intel Core2 Quad Q8400.

I installed it, but I had hard time putting back the heatsink/fan on it for some reason.. The intel stock CPU heatsink/fan has those push pins or whatever its called and I struggled to understand how they work and there might be a possibility that I broke the push pins springs but I really dont know.

I placed back the heatsink/fan on the cpu as best I could but i dont know if it was properly "pinned" in the motherboard but seemed to be solid. And for the thermal paste, im pretty sure on that that I applied it properly on the CPU and removed the old paste from the heatsink.

I booted my PC, and about 7-10mins after I got a blue screen saying SYSTEM SERVICE EXCEPTION, PC restarted and BIOS said CPU OVERHEATING ERROR. CPU was showing at 100 degrees in the BIOS hardware monitor.

Now im wondering what I should do.. Should I try applying again thermal paste and try checking if the fan is properly installed? How can I know if the Intel CPU fan push pins are broken? Should I try putting back the old CPU to see if it overheats again? Is there possibilities that the CPU is defective? Im kind of lost in all that. Thank you!

EDIT: I removed and reapplied the heatsink with new thermal paste, and this time I followed the heatsink push pins instructions from Intel and managed to install it properly(so the previous time the fan was most likely not applied properly) I heard the noise click confirmation that means they are properly "clipped" into the MB, except for 1 damaged pins that I tried my best to make it fit in the pin hole.

I booted my computer, then it showed that windows could not boot could be due to new software or hardware and suggested me to use the windows startup tool repair, wich I did, and it said that the problems could not be fixed, so it restarted, this time I saw the windows 7 boot logo, about 3mins after I got a weird blue screen(It wasnt a common blue screen-it was a blue screen with only a few littles white sentences located at the top of the screen with way smaller font than the regular BSOD)

So the PC restarted, and this time I managed to reach my desktop(about 7mins or running) and then I got a DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL BSOD, after the PC restarted I went to see the dump file and the problematic driver were about Atheros wich is I think the network part/card.. wich is weird because I never had problems with that..

But while checking the dump file I let the pc run for about 8 mins and did not get any BSOD, then I had to leave so I turned off the PC.. so I dont know whats happening with my computer if the CPU is problematic or not, but its not overheating anymore(all cores are at 40-50 degrees instead of 100) so im not getting overheating problems no more...But im in doubt about the stability..

William Weifenbach

Posted 2018-08-08T03:33:58.227

Reputation: 233

You should be able to with a very small investment purchase a third-party product that uses metal screws even for the hardware you have. Intel hasn’t really changed their layout in years. – Ramhound – 2018-08-08T04:54:56.107

Regarding your edit, if you have correctly seated the cooler and you get normal temperatures in your BIOS I would suggest moving your additional issues off to a separate question and link back to this one as a reference. – Michael Frank – 2018-08-08T21:38:21.843

Answers

It definitely sounds like an incorrectly installed cooling fan.

You probably haven't seriously damaged the CPU, but I suggest that you do not power your computer back on until you have applied an appropriate amount of thermal paste and are absolutely sure you have correctly seated the cooling fan.

Applying the Thermal Paste

I normally put about this much thermal paste on a new CPU:

Source: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2220179/thermal-paste.html

Installing the Heatsink

The stock Intel coolers can be a bit tricky to install if you aren't familiar with a push-pin lock. Ensure that you haven't damaged or bent any of the locking pins by inspecting the bottom of the cooler:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raynnb67MEM (thumbnail for video)

To install them, you need to reset the four pins by pulling the handles up and then rotating them the opposite way to the arrow on the handle:

Once reset, you should be able to place the cooler onto the CPU and align the pins with the mounting holes:

Once aligned, push the pins through and turn the lock in the direction arrow on the handle.

Source: https://www.intel.com.au/content/www/au/en/support/articles/000005852/processors.html

Michael Frank

Posted 2018-08-08T03:33:58.227

Reputation: 7 412

Thank you for the well explained answer. I hope I didnt damage the CPU because I actually power back on the computer maybe 2 or 3 times before just shutting it down (was getting the same BSOD and CPU overheating error all the time). But what if I broke the pins of the CPU fan? Can that break? By trying to find a way to put it back I managed to do a complete 360 degree with one of the pins.. also when trying to lift up the pins handle like said, the handle(black part) came off of the pin itself(white part) like it detached from it...is that normal or it means its broken? I tried to put it back – William Weifenbach – 2018-08-08T04:15:01.220

Can you add a photo of the potentially damaged pin to your question? That might help us tell you whether or not you need to buy a new cooler. Normally they are fairly easy to put back together if they're not physically broken as they do come apart. – Michael Frank – 2018-08-08T04:18:56.103

I will in a little bit when im able too. I dont know if im allowed to post pictures though. I know that the handles made clicking noises at some points when I was twisting them, I dont know if its bad or not – William Weifenbach – 2018-08-08T04:48:57.257

The clicking noise is a feature, that allows you to know if you twisted enough @William – Nordlys Jeger – 2018-08-08T11:13:59.653

So I took a close look at the CPU fan and I figured out that 3 of the 4 pins are perfectly fine, and one is a bit damaged; the internal lock part are bent/broken but not detached, so by being careful you can somewhat make it work..Also see my edited question, I might have fixed the issue but not sure – William Weifenbach – 2018-08-08T17:22:30.917

Your CPU is not defective. It's seems heat sink is not properly working. May be improper Installation or could be irregular power supply to heat sink or existing heat sink is not enough. Check the heat sink connector. Try re-install with old one /existing/new . Watch it in the youtube how to do it or contact a pro user. CPU must be below 70 degrees.

SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION is caused by the improper CPU processing. Boot from a OS bootable disk whichever your using. (windows 7/8/10) Click on the Repair option. Go to CMD. TYPE "CHKDSK PARTITION LETTER /R /F " on the OS Partition (like C:). If any other OS please google them how to do it.

TRY THESE. IT COULD WORK. GOOD LUCK

MDivyakanth

Posted 2018-08-08T03:33:58.227

Reputation: 21

One other thing that's important in addition to the things explained above (proper thermal paste and seating the heatsink firmly to the motherboard), is to ensure you plugged the cooling fan back into the motherboard, and that none of the cables of the fan are touching the fan itself, causing it to slow down or not spin.

You can also just buy a new heatsink on ebay if you broke the connectors...they are pretty cheap, in the $10-$20 range.

Nate Cartwright

Posted 2018-08-08T03:33:58.227

Reputation: 71