p4p800e-dlx won't post - memory socket problem (and question)

[zagat]

Hi folks,

For those of you who are having some problems with the p4p800e-dlx, I
thought I would share my recent experience.

For the sake of brevity, I will condense things.

p4p800e-dlx
p4 3.0 northwood
2x512MB corsair xms memory
gigabyte 9600xt

Symptom: no post, no audio alert, no video. fans spin.

After some testing, it appears that my 2nd DIMM socket was bad! If I
put the two memory sticks in sockets 1 and 2, I would get a full 1GB
in single channel mode. If I put the memory in sockets 1 and 3 (for
dual channel mode), it would not post nor give me any voice alert. I
could place a single memory stick in either socket 1, 2, or 4 and it
would boot up just fine (yes, I used both memory modules just to be
sure that I did not have a bad one).

I spoke with ASUS tech support and went through a number of tests and
they told me to RMA the board.

I just thought I would share this with you all, just in case anyone
else is experiencing similar behaviour.

Now the questions....
I will have to remove the CPU and heatsink in order to send the board
back. What is the best way to remove the heatsink? Just pull it
straight up or should I twist it a bit? Also, will I need to clean
off the remnants of the thermal pad from the CPU and heatsink or will
I be able just to smush them back together again once I get the new
mb?

Thanks,
Zag

 

[NickM]

Hi folks,

For those of you who are having some problems with the p4p800e-dlx, I
thought I would share my recent experience.

For the sake of brevity, I will condense things.

p4p800e-dlx
p4 3.0 northwood
2x512MB corsair xms memory
gigabyte 9600xt

Symptom: no post, no audio alert, no video. fans spin.

After some testing, it appears that my 2nd DIMM socket was bad! If I
put the two memory sticks in sockets 1 and 2, I would get a full 1GB
in single channel mode. If I put the memory in sockets 1 and 3 (for
dual channel mode), it would not post nor give me any voice alert. I
could place a single memory stick in either socket 1, 2, or 4 and it
would boot up just fine (yes, I used both memory modules just to be
sure that I did not have a bad one).

I spoke with ASUS tech support and went through a number of tests and
they told me to RMA the board.

I just thought I would share this with you all, just in case anyone
else is experiencing similar behaviour.

Now the questions....
I will have to remove the CPU and heatsink in order to send the board
back. What is the best way to remove the heatsink? Just pull it
straight up or should I twist it a bit? Also, will I need to clean
off the remnants of the thermal pad from the CPU and heatsink or will
I be able just to smush them back together again once I get the new
mb?

Thanks,
Zag

The best way I've found to remove a regular P4 heatsink with only the
manufacturer's thermal pad is to do it gently. Slightly twisting the
heatsink with the pressure levers released should free it. Obviously the 4
plastic clips at each corner then need to be released to fully remove the
fan/heatsink assembly, (a long thin screwdriver can come in handy for this
if used with care), but it is perfectly possible to release each corner
usung nothing more than your fingers.

I have seen a P4 chip come out whilst still attached to the heatsink by the
suction induced by use of too much thermal paste (ie with the ZIF socket
lever still in the closed position) - (not the supplied thermal pad, but the
white goo you buy in a tube). Luckily the ZIF socket wasn't that strong,
and it didn't remove any pins from the CPU, which continued to work OK after
refitting with a bit less goo.

HTH

Nick

 

[Ra Ginch]

The p4 heatsink is a bugger to get off

Easiest way I have found is to use the forefinger of each hand to grip the
legs one at a time

you have to move each leg down and out for it to clear the clip

do this for each leg in turn

be prepared to stop at times and have a rest because you dont half get fair
worked up doing it as it seems at times impossible.....it needs a fair bit
of strength and I am pretty strong!

I never use thermal paste with a intel hs & f i dont believe its needed so
you can do either!

 

[Lasernet]

The best way I've found to remove a regular P4 heatsink with only the
manufacturer's thermal pad is to do it gently. Slightly twisting the
heatsink with the pressure levers released should free it. Obviously the 4
plastic clips at each corner then need to be released to fully remove the
fan/heatsink assembly, (a long thin screwdriver can come in handy for this
if used with care), but it is perfectly possible to release each corner
usung nothing more than your fingers.

I have seen a P4 chip come out whilst still attached to the heatsink by the
suction induced by use of too much thermal paste (ie with the ZIF socket
lever still in the closed position) - (not the supplied thermal pad, but the
white goo you buy in a tube). Luckily the ZIF socket wasn't that strong,
and it didn't remove any pins from the CPU, which continued to work OK after
refitting with a bit less goo.

The problem with the thermal pad is that it hardens with time, which makes
it nearly impossible to remove the heatsink without the CPU. Bringing up the
CPU to operating temperature before trying to remove the heatsink does help.

Yeah, I've yanked out the CPU with the heatsink once also. Now I know better
and use Artic Silver...

 

[Lasernet]

Hi folks,

For those of you who are having some problems with the p4p800e-dlx, I
thought I would share my recent experience.

For the sake of brevity, I will condense things.

p4p800e-dlx
p4 3.0 northwood
2x512MB corsair xms memory
gigabyte 9600xt

Symptom: no post, no audio alert, no video. fans spin.

After some testing, it appears that my 2nd DIMM socket was bad! If I
put the two memory sticks in sockets 1 and 2, I would get a full 1GB
in single channel mode. If I put the memory in sockets 1 and 3 (for
dual channel mode), it would not post nor give me any voice alert. I
could place a single memory stick in either socket 1, 2, or 4 and it
would boot up just fine (yes, I used both memory modules just to be
sure that I did not have a bad one).

Interesting, I had the same memory socket bad on Asus P4P800 board..

I spoke with ASUS tech support and went through a number of tests and
they told me to RMA the board.

ZipZoomFly did that for me...

I just thought I would share this with you all, just in case anyone
else is experiencing similar behaviour.

Now the questions....
I will have to remove the CPU and heatsink in order to send the board
back. What is the best way to remove the heatsink? Just pull it
straight up or should I twist it a bit? Also, will I need to clean
off the remnants of the thermal pad from the CPU and heatsink or will
I be able just to smush them back together again once I get the new
mb?

That depends how long you had the CPU and the heatsink together? Within a
month the thermal pad will harden and stick to the heatsink for good. Don't
pull it up straight, after unlucking the heatsink twist a bit left and
right. Running the CPU at operating temperature before you remove the
heatsink will help.

Just clean off the remnents of the thermal pad and use Artic Silver. or
similar material...

 

[zagat]

The best way I've found to remove a regular P4 heatsink with only the
manufacturer's thermal pad is to do it gently. Slightly twisting the
heatsink with the pressure levers released should free it. Obviously the 4
plastic clips at each corner then need to be released to fully remove the
fan/heatsink assembly, (a long thin screwdriver can come in handy for this
if used with care), but it is perfectly possible to release each corner
usung nothing more than your fingers.

I have seen a P4 chip come out whilst still attached to the heatsink by the
suction induced by use of too much thermal paste (ie with the ZIF socket
lever still in the closed position) - (not the supplied thermal pad, but the
white goo you buy in a tube). Luckily the ZIF socket wasn't that strong,
and it didn't remove any pins from the CPU, which continued to work OK after
refitting with a bit less goo.

HTH

Nick

Thanks, I got it off fairly easily!

 

[zagat]

The best way I've found to remove a regular P4 heatsink with only the
manufacturer's thermal pad is to do it gently. Slightly twisting the
heatsink with the pressure levers released should free it. Obviously the 4
plastic clips at each corner then need to be released to fully remove the
fan/heatsink assembly, (a long thin screwdriver can come in handy for this
if used with care), but it is perfectly possible to release each corner
usung nothing more than your fingers.

I have seen a P4 chip come out whilst still attached to the heatsink by the
suction induced by use of too much thermal paste (ie with the ZIF socket
lever still in the closed position) - (not the supplied thermal pad, but the
white goo you buy in a tube). Luckily the ZIF socket wasn't that strong,
and it didn't remove any pins from the CPU, which continued to work OK after
refitting with a bit less goo.

HTH

Nick

Thanks, I got it off fairly easily!

 

[zagat]

The p4 heatsink is a bugger to get off

Easiest way I have found is to use the forefinger of each hand to grip the
legs one at a time

you have to move each leg down and out for it to clear the clip

do this for each leg in turn

be prepared to stop at times and have a rest because you dont half get fair
worked up doing it as it seems at times impossible.....it needs a fair bit
of strength and I am pretty strong!

I never use thermal paste with a intel hs & f i dont believe its needed so
you can do either!

Thanks, I got it off without damaging anything (I hope).

 

[zagat]

Interesting, I had the same memory socket bad on Asus P4P800 board..

Well I certainly hope that my replacement board will fix ths!!!

ZipZoomFly did that for me...

I used newegg and they're issuing a credit on the bad mb (once they
get it back, of course) and I've already ordered a replacement. Their
RMA process was completely painless - no problems or arguments
whatsoever. They're even re-imbursing me for the shipping costs to
return the bad mb.

That depends how long you had the CPU and the heatsink together? Within a
month the thermal pad will harden and stick to the heatsink for good. Don't
pull it up straight, after unlucking the heatsink twist a bit left and
right. Running the CPU at operating temperature before you remove the
heatsink will help.

Just clean off the remnents of the thermal pad and use Artic Silver. or
similar material...

Thanks for the info. Since I couldn't get the memory to work, I only
had the machine on for about 5-10 minutes (total time while trying
various DIMM slots).
When I removed the heatsink the thermal pad had been squashed a bit
but hadn't spread over the entire CPU. Hopefully I can just
reassemble the cpu and heatsink when I get the replacement mb and the
thermal pad will melt and spread over the CPU over time.

Thanks again for your help.
Zag

 

[QZ]

Thanks for the info. Since I couldn't get the memory to work, I only
had the machine on for about 5-10 minutes (total time while trying
various DIMM slots).
When I removed the heatsink the thermal pad had been squashed a bit
but hadn't spread over the entire CPU. Hopefully I can just
reassemble the cpu and heatsink when I get the replacement mb and the
thermal pad will melt and spread over the CPU over time.

Was this the Retail HSF?
How exactly did you remove the HSF?