Bad Motherboard - Uninstalling CPU

F87

I spent a long time yesterday putting my new PC together.
Turns out the motherboard wouldn't detect my hdd. It would show it in the BIOS but the error I was getting was this:

"Marvel Adapter something-something
Adapter 1
Hard disk not found"

We called tech support and through their help we checked the bios under advanced settings and there was no Marvel IDE setting. Only Marvel ASATA.
So the conclusion we all came to is that the IDE connector is faulty. I will be returning the motherboard to Newegg monday.


tl;dr
1. I'm scared of taking the cpu back out. The heatsink is stuck pretty tightly on it and I don't know where I could get new thermal paste. How can I uninstall it safely?

2. The small 4 pin power supply cable doesn't reach from the power supply to the 4-pin slot on the motherboard. Is there a cable I could order from newegg that would fix this?

3. How is Newegg on returns?

TychoCelchuuu

1. Unscrew the HSF and lift it off. Clean the thermal paste off with some 9X% isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free thing (like q-tips wrapped in a coffee filter or something). You can get more thermal paste from Newegg if you want. Computer stores will probably sell it.

2. Looks like it.

3. Pretty fantastic.

lowlylowlycook

You'll probably want to reseat the heatsink onto the CPU. Just order some paste from newegg or buy some from radioshack.

I think this is the cable you need.

Newegg is known for having a good return policy. Or rather most of their competition is known for having terrible customer support.

DekuStick

Thermal Compound is dirt cheap. So you can afford to spring for the higher quality stuff. Grab some off newegg or any local computer shop.

For how to uninstall your cpu cooler safely, just be slow with it. Refer to the manual if you have to. Most of them just use push pins that I hate to death but they're still pretty simple. If you have a zalman those can be trickier with the clips but still pretty painless.

travathian

Keep the motherboard, ditch the IDE drive and just buy a SATA drive as a replacement. If you need the data off the IDE drive hook it up to another system or get a USB to IDE adapter. I am baffled new motherboards even come with IDE ports still.

If you need a power cable extension I would check at monoprice for one.

Mr. Buttons

F87, when you remove the heatsink... use a blowdryer to soften the grip between CPU and heatsink.

F87

I wish I had read that earlier, Mr. Buttons.

I had to pull so hard to get it off... I hope I didn't damage my new processor.

General_Win

Mr. Buttons wrote: »

F87, when you remove the heatsink... use a blowdryer to soften the grip between CPU and heatsink.

A great idea.


Check to see if any pins are bent, if they are, try to gently, very gently with a razor, push them back into place.

I had a stubborn cpu one time and I bent some pins. I bent them very gently back into place and all was well.

General_Win

travathian wrote: »

Keep the motherboard, ditch the IDE drive and just buy a SATA drive as a replacement. If you need the data off the IDE drive hook it up to another system or get a USB to IDE adapter. I am baffled new motherboards even come with IDE ports still.

If you need a power cable extension I would check at monoprice for one.

Some people still live in the past. Also IDE CD/DVD drives were, at least when I bought my DVD drive 10-20$ cheaper than their SATA cousins.

travathian

That definitely isn't the case any more. Newegg has two SATA CD/DVD burners cheaper than the cheapest IDE drive. I'd imagine IDE drives will continue to go up in price because OEMs won't be using them any more.