no power to system-possibly dead CPU

Some time last year a plastic "tab" on the base that holds the metal clasp of the heat sink broke, causing the heat sink to literally fall off the CPU. I discovered this after the PC shut down due to overheating. I was able to reattach the heat sink as the locking arm mechanism would still catch. I was able to use the PC like this until some time around December. I never had any issues of overheating, reboots, etc. But then one day the system just would not power up. I tried the Neopower 480 PSU on my backup PC and it powered up. I thought the MB had died, so yesterday I bought a used Gigabyte MB and did a basic setup (PSU, CPU, RAM-nothing else) and tried to switch it on-nothing. I mean I get no lights, beeps, nothing. No fans no life at all except when I press the "kill switch" on the back of the PSU before disconnecting it I hear the little sound it makes when the power shuts off ( hopefully you know what I mean by that). I suspect the CPU got fried due to the heat sink problem. I am going to try the PSU on my other system again just to be sure it isn't the problem since it would be the most obvious but I don't think so.
One other thing when I pulled the heat sink off the CPU last time the thermal paste acted like glue and pulled the CPU out of socket with the locking arm down. Poor thing has been abused. I examined it but see no bent pins or other obvious signs of damage. I even suspected my power switch on my case was faulty but I tested the new MB on another case that I know was ok and same result-no power at all.
I have been having so many PC issues lately with both my systems never so many before. My question is this: assuming the PSU works on the other system, and since I already tried a different MB, is it safe to assume that the CPU is dead? If it was, would the no power whatsoever symptom be the result? I've never had a CPU fail and I understand it is rare however I did have the heat sink break so... Any thoughts?
Athlon 64 3400+ CPU
MSI K8N Neo-FSR MB/Gigabyte GA K8NS Pro
2x 1GB Corsair XMS PC3200 RAM
Neopower 480 PSU
Black Guardian Gaming Case

 

Thats an easy three strikes, I do believe it is gone.
The last one especially-ouch-that would explain the need for a new mobo..

 

Update: I just attached the Neopower to the back up system and was able to get into bios. It's not the PSU. I replaced the MB and tried another case. So now I am 90% sure it is the CPU. Anyone concur or have other ideas b4 I go buy another one?

 

Hi Ghost,

Can't help you much, but next time before trying to lift the heatsink give it a little twist both ways. It wont move far but will usually break the grip the Heat Sink Compound has on the Processor. It should then lift off easily.

Good Luck, Jim

 

<sigh> And the saga continues...
So I go to my parts guy convinced the CPU is dead. I buy another AMD and stick of RAM. I coerce him to hook up the MB I bought earlier along with the new CPU and RAM just to leave with the knowledge that it will indeed power up and get into BIOS. And it does. Just for kicks he takes my original CPU and drops it in the new board. Naturally, it works. He gets into BIOS no problem. EUREKA! It's the .....RAM I had in my system before I had always had both sticks installed while testing. Right?
Now I'm home, I put in my original MB just for kicks hoping I now know what was wrong and....nothing. I take it out, put in the new MB along with the new RAM and my original CPU. Again, I am still using my original PSU that I tested this morning and it worked fine then on my backup system. And once again...nothing. Dead. Not a beep or flicker.
Sitting on the floor mourning my terrible luck recently I remembered that the old guy at the shop did not test the MB in a case-he hooked it up and did some sort of thing where he touched the pins for the power switch. Hmm... Feeling bold I decided to try this even though I had never seen anyone do that before. After a few minutes touching the pins with my screwdriver I noticed a yellow light on the MB..then the CPU fan moved..a few more attempts and TA-DA! The system sprang to life! I am sitting here looking at the bios screen, afraid to turn it back off.
And so, here I am even more confused than I was in the beginning. I tested this same setup in another case last night. That case powered up with other equipment in it. With the new stuff, nothing. The only difference was the memory- I tried it with the originall memory last night. So what the hell?? Based on all this damn T/S I've done, it appears that the power switch on BOTH PC cases cannot power up either MB (what?!?) and/or that the old memory is the cause. In the case of my current setup (the one I'm looking at right now) it does appear that the case's power switch is no longer able to provide enough...spark(?) to the MB. So now I have to try moving all this crap to the backup systems case and see what happens but I think I know what will happen-nothing. This is the damndest thing I've ever seen in 10 years of building my own systems. Can't power up unless I touch the pins with a screwdriver?? Anyone taking the time to read all my crap- I thank you and any input is appreciated. I am so frustrated but there is life in this thing!
ps-I wiped off all the thermal paste.

 

Still trying to sort this one out. I let the system run for like 40 minutes last night. I shut it off, waited a few minutes, then reconnected the case power switch. After pushing the power button a few times and holding it the system actually powered up. So now it is sporadically powering up since I "hotwired" it. I really have no idea where to go from here. It seems as if power is being drained somehow, preventing the flow of power from PSU to MB and various components. I used this case without a single glitch for several years after the initial setup until last December when it failed to power up. I'm wondering what kind of problem could be caused by the case, yet I did try the system in another case days ago and same result-no power. This is a weird one for me. Any thoughts out there? Anyone??

 

Guess I'll just keep replying to myself..lol I read on the Tom's Hardware forums someone else's similar situation and a suggestion that the case power switch was faulty and to try connecting the reset button connector to the power on pins to see if the power button had some kind of fault. I'm gonna try that later. <sigh> Somethings gotta give here.