Is it the Mobo or the Processor

Well just a week or so ago i got a call from one of my friends, being the resident tech is kind of annoying from time to time, anyways, i have been working on finding the problem for his rig for almost a week now, at first i thought it was a lack of power as one of the fans didnt work, it lit up but didnt spin, then i thought maybe it was the harddrives after swapping around some wiring and finding the fan worked fine and it was just the 1 wire that was bad, well that proved false when i installed my spare hard drive.

Morale of the story, i just noticed today that the heat sink had broken loose somewhere along the way, and im not sure if it happened before or after the original break, though i am pretty sure it was before because one of the brackets that the heatsink attaches to somehow broke off, not sure when or how this happened but it did. so i am assuming now that the processor overheated and ended up frying itself(also not to mention the fact that the heatsink was completely filled with dust and other crap). but i want to be sure before i order a new processor.

 

If the heatsink is not securely attached, the pc would shut off pretty quick, so I would first of all clear the heatsink fins of fluff, and dust, and se if the heatsink can be refitted more securely, with artic silver, or similar paste to be sure . Then if it does not start, try just the one stick of ram test- If the fan spins, then the motherboard would appear to be working, but I would suggest trying the cd rom (just see if it opens and shuts)- check if any screen light up appears- any beeps (one for post , would be good)
Quite often the pc will just shutdown at high temperature, but as you say, it is possible it has fried -It would be nice if you had a spare cpu to try, before spending too much, as a further test.

 

the thing of it is is that it doesnt boot at all, none of the external devices work (keyboard, mouse, and monitor). but all the fans light up and the cd drive opens and shuts

 

oh and i guess i should say, it does turn on, its just none of the external things seem to be getting a signal, and then eventually it turns back off.

 

This is why I asked if there was another cpu available (I know, only geeks keep these sort of things around, really)
Did you try changing the ram,if possible ? (again one stick only, or, another one , if it has more than one, in case all are faulty, as you are not getting any beeps- unless the beep option has been turned off)
I can only suggest, beyond this, that you use a can of compressed air, to clean off the motherboard, and ram slots, check that all the wire connectors are firmly connected on the motherboard (ease off one at a time and simply push back on)
Removing and replacing parts can often solve a poor connection that is not obvious.
Good luck

 

If after all that cleaning and prodding and testing it still doesn't work, then just admit defeat and tell your 'client' the options he has moneywise. Unless I knew exactly what was wrong by substitution, I wouldn't touch it anymore. Just say sorry and that you did the best you could. Spending someone's money on the wrong solution will result in a bad scenario.

 

When it comes to the Mobo/Processor realm, i am inept, so while i am confident i have located the problem i would not order the parts till i have brought the computer into a computer repair store and paid an expert to confirm my suspicions, if it was simply any other problem i would be capable and qualified to fix it but for some reason Mobo's and Processor's are in some strange language for me >.<.

thanks for the advice anywho, ill talk with my friend and weigh the options, he already knows im going to pay to have an expert to take a look since as i said i am inept, and if it is as i suspect i will buy him the parts as his christmas present.