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General discussion

Computer starts then turns off.

Sep 25, 2010 1:01AM PDT

So here's the problem. My friend decided to move my computer while it was still on, at which point he dropped it and it turned off. I opened it, and the heatsink had popped loose. I set it back on correctly, started it, and it turned off within about 10 seconds. It doesn't usually do it at exactly the same place, sometimes I can even get into bios for a couple seconds. My guess is either the processor and/or the motherboard got damaged. I'd like some opinions on how best to proceed. I'd hate to buy a processor to find out it was the motherboard instead.

Discussion is locked

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Did you clean off the CPU and heatsink and apply new thermal
Sep 25, 2010 2:17AM PDT

paste ?

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Try memtest
Sep 28, 2010 1:07PM PDT

try this. apparently the software is designed to test your computer's motherboard and CPU for any known issue. http://www.memtest86.com/

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Some CPUs fry in seconds without a heatsink.
Sep 29, 2010 1:21AM PDT