[SOLVED] Can't screw in Ryzen fan

[SDGrant]

Building a new computer with a Ryzen 5 5600G CPU & an AMD Wraith stock fan on an MSI MPG C570 motherboard. Got everything put together on Monday, but when I turned it on the "CPU missing or fail" censor lit up on the motherboard, so today I pulled off the fan (yes, I unclipped it from the board 1st) & checked the CPU, found no signs of damage, & reinstalled it to see what would happen this time. Cleaned old thermal paste off both CPU & fan contact, applied new thermal paste. Put the Wraith back on... but now the screws refuse to go in. They turn in place but don't descend.

Checked online for help. In similar cases people were told they needed mounts in the holes, but the motherboard didn't come with them, just clip brackets that needed removing to reveal holes underneath if you're using a screw-on fan rather than a clip-on. Nothing came off with the fan when I removed it. I know other people have complained of stripping the entry holes, but the screws won't even go down that far.

Any help for this?

PS. Taking fan off & attempting to push the screws down that way doesn't seem to help either. Once in place on the motherboard, turning them just makes the fan slip all over...

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

Got everything put together on Monday, but when I turned it on the "CPU missing or fail" censor lit up on the motherboard

you never mention doing so,
but you did actually connect the fan to the motherboard CPU_FAN header correct?

now the screws refuse to go in. They turn in place but don't descend.

if you stripped the threads on the screws or the holes they need to fit into;

you can try some slightly wider screws and force them in.
but it may mean this is the last time you will be able to remove & replace the fan due to holes being bored out too much.

or you can try some of the rubber anti-vibration fan "posts" to see if they fit in the holes properly and it can still be installed with them in place.

 

[SDGrant]

you never mention doing so,
but you did actually connect the fan to the motherboard CPU_FAN header correct?

When I initially built it, yes. Everything worked fine, including the CPU fan. It felt like a wind tunnel coming out of the open case, between that & the other fans. The only thing that didn't seem to be working was the CPU.

if you stripped the threads on the screws or the holes they need to fit into;

you can try some slightly wider screws and force them in.
but it may mean this is the last time you will be able to remove & replace the fan due to holes being bored out too much.

or you can try some of the rubber anti-vibration fan "posts" to see if they fit in the holes properly and it can still be installed with them in place.

Urgh...

I may just surrender & take it to a shop & see what they can do about it...

Thanks.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

I may just surrender & take it to a shop & see what they can do about it...

maybe don't mention the issue with the fan attachment.
have them diagnose the CPU issue and just let them secure the fan afterwards or they may try to charge you more for a "second" job.

if they determine the CPU is defective just return it along with it's cooler and get a replacement.

hopefully this shop will do it for cheap.
my local downtown shop advertises $35 for "system diagnosis".

 

[SDGrant]

maybe don't mention the issue with the fan attachment.
have them diagnose the CPU issue and just let them secure the fan afterwards or they may try to charge you more for a "second" job.

if they determine the CPU is defective just return it along with it's cooler and get a replacement.

hopefully this shop will do it for cheap.
my local downtown shop advertises $35 for "system diagnosis".

I gave them the whole story, inc. CPU problem. At my shop, it's $179 if they can fix the problem, no charge if they can't. I can live with that. The place does good work, I know that. Definitely if the CPU's no good it's going back, that was always in the cards, & I was going to test it again right after I reattached the fan, but...

 

[CountMike]

I gave them the whole story, inc. CPU problem. At my shop, it's $179 if they can fix the problem, no charge if they can't. I can live with that. The place does good work, I know that. Definitely if the CPU's no good it's going back, that was always in the cards, & I was going to test it again right after I reattached the fan, but...

For that amd less money you can get an aftermarket cooler.

 

[drea.drechsler]

I gave them the whole story, inc. CPU problem. At my shop, it's $179 if they can fix the problem, no charge if they can't. I can live with that. The place does good work, I know that. Definitely if the CPU's no good it's going back, that was always in the cards, & I was going to test it again right after I reattached the fan, but...

In addition to an aftermarket cooler you may need a replacement back plate if it doesn't come with it's own and you cross-threaded or stripped the threads in the one furnished.

https://www.amazon.com/am4-backplate/s?k=am4+backplate

Still a bunch cheaper.

 

[DSzymborski]

Feels a bit wasteful to spend a large amount of money for something that looks like a BIOS update and a replacement fan. What BIOS did you update to with this motherboard? A 5600G is unlikely to work out of the box.