[SOLVED] CPU Overheating after Shipping

[TLV1991]

I had the build for 2 years, never gave me trouble, just upgraded switched from an Intel build to a AMD. Did a clean install of Windows on it, it was a-OK. Packed it up nice and tight, shipped it out to a buddy who only had a potato laptop, and when he got it in, he did a factory reset, during which it claimed the CPU was overheating. Says all the fans are spinning, and hasn't mentioned any damage. He's got another tech savvy buddy who lives closer helping him out too.

He's tried reseating the fan, and I've sent him some thermal paste to try and refresh that, next step up will be shipping a new cooler fan. Also gonna try to walk him through a BIOS flash. In the meantime, is it possible that the factory reset uninstalled some drivers and created the issue? Or is it likely that some next tier bad luck came in and caused some non-obvious damage during the shipping process? Build specs below.

Intel i7-6700
Asus Z170-E ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Samsung 860 EVO 500GB
EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3 GB SC GAMING Video Card
Team Elite Plus 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (PC4 19200)
EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

 

[Couch747]

processes are to high and fan speed is to slow. TalktoWendys

 

[Irisena]

what do you mean he did a "factory reset"? you mean he reset the BIOS to stock setting? doing a clean win 10 install? and did the CPU overheat before or after the "reset"? Also, what CPU cooler are you using?
anyhow, here's my thought with little info I have.

1. if it's BIOS reset, check the voltage maybe, and adjust it to reasonable voltage (1.25v maybe, also idk if this work since it's a non-K CPU on a Z mobo)
2. if it's windows, maybe try the asus software to control fan curve (ASUS AI Suite III I think).
3. try to reseat the cooler yet again, add a lot of thermal goop this time (a solid X on the IHS should be fine), and make sure to tighten it down good.

 

[TLV1991]

what do you mean he did a "factory reset"? you mean he reset the BIOS to stock setting? doing a clean win 10 install? and did the CPU overheat before or after the "reset"? Also, what CPU cooler are you using?
anyhow, here's my thought with little info I have.

1. if it's BIOS reset, check the voltage maybe, and adjust it to reasonable voltage (1.25v maybe, also idk if this work since it's a non-K CPU on a Z mobo)
2. if it's windows, maybe try the asus software to control fan curve (ASUS AI Suite III I think).
3. try to reseat the cooler yet again, add a lot of thermal goop this time (a solid X on the IHS should be fine), and make sure to tighten it down good.

Apologies for the relative lack of info, trying to "remote" troubleshoot for a buddy a couple hundred miles away, who has no internet access.

Let me further clarify; the cooler is just the stock fan that came with the CPU. I transferred the RAM and drives from my old build to my new build, and slotted in new RAM and a fresh SSD so my buddy would be able to use it; I did the clean install of Windows 10 on that new SSD. He did a Windows 10 Factory Reset, through the Settings menu.

My understanding is that it initially booted fine, and he started the Windows 10 factory reset. Midway through the process, it rebooted, started alerting the CPU was overheating. Per my buddy, he can't even get it to boot fully now; throws up an overheating alert and forces him into the diagnostic.

Given that it only started after the reset, I'm inclined to believe it may have erased from necessary driver or another- but as I said, I'm working on supplying him with a new cooler and thermal paste in the meantime. Seeing as shipping takes time, just trying to see if I can't troubleshoot otherwise.

 

[Karadjgne]

When you reset Windows to factory new, it deletes anything that's not stock windows. That'll include any and all motherboard chipset drivers which are contained in windows/drivers folder. That's almost never a good thing to be left alone as windows drivers are generic, not specific to individual chipsets.

Resetting bios to factory defaults has the same affect, the bios is a series of generic settings covering any cpu installed, whereas changes a user makes to things like xmp, docp, cpu voltages etc are more specific to that particular cpu and can and will change its levels of performance, heat outputs, connections, abilities etc.

Still trying to grasp the concept of why your buddy felt the need to reset a clean, new installation of windows that wasn't personal to you. That's like buying a car, taking to a paint shop, having them strip every ounce of paint from the car, then repainting it in the exact same color.....

 

[geofelt]

The stock intel cooler can be tricky to install.
Likely, it was dislodged during shipping.
----------------how to mount the stock Intel cooler--------------

The stock Intel cooler can be tricky to install.
A poor installation will result in higher cpu temperatures.
If properly mounted, you should expect temperatures at idle to be 10-15c. over ambient.

To mount the Intel stock cooler properly, place the motherboard on top of the foam or cardboard backing that was packed with the motherboard.
The stock cooler will come with paste pre applied, it looks like three grey strips.
The 4 push pins should come in the proper position for installation, that is with the pins rotated in the opposite direction of the arrow,(clockwise)
and pulled up as far as they can go.
Take the time to play with the pushpin mechanism until you know how they work.

Orient the 4 pins so that they are exactly over the motherboard holes.
If one is out of place, you will damage the pins which are delicate.
Push down on a DIAGONAL pair of pins at the same time. Then the other pair.

When you push down on the top black pins, it expands the white plastic pins to fix the cooler in place.

If you do them one at a time, you will not get the cooler on straight.
Lastly, look at the back of the motherboard to verify that all 4 pins are equally through the motherboard, and that the cooler is on firmly.
This last step must be done, which is why the motherboard should be out of the case to do the job. Or you need a case with a opening that lets you see the pins.
It is possible to mount the cooler with the motherboard mounted in the case, but you can then never be certain that the push pins are inserted properly
unless you can verify that the pins are through the motherboard and locked.

If you should need to remove the cooler, turn the pins counter clockwise to unlock them.
You will need to clean off the old paste and reapply new if you ever take the cooler off.
Clean off old paste with alcohol and a lint free paper like a coffee filter.
Apply new paste sparingly. A small rice sized drop in the center will spread our under heat and pressure.
Too much paste is bad, it will act as an insulator.
It is hard to use too little.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[TLV1991]

The stock intel cooler can be tricky to install.
Likely, it was dislodged during shipping.
----------------how to mount the stock Intel cooler--------------

The stock Intel cooler can be tricky to install.
A poor installation will result in higher cpu temperatures.
If properly mounted, you should expect temperatures at idle to be 10-15c. over ambient.

To mount the Intel stock cooler properly, place the motherboard on top of the foam or cardboard backing that was packed with the motherboard.
The stock cooler will come with paste pre applied, it looks like three grey strips.
The 4 push pins should come in the proper position for installation, that is with the pins rotated in the opposite direction of the arrow,(clockwise)
and pulled up as far as they can go.
Take the time to play with the pushpin mechanism until you know how they work.

Orient the 4 pins so that they are exactly over the motherboard holes.
If one is out of place, you will damage the pins which are delicate.
Push down on a DIAGONAL pair of pins at the same time. Then the other pair.

When you push down on the top black pins, it expands the white plastic pins to fix the cooler in place.

If you do them one at a time, you will not get the cooler on straight.
Lastly, look at the back of the motherboard to verify that all 4 pins are equally through the motherboard, and that the cooler is on firmly.
This last step must be done, which is why the motherboard should be out of the case to do the job. Or you need a case with a opening that lets you see the pins.
It is possible to mount the cooler with the motherboard mounted in the case, but you can then never be certain that the push pins are inserted properly
unless you can verify that the pins are through the motherboard and locked.

If you should need to remove the cooler, turn the pins counter clockwise to unlock them.
You will need to clean off the old paste and reapply new if you ever take the cooler off.
Clean off old paste with alcohol and a lint free paper like a coffee filter.
Apply new paste sparingly. A small rice sized drop in the center will spread our under heat and pressure.
Too much paste is bad, it will act as an insulator.
It is hard to use too little.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well I'll be damned, looks like 4th try was the charm. Fan wasn't seated fully after all. Still gonna apply new thermal paste, but many thanks; those instructions helped sort out whether or not the fan was actually seated or just looked seated.