Question DRAM and CPU lights flashing.

[ryhav]

I've had a PC working PC for months and decided today that I wanted to do some cable management in the case. After I put everything back together the PC wouldn't POST and the DRAM and CPU lights flash back and fourth. I did take off the heat sink and take out the CPU when I was moving cables around so I'm assuming that is where the problem is coming from.

I tried booting up with my ram sticks individually and that didn't work.​

Is my CPU broken??! What else can I do?​

 

[Darkbreeze]

Pulling the CPU back out and checking for bent pins on the CPU or motherboard would be a good place to start and the most common reason for something like this to happen after the CPU has been removed. CPU can cause DRAM light as well, not just memory.

 

[ryhav]

https://imgur.com/a/diGS6uB

View: https://imgur.com/a/diGS6uB

Here's all I could really see. This was captured on my phone camera so I realize its difficult to see. As for as you can tell are these bent pins on the MOBO?

Thanks.​

 

[Darkbreeze]

Sure looks like it to me.

 

[ryhav]

I took everything apart and tried to fix as many pins as possible and now when I boot up only the DRAM light is on. What does this mean??

Im also not sure if I really accomplished anything when trying to fix the pins.​

 

[beyondlogic]

I took everything apart and tried to fix as many pins as possible and now when I boot up only the DRAM light is on. What does this mean??

Im also not sure if I really accomplished anything when trying to fix the pins.​

you cant really do much fixing of bent pins without a micrope or magnifying glass. dunno why you removed the cpu in first place the cooler i get.

 

[ryhav]

I took the CPU out to clean the thermal paste. I could have left it in to do that but I didn’t, oh well.

 

[Darkbreeze]

"Fixing" bent pins on a motherboard is something that RARELY works. It's generally worth it to try it because what do you have to lose, but I'd say maybe one in fifty cases actually results in it being "fixed". You bend pins on the motherboard, you almost always have to replace the board. Bent pins on a CPU however are often a little more commonly fixable so long as the pin hasn't broken off below the visible substrate. My bet is, you need a new board. And the only time I'd remove a CPU just to change the paste would be if somebody had made a complete mess of it before it landed on my bench, or if I was changing to a different board or CPU.