Question PC not starting up. Beeps. Think it might be to do with the cpu cooler

[halberstram]

Writing this from my working laptop. You'll have to bare with me as i'm not very technicalys savvy but stumbled upon this forum and figured it was worth asking for some help

I have a PC. Intel 5. 16gb ram. About 2 years old? I'd love to give you more info about teh PC. I have 'speccy' downloaded on it, but obviously i can't start the PC to relay that info to you!

A quick run down of events, though:

1/Notice teh PC starting to be super slow. I do a million virus checks etc but nothing. I reinstall windows and it seems to fix things, albeit temporarily

2/I realise that my PC is getting super hot after a few mins which is when it all starts to get laggy and slow and realise it's a hardware issue and not a software one. I also notice my cpu fan isn't spinning

3/Around this time it starts to give a police SIREN type beeps and won't start

4/I take out teh cpu fan, clean it up, put it back in (not easy at al. WHo decisgned the way these fit? Them little plastic 'screws' are a nightmare).

5/PC starts now, although now we have a new issue. It can't find teh internet

5/I repeat the proces of taking out teh cpu fan and puttig it back in, and now we are working. internet is suddently back. (what has teh internet got to do with the fan?!!!)

6/Works fine for a while, but I have to flick the fan from time to time with my finger (kind of jump starting it) to avoid teh cpu from getting too hot adn th epc getting sluggish

7/I buy some thermal paste and a new can of compressed air. clean the fan, apply the paste. Now the fan is spinning a bit better, but again, there's no internet! I can't get it on no matter what. It just doesn't 'see' any sort of wirless connection

8/I am still jigging about with it all, taking things out and outting them back. I think I manged to break one of teh tiny plastic pins on teh cpu fan during this time. Anyway, now I can't get it to boot up at all now. It gives me beeps again. This time 2 lots of 2 longish beeps, as opposed to the police siren like beeps. Monitor says 'no signal'

I'm out of ideas. i'm still assuming it's to do with the fan and have ordered a new one, although i'm not as confidence in that being the cause now as i was before

One thing confusing me is whether the broken plastic pin matters at all. Does the PC know (or care?!) whether it's 'in' properly? I've heard two very contradictory views on this from different apparent experts. Either way i'm hopefully gonna recieve a new pcu cooler tomorrow, but in the meantime, anyone have any ideas?

 

[halberstram]

https://imgur.com/a/tyLAPUN

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

 

[Paperdoc]

Most certainly the inadequate cooling of your CPU because of a fan NOT working is the cause. Just cleaning it may not be enough, and the fact that it continues to STOP after you did that proves that something different is needed. I see you have a replacement on the way. Good! That is the solution.

MORE, though. You talk of "cleaning the fan". Now, a CPU cooler system has two major components: a finned metal heatsink held tightly to the CPU top, and the fan that blows air through it. It is not clear to me whether you removed the two of them together, or whether you just removed the FAN part from the heatsink. Given your talk of plastic pins, I suspect you removed the whole two-part assembly. That's what you will need to do when you replace it.

There are three important things needed in doing the new installation. The first concerns the thermal paste used between the CPU top and the heatsink. A THIN layer of thermal paste is required. Moreover, the top of the CPU case must be thoroughly cleaned first. Typically you can use modest amounts of rubbing alcohol on a rag or tissue to wipe that surface clean. Just don't overdo the alcohol and drip a lot down onto the socket.

Next, prepare the installation. It is important that you fasten the cooler over the CPU according to instructions, and that probably means removing the old "plastic pins" from mounting holes through the CPU and using new fasteners. It MIGHT involve using a support plate on the rear of the mobo. And it WILL involve following instructions about how to get those fasteners started, and then how to tighten them up in sequence so that the final result is a tight fit to the CPU. (To your question YES, a missing or broken fastener can cause a real problem of poor thermal contact.) Do NOT install right now.

Next, examine the heatsink surface of the new cooler unit and its instructions. SOME come with thermal paste pre-installed, and covered with a thin plastic film. This MUST be removed before installation. If you do NOT have that type, then you need in add some thermal paste yourself. FIND the instructions for that paste from its maker about how much to use for YOUR CPU chip. It may vary from a small drop to a "grain of rice" to a bit more, typically placed in the centre of the CPU top. Do what it says. Too little gives poor heat removal. Too much also is bad - a "thick" layer of paste actually slows down heat removal. Then follow instructions as you place the cooler unit on top of the CPU - it may involve a light twisting motion to help initial spreading of the paste over the entire CPU surface. Once it's down, do NOT pick it off to check the paste layer. Doing that can introduce air pockets in the paste film that impede its function. Align the cooler on the CPU top then follow the instructions for inserting and tightening the fasteners.

When done, ensure the cable from the fan is connected securely to the CPU_FAN header.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

What make and model is that PSU?

 

[halberstram]

it says 'ATX 450' on it, if that's any help (the PSU)

 

[Misgar]

Since you've broken off one of the plastic push clips on the Intel heatsink and fan, it's about as much use as a chocolate fire guard. Chuck it in the bin and buy a new one off eBay. Don't pay more than $15. I've got a box full of these heatsinks and many people buy something better and sell the Intel cooler on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1257313326...lhZoAzVaETJ9Uu5yYKdKit/g==|tkp:Bk9SR6zG25SmYg

The correct way to remove this cooler is to rotate the four black plastic clips through 90 degrees, then lift gently. If you look closely you'll see a small curved arrow on top of each clip. The cooler then should come out quite easily. No need to yank hard and damage anything.

When refitting, all four plastic clips must be fully fully inserted through the located holes in the motherboard. Then you then push down on the four black plastic tabs until each one clicks into place. If the white ends don't fit smoothly into the motherboard, pull upwards on all four black tabs to disengage the black pin from inside the white plastic ends.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRuajRIOE4A

 

[halberstram]

each of the 4 plastic pins has like 2 little white plastic sides with a black plastic piece in the middle. I only snapped one of the plastic white bits (so one half) on 1 of the 4 'legs'. The other 3 legs click in nicely and it feels very secure, but maybe the PC just 'knows' that it's not in?

(I saw a lot of people who build PC's on reddit claim to be always doing this lol. made me feel better. They kind of 'split' sometimes if they are not perfectly aligned. Plus there's no space and you can't really see what you're doing. I should have maybe removed the whole motherboard but I just KNOW i'd then only create more problems for myself lol)

Hopefully the new cooler fixes it but i'm starting to have my doubts

Hopefully it turns up tomorrow and I don't have to wait until Monday

 

[Misgar]

All four legs have to be secure, otherwise the heatsink doesn't make good contact with the processor. Poor contact = overheating.

Don't forget to put a small pea-shaped blob of heatsink paste on top of the processor (in the middle) before reassembly.

N.B. Clean the top of the processor and heatsink base before applying new paste and refitting.

 

[halberstram]

Hmmm, no luck i'm afraid

My friend happened to have a brand new CPU cooler that fits mine.

I put it in, and now teh fan woks perfectly and actually moves by itself, BUT I get the same error beeps (attached) and it won't start at all

Let me know if you have any ideas as i'll probably just buy yet another PC later today

cheers!

https://imgur.com/a/2jzMUAF

View: https://imgur.com/a/2jzMUAF

 

[SkyNetRising]

I put it in, and now teh fan woks perfectly and actually moves by itself, BUT I get the same error beeps (attached) and it won't start at all

2 long beeps - memory error.

Remove ram modules.
Clean gold contacts with eraser.
Blow out dust from ram slots.
Reinstall ram modules.

And you have cpu cooler fan wire touching fan blades.
That's why you get those grinding noises.

 

[halberstram]

thanks.
Flipped the cooler around so the wires aren't near the blades anymore
Used eraser to clean the gold contacts on teh ram stick (i THINK I cleaned the right bits lol)

Still the same. No change

 

[halberstram]

Guessing maybe teh PSU now then, although more than likely just gonna get a new PC otherwise i'll be buying a new part each week and wasting a load of money on a PC that still probably won't work lol

edit: OK, not the PSU I guess. Dad had a spare one for me to try. I put it in. Same result

 

[halberstram]

Tried putting in a different CPU from an different PC out of interest.
Same result

Thanks for everyones help. I've now ordered a new PC. This one is clearly fit for the bin already after only 2 years. D'oh

cheers