Technically, I'm not sure if this is a motherboard issue or a CPU issue. The system is working as of this writing, but the issue was so unusual to me that I was hoping someone with a technical background could offer an explanation.
I recently put together a new build. I'm a hobbiest, I'm not super technical, but I have done this a few times before without major incident.
When I first put the system together, my computer reset a couple times for unknown reasons during OS installation. I started troubleshooting and testing individual components and unplugging things to try and isolate the problem.
One idea I had was that the CPU could possibly have a seating issue (it seemed like a long shot, but I had tried everything else) so I went through the somewhat difficult process of uninstalling the cooler, removing the CPU, examining everything, carefully seating it again, and reinstalling the cooler.
After this point, the computer would absolutely not stay booted for more than about 3 seconds. The motherboard would power on, the fans would spin, the lights would come on, and then the PSU would make a slight clicking noise and things would blink off before coming back again. Rinse repeat.
I tried lots and lots of things and eventually isolated the cause when noticing that the issue went away if I powered on the motherboard without the cooler assembly installed (I know it's unsafe to run a computer without the CPU cooler on, but I only powered it on for a few seconds to see what would happen).
The particular cooler assembly I have bolts onto the motherboard rather tightly and really puts a hard press on the CPU. I guess this caused a problem either because of too much pressure on the CPU or too much pressure on the board itself. After I loosened the screws a bit on the cooler assembly, everything worked fine and I'm using the computer without issue (so far) a day later. All of my stuff is working great, there have been no crashes so far, and the CPU is performing great and staying within a good temperature range (32c - 60c depending on load)
The question is what do you think caused this and should I be worried going forward? Is it likely I damaged something that will manifest later? Has anyone run into a similar problem before?
Thank you so much, happy new year
Matt
I recently put together a new build. I'm a hobbiest, I'm not super technical, but I have done this a few times before without major incident.
My motherboard
My CPU
My CPU cooler (read on for why this is relevant)
When I first put the system together, my computer reset a couple times for unknown reasons during OS installation. I started troubleshooting and testing individual components and unplugging things to try and isolate the problem.
One idea I had was that the CPU could possibly have a seating issue (it seemed like a long shot, but I had tried everything else) so I went through the somewhat difficult process of uninstalling the cooler, removing the CPU, examining everything, carefully seating it again, and reinstalling the cooler.
After this point, the computer would absolutely not stay booted for more than about 3 seconds. The motherboard would power on, the fans would spin, the lights would come on, and then the PSU would make a slight clicking noise and things would blink off before coming back again. Rinse repeat.
I tried lots and lots of things and eventually isolated the cause when noticing that the issue went away if I powered on the motherboard without the cooler assembly installed (I know it's unsafe to run a computer without the CPU cooler on, but I only powered it on for a few seconds to see what would happen).
The particular cooler assembly I have bolts onto the motherboard rather tightly and really puts a hard press on the CPU. I guess this caused a problem either because of too much pressure on the CPU or too much pressure on the board itself. After I loosened the screws a bit on the cooler assembly, everything worked fine and I'm using the computer without issue (so far) a day later. All of my stuff is working great, there have been no crashes so far, and the CPU is performing great and staying within a good temperature range (32c - 60c depending on load)
The question is what do you think caused this and should I be worried going forward? Is it likely I damaged something that will manifest later? Has anyone run into a similar problem before?
Thank you so much, happy new year
Matt
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