self-built computer is acting up, HELP!

[tgxiii]

So what's the current situation?

[tgxiii]

http://www.techimo.com/forum/t83879.html

That thread should help with the video card questions.

[beppodmime]

Wow. Melted the IHS to the HS base? Wow. That's awesome.

Anyways.... as far as the question as to what would be better, pad or paste.... The paste has better thermal conducivity than a pad, because the pastes can be applied in thin layers, and pads are usually like a thin piece of double sided tape. Pads are much easier to apply, and last longer than the better quality thermal greases, but generally have a lower thermal conducivity. Thermal pads or grease should be able to be purchased at most computer shops or a radio shack. Any thermal interface material (TIM for short) produced today has significantly worse thermal transfer properties than the metals of the HSF. Apply a layer of TIM too thick and it actually INSULATES the processor from the HSF. Instructions on how to properly prepare and apply thermal interface greases can be found at the following link:

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm

Make sure you completely understand the directions before you install a HSF. If you don't, you may want to consider outside help. Failure to install a HSF properly will almost definately void the warranty on your chip (It's void already, Intel won't replace it due to the melted heat spreader), not to mention cause all sorts of fun overheating problems.

The problems you are having sound like an overheating issue. The P4 has built in clock-throttling to keep the processor from frying, but it can only do so much before the temp is exceeded to the point where there is a system crash. Is there a noticeable slow-down in the system before it shuts down? It may only last a few seconds before overheating occurs. But... let me get this right. There was metal-to-metal contact between the processor and the heatsink, with no pad or sticky stuff in between? Was the metal of the heat spreader itself melted?

[noisedude]

ONE: in the last five years i've not bought one heatsink that doesn't have a pad on the bottom already. i would stake my something or other on you mistaking the 'melting' for the thermal transfer compound on your cooler. it goes sticky and a bit runny sometimes when it warms up, depending on the exact compound. so unless you're convinced there's nothing under there, forget about it.

TWO: first thing when you get an error message like that, check it out in the MS knowledgebase. i had a stop message on XP pro with my new system and it turned out i needed to install a driver for my onboard raid even tho i hadn't set up an actual array (and i hadn't installed a floppy drive so had to dig one out for the driver disk ). your stop message links to this article:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=813818

it might not apply but get the fix and try it anyway. otherwise it's a good place to start trying to work out exactly what's up in your machine. like the other guys, i'd start next by looking at the ram and trying one stick at a time to see what goes.

we all feel like amateurs sometimes, some more often than others, but at least you came and asked! i have enough times!

[Elvaandragoon]

Well I took the heat sink off to find out that there was this aluminum foil looking "pad thing with grey stuff solidified to the heat sink and my processor no longer had any writings on it. When I went to turn on my computer it made a warning beep and shut off without turning on, So I let it cool down and turned it with the same beep but the computer told me that there was a problem with something over-heating. My agp slot is 4x(1.5v) compatible and so is my video card so I don't think the problem is the video card.

[twistedbrntucker]

So you did had a thermal pad attached to the heatsink. My question is this, did you remove the protective tape covering the thermal pad before applying heatsink to CPU?

[tgxiii]

Yup, that melted grey stuff was the thermal pad that came with the heatsink. If it has solidified, you need to remove it and apply a new thermal pad or paste.

[no1_vern]

quote: "i need to buy something else"

You should buy a OS that is legit. If you get a real OS you might not have problems like this.

VErn

[Elvaandragoon]

When I was placing my heatsink on top of the processor there was this plastic wrap on the bottom of the heatsink so naturally I removed it. I now own a store bought copy of Windows Xp Professional, and am about to order some thermal paste. Only problem is I don't know what brand of thermal paste to order, are any brands better than others?

[twistedbrntucker]

Artic Silver III is a preferred choice. Check this thread.Another poster included a link to a thread about paste.Be careful not to use too much.I prefer pads myself.Also check the pins on the CPU to to see if any are bent.Aside from the Warez, perhaps the processor and the heat sink weren't seated properly.

Let's get back to the RAM

Quote:

The problem started out with the ram, see I didn't want to force it in so I took it to a friend and he put it in with a little more force then I could bare.

Try one stick at a time and switch.Try another brand if you can.Borrow someone elses if they have a compatible type.

Quote:

a basic 30-watt ATX case, an intel desktop boar D845PEBT2, 1 stick of Ultra 512mb SDRam and another stick of 512mb SDRam that i have no idea what company it comes from,