Do CPUs die.......?

[slim_boy_fat]

I've had an intermittent problem for some time with my desktop PC, in that occasionally it will 'freeze' and refuse to respond to any input from mouse, keyboard etc. Only way to resuscitate it has been to switch it off, leave for a few minutes then back on again and all was OK for an indeterminate time.

I suspected overheating and took it to a local[ish] pc repair guy who fitted an extra fan and it worked for a while then started its old tricks again. However, I found that renewing the thermal paste was a solution of sorts, and have been doing that for some time now, but this time round it's refusing to come back to life......zilch, nada, rien, nichts

I know it's not the hard-drive because I've connected it to my laptop via USB and can access [and back up......potential disaster averted there, because I'm a bit lax on that front . A timely reminder to all! ] all the content on it.

Processor is an Intel Pentium D but that's all I can make out on it, apart from the words 'Costa Rica' which isn't much help in the identity stakes It's an old pc by today's terms [older than I realised] but is only for browsing etc and I'm loathe to replace it if a '2nd user' Intel D CPU swop will get it running again for pennies. I've seen a few on the 'Bay for next to nothing which LOOK identical but if they're not compatible don't want to waste my time messing with them.

So, the question is "Are all Intel Ds created equal?" as there seem to be numerical differences in the specs. Over to people who know what they're talking about......

 

[Dutch Welder]

CPU's can indeed die, but could it be the motherboard (and rather more specific, it's capacitors) giving up the ghost instead
Not all D's are the same I am afraid.
Check what motherboard you have, then confirm which processors that can take, buy one that's supported by your motherboard.
It could eb a little faste ror slower then the one you have now, but if it will fit in your motherboard it will work.

 

[gaz1]

ive never had a cpu die yet but i use amd not intel

always known hard drives and mainboards fail

over heating can be caused by dust dirt at the fans coller unit needs cleaning out every 3 months if you can if not 6 months

you quoted this a while ago

my desktop PC, in that occasionally it will 'freeze' and refuse to respond to any input from mouse, keyboard etc. Only way to resuscitate it has been to switch it off,

we all said back your drive up at the time no comment

i may have a pentium chip around i will look for you

 

[Brummie]

I have only had one cpu die on me and that was in a laptop. It would not boot up when cold but if left to warm up it would eventually boot up. The fan went first, it would only come on intermittently so it would run hot. I google fixes for it and they were talking about possible breaks in the solder on the board so fixing it was beyond me.

 

[MCKDAVID]

had a similar problem a while back, just died, I suspected the cpu as well. Spoke to our IT guys at work he reckoned more likely the mother board. They suggested to look at the tops of the capacitors on the mother board, the ones round the processor, to see if any of them had swollen or popped, he reckoned it was quite common... right enough mine were gone, so I just changed the whole thing, and removed the hard drive to copy across...

Not saying that's the problem, or if it's even related to it, but might be worth a look at...

 

[slim_boy_fat]

we all said back your drive up at the time no comment

Aye, I know ......but I kinda forgot at the time, and as long as it was working......mea maxima culpa Not a disaster as I can resurrect & write to DVD via laptop + USB.

i may have a pentium chip around i will look for you

Thanks , but if I can get confirmation of my thinking I'm quite happy to buy another 'D' cpu, so don't go to any trouble.

I google fixes for it and they were talking about possible breaks in the solder on the board so fixing it was beyond me.

If it's anything like that it'll be in the bin, as electronics/PCBs etc is beyond me too.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Since starting the thread, I've been poking around the interweb and it seems '2nd user' and/or refurbished units are cheap enough now - so if push comes to shove I'll have a closer look at what's available. But....I hate scrapping stuff that can be fixed relatively easily - think of it as my contribution to 'saving the planet'.......

 

[MattH]

If it's freezing after running fine for a while then I would suspect a heat issue.

The thermal transfer compound between the CPU and heatsink will dry out over time. As the system is old the first thing I would do would be to remove the heatsink, clean of the old compound and then reapply some fresh stuff.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heat-tran...300094?hash=item440480677e:g:VYkAAOSw42dZLAnh

 

[aguycalledsteve]

CPU's are a doddle to replace. Just remember to put some fresh thermal paste between the chip and it's heatsink whilst it's all apart.

 

[MattF]

CPU's are a doddle to replace. Just remember to put some fresh thermal paste between the chip and it's heatsink whilst it's all apart.

Just a whiff of the stuff though, and not dollops like some do.

 

[fzr phil]

Hi
If it won't even boot up then power supply.
Otherwise: have you tried running memtest?
More likely faulty ram than cpu
A cheap and cheerful old HP or dell office desktop from ebay might be easier depending on how much old pc stuff you have to mess with.
A poke around the bios settings might be needed as well and check bios battery.
What is the motherboard model?
Good luck
Phil

 

[slim_boy_fat]

If it's freezing after running fine for a while then I would suspect a heat issue.

The thermal transfer compound between the CPU and heatsink will dry out over time. As the system is old the first thing I would do would be to remove the heatsink, clean of the old compound and then reapply some fresh stuff.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heat-tran...300094?hash=item440480677e:g:VYkAAOSw42dZLAnh

CPU's are a doddle to replace. Just remember to put some fresh thermal paste between the chip and it's heatsink whilst it's all apart.

Just a whiff of the stuff though, and not dollops like some do.

Thanks lads, been doing that - I need to know if any processor with the D classification will do.

 

[pedrobedro]

I've had memory, cpu, hard drive and motherboard failures but not all at the same time. If you need to know what's in a computer you are running there's a program on piriform called speccy that lists the components for you. I had to fit a new graphics card in my old computer as the old onboard one was no longer supported in Windows 10 and it kept locking up because of conflicts.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Hi
If it won't even boot up then power supply.
Otherwise: have you tried running memtest?
More likely faulty ram than cpu
A cheap and cheerful old HP or dell office desktop from ebay might be easier depending on how much old pc stuff you have to mess with.
A poke around the bios settings might be needed as well and check bios battery.
What is the motherboard model?

Good luck
Phil

Thanks Phil. Def getting power as fans and lights come on on indicators. Nothing on the monitor so I can't run anything. Not sure without checking what the m/board is & if it means changing that it won't be worth it.Replacement would be the answer if that turns out to be the case.

Not the end of the world if that's the outcome.

 

[aguycalledsteve]

Thanks lads, been doing that - I need to know if any processor with the D classification will do.

Thanks lads, been doing that - I need to know if any processor with the D classification will do.

The Pentium D series are Socket LGA 775 chips. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_Pentium_D_microprocessors

As long as it's a 775 CPU it will work.

If you want to double check, Take the model number off the front of the CPU you're about to buy and do a quick google with it.

It's the bottom alphanumeric number on the front face of the CPU

 

[slim_boy_fat]

As long as it's a 775 CPU it will work.

I'll check later, thanks.

 

[slim_boy_fat]

Just realised I might be able to pull up the original spec by reconnecting the hard drive to the laptop and drilling down to 'Control Panel > System' - at least that'll give me a starting point for sourcing a replacement CPU [which might not even be the problem, of course ]

 

[zx9]

Just realised I might be able to pull up the original spec by reconnecting the hard drive to the laptop and drilling down to 'Control Panel > System' - at least that'll give me a starting point for sourcing a replacement CPU [which might not even be the problem, of course ]

I am not sure you will be able to do that. The data shown are those in the current configuration, no doubt they will be stored somewhere but I don't know how to get to them.

 

[aguycalledsteve]

Just realised I might be able to pull up the original spec by reconnecting the hard drive to the laptop and drilling down to 'Control Panel > System' - at least that'll give me a starting point for sourcing a replacement CPU [which might not even be the problem, of course ]

I normally use cpu-z

https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

It'll give you more information than the device manager in Windows. It's free as well which is always good

 

[zx9]

I normally use cpu-z

https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

It'll give you more information than the device manager in Windows. It's free as well which is always good

Looks much the same as Speccy which is also free, but will not help if the HD is not in situ.