Removing stock AMD heatsink?

[photolady]

How? I am trying to remove one but all efforts have failed and I don't want to break it, as it's a customers. I'm installing a new mobo tomorrow and need this removed so I can reinstall on new board.

[mylanta]

yeah but for what processor? If it's it's the newer side clamp style you have to release the bottom of the handle which sort of tucks in under the lever.

[casey]

I asked this question a while back and didn't receive an
informative reply. The one I had was stuck by the grease
and I imagine the heat. All clips were off and it still wouldn't come loose. I was lucky and kept trying to gently move it side to side in small increments until it finally broke loose. I've thought about this many times since then and hope someone can come up with an answer. Someone once suggested alcohol but I coudn't see how to get it in there with the heatsink and fan blocking it. I had one that when I pulled came right out of the socket and bent the pins. I was able to straighten the pins and use the cpu again. Good Luck..

[photolady]

Yours was different casey.

Sorry Rich, it's a 939 socket.

And Rich I see nothing tucked under, like most I've seen. It's just a small black lever which is flipped sideways. I can see no way to flip it up straight and pushing down doesn't do anything either except apply more pressure to the motherboard. Could it be that the clamp is broken?

[mylanta]

Yours was different casey.

Sorry Rich, it's a 939 socket.

And Rich I see nothing tucked under, like most I've seen. It's just a small black lever which is flipped sideways. I can see no way to flip it up straight and pushing down doesn't do anything either except apply more pressure to the motherboard. Could it be that the clamp is broken?

PL there is a little handle underneath the black lever, that snaps into a small slot on the lever.

[mylanta]

I asked this question a while back and didn't receive an
informative reply. The one I had was stuck by the grease
and I imagine the heat. All clips were off and it still wouldn't come loose. I was lucky and kept trying to gently move it side to side in small increments until it finally broke loose. I've thought about this many times since then and hope someone can come up with an answer. Someone once suggested alcohol but I coudn't see how to get it in there with the heatsink and fan blocking it. I had one that when I pulled came right out of the socket and bent the pins. I was able to straighten the pins and use the cpu again. Good Luck..

In trying to explain how I had bent pins last week, I think I did the same thing and it has me nuts because nothing like that has ever happened to me, and I did not put that heat synch and fan on that board either....same problem I had a stuck cpu though to saddle, not heat synch and fan, and I could not fix it.

[casey]

I don't know what AMD H/S fan you have but I just looked at the stock fan that is on my AMD3000+ and when you push down on the lever you must push it out from under the lock and then the whole lever action will
spring up and around. If you don't push it out from the piece that locks it in it will just keep catching on the stationary piece..

Sorry I didn't understand what you meant in your post.

[photolady]

ok, casey. I have tried pushing out but what would I use to do that with? I'm afraid to try too much pressure because the board seems to bend a lot when I push hard. And if the customer still has the receipt for the board, I don't want to gouge a hole in it so he can't return for new motherboard. I did not install this initially, it was already installed when it came to me to fix.

A pair of pliers to grasp the metal piece and force it so it unclips from underneath?

[mylanta]

No PL there is a piece that comes around underneath the big black lever and it slots into a small groove on the stem of the lever.

[casey]

Photo lady, It sounds to me like you have the old style
H/s fan and not the one that comes with a 939 socket.

There should be a lever at the top of the H/S which has a place to press with your thumb. This is attached to a
long hook like arm that locks on a stationary piece that
is attached to the bracket that goes thru the motherboard. If you use your left hand and press down
on the lever when it clears the stationary piece use your right hand to push the long arm away from the stationary locking piece. When it clears the locking piece it will sprin up and around.

Now if you have the old style you need to find a screwdriver that fits the slot on the metal clip. They can be difficult and you must be careful as you press down and at the same time move it away from the clasp.I don't think you have this because they have been using these for many years..

[casey]

I'm sure that directions come with the Boxed CPU's in the form of a folded pictured pamphlet. I looked but I usually throw them out but if you have any boxed AMD CPU's you might find the directions in there. This new way is a lot better then the old way of installing/uninstalling HS/Fans..

[casey]

Here is a url that will show you what we are talking about. You must scroll down pretty far to get to the HS/Fan installation but at least you will see what we are saying.

http://snipurl.com/rhmu

[mylanta]

PL Look here about 1/3 way down..to the right and under the black lever, you will see a little "clutch or brake" that lands in a groove...all youneed to do is push down on it to release that brake.
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&number=2&artpage=1597&articID=399

[casey]

Rich, I took some pictures of a stock HS/Fan and a AC freezer 64 Pro to show the difference.

http://snipurl.com/mrtk

I forgot you must click Heatsinks...

The top pictures are the stock AMD HS/Fan and the three on the bottom are the AC Freezer 64 Pro.

[mylanta]

Rich, I took some pictures of a stock HS/Fan and a AC freezer 64 Pro to show the difference.

http://snipurl.com/mrtk

The top pictures are the stock AMD HS/Fan and the three on the bottom are the AC Freezer 64 Pro.

Yeah some of those really show what we are talking about.

[photolady]

Ok, it looks like the one Rich posted but without the catch and pipes. Just the lever is there.

[casey]

Just for my own information what CPU is installed and you say this is a stock HS/Fan?

[photolady]

CPU is an AMD of course, 4800 or 4400 but since I can't open the computer cause the motherboard is dead, and I can't get the heatsink off, I can't be sure. I thought that was what I saw when I had this in the other case. I did not originally build this so I have no paper work from the cpu.

[kern]

CPU is an AMD of course, 4800 or 4400 but since I can't open the computer cause the motherboard is dead, and I can't get the heatsink off, I can't be sure. I thought that was what I saw when I had this in the other case. I did not originally build this so I have no paper work from the cpu.

as long as the motherboard is dead, you can cut the cpu socket out of the mbrd with a pair of heavy duty wire cutters and then snip the heatsink holddowns to remove the cpu from the socket.

[casey]

Can't you just take the bracket off the motherboard? I'm not sure how they are connected but they do go thru the motherboard. The heatsink/fan are attached to the bracket. How is the bracket attached to the motherboard. All the boards I have had already had the bracket installed so I never noticed how they were attached but if you take the motherboard out you should be able to see what holds the bracket on the MB. I'm stumped as to why you can't just loosen the lever and lift the handle to release the clips. That's a mystery that's driving me crazy..

[photolady]

Update. I got it off and bad news is, the cpu cam with the heatsink, so some pins got bent.....always something when you try to fix what others have built. Anyway, I'm in the process of trying to straighten the pins.....slow going for sure.

And I did find that the hold down was broken off by whoever installed this heatsink/fan. I can see the rough edge where that little hook used to be.....so much for someone being careful eh?

Thanks for your help though Larry and Rich. Kern I didn't want to break the motherboard that much because I'm going to RMA it to Asus for a new one.

Now if I can't get the pins straightened I'll have to buy another cpu. Btw this is a 3000 not a 4400 or 4800 like I thought. But it's still a 939.

[photolady]

Well, pins are bent every which away, so I've ordered a new one for this computer. I couldn't get the exact same cpu so I got a 3200 which when I told my supplier I would have to pay for this out of my pocket, he dropped the price on it. :D

[mylanta]

PL call this number and ask for RMA as a reseller if you are or consumer. They are really nice, you can admit what happened and they can straighten the pins for you and/or will replace the cpu. Warranty is for 3 years. I just did it in an almost identical situation and my replacement is on it's way to me. I was stunned they would do that and would have paid for it to be fixed. I straightened the pins myself, but had one that must have remained in the saddle.
One thing I figured out we both should learn from is what actually bent the pins. I would bet anything, and in my case heat synch and fan came off, but cpu was stuck. I would bet that when I pulled it out instead of going straight up, I went slightly to either side because it startled me when it came out and I was not thinking.I think the same thing happened to you + the weight of the heat synch and fan may have bent more pins. Don't feel bad I did it on a 4800, a $630 cpu, but they are replacing it. I have been in shock ever since because I have never done such a stupid thing before. Like you I didn't put the cpu and heat synch on that board. I am so damn gun shy I am actually afraid to put the replacement back when it comes in and am thinking of selling it instead on eBay.
USA and Canada
Processor Technical Support
Monday - Thursday: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. PST Friday: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. PST
Tel: (408) 749-3060

[photolady]

Thanks Rich. I'll call in a few minutes.

I was thinking I didn't pull straight up either, but thought I had. I found a few pins bent completely sideways and am not sure I caused this either. May have been the original installer. I just can't fathom how the pins are bent completely over even with just a bitty bit of twist/rocking motion to remove the heatsink/fan. Oh well, as long as I can get it replaced....I'll rma that and the motherboard then I can build my computer. :D

[mylanta]

PL it really could not have been the original install, as it would not have fit in or worked that way.

[photolady]

Actually, it didn't work in the original install. It was flaky and acting really weird. Btw I also found out I did not break this mobo. It was the original installer, he hooked up both Molex connectors to the that SATA harddrive and blew the mobo out. At least I don't have to pay for replacing it.

[Seth]

Photolady,

That might be one of the heatsinks that is both clipped in, as well as screwed to a motherboard base. Check this (http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/DevelopWithAMD/0,,30_2252_869_1039%5E6678,00.html) out.

[photolady]

No Seth. Any heatsink I've installed all the brackets to clip the heatsink to are screwed to the motherboard base as it is in that video. The heatsink itself isn't screwed down only clipped. And I've already determined the extra clip was broken off when previous installer set this up. How he broke it off is hard to tell, possibly too much pressure. Who knows.

[Pi rules]

photolady: I had a similar problem with an old CPU. It came out with the fan even though I twisted the fan to loosen the thermal grease. The pins bent, of course, but I was luckily able to bend them back with a thin needle. I would try replacing first like Rich said.

[Seth]

photolady: I had a similar problem with an old CPU. It came out with the fan even though I twisted the fan to loosen the thermal grease.

Note to self:

When replacing a cpu, use a blowtorch to melt the thermal paste.:D

[photolady]

Note to self:

When replacing a cpu, use a blowtorch to melt the thermal paste.
I think this ID10T used heat to meld them together. LOL

[photolady]

Another update: Harddrive is toasted too.

Someone else mentioned this customer should sue that supposed tech who installed this system for the cost of the parts he broke or caused to break. What do you guys think?

[Pi rules]

Someone else mentioned this customer should sue that supposed tech who installed this system for the cost of the parts he broke or caused to break. What do you guys think?
I think the either you or the customer should at least contact the "tech" and ask him about it. Try to find other customers of this "tech" and see if they've had problems as well. It could just be a one time thing, or it may happen to all his customers. In the second case, something should certainly be done.

[mylanta]

Another update: Harddrive is toasted too.

Someone else mentioned this customer should sue that supposed tech who installed this system for the cost of the parts he broke or caused to break. What do you guys think?

I sure would try to find out and there should be some recourse if all this damage was done. And I'm sure rma can be there for all ruined parts.

[photolady]

Pi the guy who built this is overseas at the moment and unreachable.

Yeah, Rich everything will be RMA'd. Customer gets to do the hdd. I'm doing the rest. I may end up doing the drive too since I doubt he knows what RMA stands for.

And btw, I asked him about that cad idea. He said in the future he might want to try running CAD but now was not the time. So I told him what you guys said that this system would not work. He said that was fine, he just wanted a faster computer than his old p3 and was happy with this one.