I'm really stressed out here! I replaced the thermal paste on my Ryzen 5 3600 CPU, but now my PC won't boot at all. I checked the CPU, and there are no bent pins or anything out of place. I've reseated both the RAM and GPU multiple times and also the CPU and the 24-pin cable. Everything looks fine with the CPU, but I'm starting to think it might be a motherboard issue. The CPU was stuck to the cooler when I removed it, so I wasn't able to lower the locking arm properly. Can anyone help me figure this out?
1 Answer
Did you try to insert the CPU without lifting the locking arm first? That won't work properly. Make sure you remove the cooler, lift the arm, place the CPU, lower the arm, apply thermal paste, and then mount the cooler. Just make sure to be gentle with the pins too!
I followed all the steps, but it’s completely dead—no fans turning on or anything. What do you mean by damaged pins? I've checked them, and while some were bent, I fixed them slightly. Are you saying if a pin actually breaks off, that could be a problem? Also, if you really think it might be the motherboard, I'm planning on getting a new one soon.