I've been maintaining my PC and recently noticed my CPU temperatures were high, sitting at 75C when idle. So, I decided to dust it out and reapply the thermal paste, as it had been a while since I did either. Here are my specs:
- Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-AB350M-DS3
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
- RAM: 4x8GB DDR4 3200mhz (32 GB total)
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 7600
- PSU: Aerocool LUX 650W 80+ Bronze
I followed this process: unplugged everything, used compressed air to clean, removed the CPU cooler, wiped the thermal paste, applied a new pea-sized drop, and reattached the cooler. However, now my PC won't POST at all. All the lights and fans work, but I get no display, and there's a blinking blue light. I've attempted several troubleshooting steps like re-seating the RAM and CPU, checking cables, and even resetting the BIOS, but no luck. The RAM and GPU work on another PC, but I'm completely lost on what to do next. Any suggestions?
2 Answers
That's frustrating! It sounds like you've done a lot of good troubleshooting. If you tried all those steps and still nothing, it might be worth considering that your CPU has died unexpectedly. It’s rare, but it happens. You might want to replace it if you can—good luck!
Did you check the CPU cooler? Sometimes if it's too tight, it can cause issues. Make sure it's not over-tightened, which could affect contact with the CPU. Just a thought!
I did make sure not to over-tighten the cooler, yes.
Sadly, it's looking bleak. After hours trying to fix it, I can't determine why it refuses to boot. I’ve even ordered a new CPU to test it out when it arrives.