1. Diagnose the broken computer - computer periodically shuts off, and temperature monitor shows very hot CPU.
2. Open up computer, and use half a can of compressed air to blow out several years of dust. Take off CPU heat sink and fan. Discover half inch cake of dust between fan and heat sink. Well, there's my CPU temperature problem.
3. Put everything back together, and turn on. Works great, temperature nice and steady! Then randomly starts shutting off (which was why I stopped using the computer for a while a year or so ago).
4. Computer turns on and shuts off after 30 seconds or so, before even leaving BIOS, so suspect motherboard.
5. Look at capacitors on board. Sure enough, several are *popped* and rusty, so they need to be replaced. Are you kidding? I have a degree in electrical engineering, not electronic repair, I haven't soldered anything in years, just looked at a computer screen for a decade. Plus, finding the "right" capacitor looks to be impossible, as there are at least 20 options on digi-key for capacitor parameters. I was hoping to just boost some of a random piece of broken electronics in the garage. Plus, by the time I order new ones, de-solder the old ones (without a solder pump, or braid because that damages the board), and solder them back in without burning a hole in the board, I'll probably have spent as much time and effort as buying a new cheap board from the internet.
6. Go to find a cheap board, search for Socket A board on PriceWatch. Oh, cool, $25 for the first item listed! Buy it, and sit back and wait for the magic to happen.
7. The magic is, a trick, as it turns out. Board arrives, but it's *not* a Socket A board. I have no idea why it showed up in the Socket A search. Okay, fine, processors are cheap too. What socket is it? Hmmm, 754. Let's see, .... Hey, wait a minute, there don't seem to be *any* vendors except one sketchy looking website dealing in probably second hand chips for socket 754. Arghh!!
8. About this time, as I'm searching for all this on my Vista-non-printer-compliant-but-other-wise-decent-machine, it shuts off inexplicably.
9. Diagnose, take cover off. Blow out several years of dust with the second half of compressed air can.
10. ....
11. (sigh)
12. Heatsink falls right the heck off my board, just missing my video card, and lands out side the computer. The plastic nub that holds the 'sink onto the CPU has just snapped right off. I don't even know what to call the part, let alone find a new one. Oh, and I can't search for it, since my computer is now sans heat sink.
13. Set up *good* computer on its side and set heat sink on top of CPU, and declare no one is to touch the case. Get online, and finally find a "Heat sink retention bracket" for my socket type (AM2+ for those keeping track).
14. While going through this process, I finally answer another nagging question I had about the replacement motherboard I bought. There didn't seem to be any place to hook a heat sink on... Ah. Well, now I know I need a "heat sink retention bracket" for a 754 socket board. This turns out to be very difficult to find as well, but I locate one on e-bay, in England.
15. I also settle on a *new* Sempron 3100 chip for the re-build computer, which comes with fan, since I was also ch0king on finding, buying, and shipping a fan for the *new* CPU.
16. Get both retention brackets, and new socket 754 CPU w/ fan. Fix up *good* computer with new retention bracket so I can actually set it back up and use the DVD drive again, and not worry about the heat sink falling off.
17. Install retention bracket in old re-build computer (which by the way is a pain, since you have to take everything off and remove the mother board to screw in a back plate for it).
18. Install *new* CPU. Plug everything back in, and turn on.
19. Okay, what is that Horrible noise? I think this *new* CPU has been in its box for about a decade, and the fan sounds like its bearings (I didn't think CPU fans *had* bearings) are about to fail.
20. BIOS comes up. Gateway. Gateway? Did I just see *Gateway* on my Bios? I have a good feeling some one ripped this board out of some office computer being tossed in the junk.
21. Nothing else happening. Oh, okay, forgot to plug the hard drive back in. Restart.
22. Yay! Windows XP boot screen. And it says: "You need to activate this copy of Windows." Darn it , I forgot Windows freaks out when you change the hardware, it thinks I've pirated the OS. And the wireless USB mouse doesn't work until I install all the right drivers. And the Fan is STILL really loud!
I'm SO glad I decided to repair my computer.
