Oops...

[neilz]

Umm... I don't think this bodes well, but when I changed case for my server (a computer made by Tiny Computers just before they went bankrupt, but already the clips on the front of the case broke!) I pulled the motherboard out carefully but somehow the frame around the processor which the fan/heatsink assembly clips onto broke. The heatsink clips on with some metal brackets that run round the top and sides of the heatsink and clip onto the frame on the motherboard. Well, the clips secure on plastic tabs jutting out. One such tab broke, so the heatsink won't stay on properly and the server (which hosts my website) keeps turning off because it overheats (even when I changed the setting to the max 95C in the BIOS it reaches that temp! I ran the server with the side off and a desk fan blowing air in since but it still (less frequently though) turns off due to overheating.

Now, my question is - any way I can source and fit another frame around the CPU socket (looks like it's removable with a bit of persuasion) or do I need a new motherboard?

 

[John]

What processor is it?

I'd be considering some tough glue at this stage!

 

[neilz]

I don't even remember - Celeron I think. It's only a Tiny so I doubt it has anything powerful in it. Before the plastic breaking off incident, it was coping very well with 200 hits a day but now it seems with the heatsink not maintaining good contact with the CPU it just gets too hot (even with a desk fan cooling it!)

I tried glue, branded superglue, strongest Leyland SDM had! The problem is the metal bracket-clip thing is under such high tension it immediately wrenched the plastic off again.

Is the part replaceable (the plastic frame) or is an identical motherboard in order?

I've been planning on a proper tower server for a while (had a 1998 Dell Dimension until last year hosting the site, but traffic increased enough for me to go modern) but it took so long to set everything up (PHP extensions, permissions in IIS (horrible!), databases and things like that) I don't want the hassle of changing computer. Is there a way to bodge holding the heatsink down?

 

[John]

I'm guessing then it is a cream coloured flat socket with the two 'hooks' either side which the metal frame of the heat-sink clips onto?

If so, I don't think you can replace that as it is fixed to the motherboard - but if you remove the CPU etc. so you can see, it may have screws/bolts to remove it. In which case you should be able to source another.

However, I would consider using a cable tie to hold it in place but this might require a small hole being drilled into the motherboard where there are no components / tracks.

If not, and you get a motherboard which is of a similar age and takes the same CPU, you should get away with it auto detecting the replacement hardware without BSODing.

Then you might just need to install different chipset drivers worse-case.

You could really do with using a drive imaging software which can do a bare-metal recovery, meaning that you can simply restore your image onto different hardware by providing the correct drivers for that different hardware i.e. you are not tied to a particular hardware forever.

 

[balge]

Hi
have seen a spring-loaded arm used to hold a graphics card in it's slot,on an old Dell iirc, maybe you could bodge something to hold the down heatsink? Not elegant but possible?
Otherwise your server is off to China to make iPods...doubt you will be able to source a board for any Tiny PC anymore...

If you image your system you may be able to do a repair install onto another machine...is it XP?

cheers

 

[neilz]

I'm guessing then it is a cream coloured flat socket with the two 'hooks' either side which the metal frame of the heat-sink clips onto?

If so, I don't think you can replace that as it is fixed to the motherboard - but if you remove the CPU etc. so you can see, it may have screws/bolts to remove it. In which case you should be able to source another.

That's what it looks like, I seem to remember it looking as if the frame had been pushed in so these plugs moulded on the bottom went through holes in the mobo and they somehow hold it in place. It might be fixed like that. I'm not too sure if spares are made.[/quote]

However, I would consider using a cable tie to hold it in place but this might require a small hole being drilled into the motherboard where there are no components / tracks.

Good idea, I might try that!

If not, and you get a motherboard which is of a similar age and takes the same CPU, you should get away with it auto detecting the replacement hardware without BSODing.

It's an MSI and I have the chipset drivers on Tiny's recovery disk (yes, they really did make a recovery disk - containing drivers for every PC they made - without telling you which parts yours has! Booting from it reinstalls XP (no use - I bought Server 2008) but not lots of the drivers which have setup files not .inf files!)

Then you might just need to install different chipset drivers worse-case.

Lost track of how many times I've gone through that - mainly on Windows 98 when it somehow forgot the drivers were installed on one of my laptops

You could really do with using a drive imaging software which can do a bare-metal recovery, meaning that you can simply restore your image onto different hardware by providing the correct drivers for that different hardware i.e. you are not tied to a particular hardware forever.

Nope - Windows doesn't like that. Tried it before, gave BOOTMGR and NTLDR errors and a bit of searching online told me that's because I changed hardware and that WIndows needs reinstalling

Seems cable ties can fix everything! Will try that this weekend

 

[neilz]

Hi
have seen a spring-loaded arm used to hold a graphics card in it's slot,on an old Dell iirc, maybe you could bodge something to hold the down heatsink? Not elegant but possible?
Otherwise your server is off to China to make iPods...doubt you will be able to source a board for any Tiny PC anymore...

If you image your system you may be able to do a repair install onto another machine...is it XP?

cheers

It's Server 2008 and the motherboard's an MSI so I should be fine there, it's one of the last made (by that time Tiny were already shutting down and taking money for orders they couldn't fulfil!)

If the cable tie method doesn't work, I'll try bodging it but it's fixing the things on the board that will take some doing - glue can melt, dry up, not make contact properly etc.

 

[John]

It's an MSI and I have the chipset drivers on Tiny's recovery disk (yes, they really did make a recovery disk - containing drivers for every PC they made - without telling you which parts yours has! Booting from it reinstalls XP (no use - I bought Server 2008) but not lots of the drivers which have setup files not .inf files!)

As you probably know - it's a trial and error job then (and then write down or just copy off the drivers you know you need).

Nope - Windows doesn't like that. Tried it before, gave BOOTMGR and NTLDR errors and a bit of searching online told me that's because I changed hardware and that WIndows needs reinstalling

Given you've said 2008 Server, I am presuming you've used the inbuilt imaging functionality of Windows Server Backup and that went **** up?

I would consider a batch file to run a command like version of WBAdmin to be sure the image created is bare-metal?

However, before you go down that road, I hadn't realised you were running 2008 when I suggested it - my suggestion was more a third party like Acronis True Image... but I am not sure that would run on 2008 server.

 

[neilz]

Apparently regardless Windows has built in features to ensure you can't put it on another computer. The license is tied to that computer, the system is to ensure you don't clone Windows and use it on 2 PCs at once. It's not just a case of different drivers - there's a system in place to prevent Windows being installed on 2 PCs (and it'll think it's been put on another PC if I change the motherboard for a different model)

The backups will only work on the same motherboard/CPU as the one they were made on (same model/firmware)

 

[balge]

Not quite, proprietary copies of OS may be tied to specific hardware right enough but vanilla Win can be done, certainly done it several times with XP, somewhat painful...not tried S08/Vista/7 though...fairly easy to reset HAL with XP for a 'repair install' onto different hardware, you may need to clean out old drivers though

How to move a Windows installation to different hardware

HAL options after Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 Setup

cheers

 

[Ted]

If you are going to bodge it, clean the processor top and heatsink perfectly clean and add some heatsink compound.
This will help the thermal conduction and let the processor run cooler.

 

[neilz]

I've got the compound already, initially bought it when my son was building me the i7 desktop 2 weeks ago, but the heatsink came with some. Not sure how good what I bought is. I know as a fact the heatsink is unseated so a fix is quite urgent (when I say that, I mean this weekend something should be done) but it's still on now. When it turned off from overheating yesterday according to Google Analytics the site's visitors-in-a-day record was broken that day.

Amazing - the old Dell 'server' had a slot 1 CPU (P3) which was passively cooled, no case fan, and it never overheated!