Something wrong with my CPU

[stardust47]

I've been having some problems with my CPU overheating and shutting off, so I've tried monitoring its temperature. The problem is, however, that all the software I've tried consistently measures the core temperature as being zero degress C.
Does this mean that the CPU's dying or can I still fix it somehow?

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[Freyr Loki]

Hello optimusjamie,

What applications you used for temperature check? Describe your CPU: Brand, Core, Frequency, and MB: Brand and type. Im not sure, but might be thermal sensor dead.

Freyr

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[stardust47]

It's an AMD Phenom II running at 3.4Ghz on an ASUS M5A87.

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[stardust47]

Also, I've used CoreTemp and CPU Thermometer.
I looked inside the machine a few days ago and the thermal paste on the CPU seems to have worn off or whatever it does, so I'll be changing that shortly.

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[onca]

Change the thermal paste immediately, and do not turn on your PC until you do.

Seriously. Without thermal paste the CPU does not contact the cooler properly, and can overheat very quickly, and potentially ruin it. I found this out the hard way.

Note, you need to completely clean away all traces of the old thermal paste before applying the new stuff. And I mean all traces.. it's a mucky job but it must be done. There are plenty of "how-to's" online about how to do this, I'd suggest looking over a few.

Another temp monitoring program you can use is "CPUID Hardware Monitor", I found it pretty good.

I'll bet your shutting-down problems go away when you've done all this. If it doesn't, you may have a faulty CPU, and there's little you can do about it unfortunately.

Best of luck mate =)

[stardust47]

Well, I've had this machine since September 2011, so it can't be faulty. I'll change the thermal paste as quickly as possible.

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[why_so_serious]

Clean the fan or buy a new one when this doesnt work.

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They see me fightin', they hatin'

=Apply for Rorry's Renegades=

[Cannon]

I assume you've cleaned the heatsink?

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Proud member of "the most paranoid group of people in the community"

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[stardust47]

Yep. I've swapped the thermal paste and managed to get it turned on.
I believe this is a good sign.
EDIT: Yes, it's working again. I can run Minecraft without an overheat and I'll try something a bit more demanding later.

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[onca]

Yep. I've swapped the thermal paste and managed to get it turned on.
I believe this is a good sign.