how to remove old AMD stock cooler from socket?

[frozensun]

Hi friends.

I will try to fix dad's older PC which has buzzing CPU fan,but I can't remove CPU cooler from the PC.

i wiggled the cooler left right up and down but looks like it's glued to CPU,and I don't want to force it break the socket.

PC is like maybe 12 years old

[For Science!]

Try after having hte PC on for a while, and then twist before pulling (heat and torsion to loosen the thermal paste). You should prepare for the fact that the CPU may pull out together with the cooler and so make sure you don't smash the pins accidentally.

[WhitetailAni]

See that black lever that's facing the bottom of the GPU?

Pull that up. BUT DO NOT PULL UP ON THE COOLER. YOU WILL PULL THE CPU OUT OF THE SOCKET AND YOU CAN DAMAGE THE PINS.

Wiggle the cooler off the side.

 

Also please dust the back of that graphics card.

[minibois]

Have you undone the CPU cooler arm, that black lever that you see (in this picture) under the cooler?

Other than that, coolers on AMD systems are notoriously difficult to remove without pulling the CPU out of the socket.

 

I've heard various 'techniques' on how to do it, including:

- Running an intensive benchmark before attempting to remove it, to soften the paste

- running a small wire (like floss) between the CPU and cooler to break up the paste

- Twisting the cooler a bit (although I am not a fan of this, as it could bend some pins), so be extra careful not to twist it too much

[frozensun]

20 minutes ago, minibois said:

Have you undone the CPU cooler arm, that black lever that you see (in this picture) under the cooler?

Other than that, coolers on AMD systems are notoriously difficult to remove without pulling the CPU out of the socket.

 

I've heard various 'techniques' on how to do it, including:

- Running an intensive benchmark before attempting to remove it, to soften the paste

- running a small wire (like floss) between the CPU and cooler to break up the paste

- Twisting the cooler a bit (although I am not a fan of this, as it could bend some pins), so be extra careful not to twist it too much

yes I did loose the retention leveler as you can see on pic.
But cooler is glued to the CPU.

No way of removing it without much force,which I wouldn't risk...

I think I'll go with option 1 run Prime 95.

Should I leave the leveler like this,I might risk falling cooler to the GPU.

I think I will lay PC case flat,huh?

[mariushm]

Put a small amount of pressure down on the heatsink  on the heatsink and GENTLY rotate / twist  the heatsink left and right a small amount... may take a minute or two or moving the heatsink, but eventually the paste will loosen enough that you'll be able to lift the heatsink directly up. 

 

You could try to remove the RAM sticks and maybe unscrew the power supply, to give you more room, and then slide a credit card or a ruler or something between the heatsink and the CPU and use it like a crowbar or like a blade to separate the heatsink.

 

 

[Beerzerker]

4 hours ago, frozensun said:

yes I did loose the retention leveler as you can see on pic.
But cooler is glued to the CPU.

No way of removing it without much force,which I wouldn't risk...

I think I'll go with option 1 run Prime 95.

Should I leave the leveler like this,I might risk falling cooler to the GPU.

I think I will lay PC case flat,huh?

If you can wiggle it, the cooler isn't actually glued to the CPU, just really hard to get separated.

You can unhook the cooler mounting tabs from the cooler retention brackets and just pull it out, taking the CPU with it as long as you pull straight up and out from the socket without damaging anything if you must.

I'll repost this as a guide to dealing with a CPU stuck to a cooler, had this posted in another thread with a few minor changes here:

Sometimes (Not always) you'll have to use something like a flathead screwdriver to "Pop" the cooler tab off one side from the bracket's own tab, after that it should just come right off.
Get the locking mechanism as loose as you can, push it down on the side you are working with and use the screwdriver to pop it off the cooler mounting tab - Thats about it.

Next, try twisting the cooler at first to hopefully break the bond it would have to the TIM. If it does, you're good to go but if not....

Do be careful about the CPU coming out with the cooler,  just lift it all straight up and that won't hurt the CPU itself as long as you don't drop the cooler and chip. If it separates from the chip anyway and leaves it in the socket when removed - Job done.

Do not try to pry/lean or even twist the cooler to one side during the removal process, that's a good way to distort pins as the chip comes out of the socket if it's really stuck to the cooler - Simply pull it straight up and out.

Dealing with separating the CPU properly from the cooler is important to avoid an accident that can bent/break the pins once the chip and cooler are out.

To get the chip off the cooler if it sticks, just flip the cooler upside down and gently slide the chip to one side of the cooler going away from you.
Do not apply any pressure where the pins are - Only apply it to the chip's PCB/lid and be aware once it gets towards the side it's going to, it will suddenly get really easy to move and could just fly off the cooler if you're not careful, esp if you're pushing on it with some force behind it.
That's when damage to the chip can happen for obvious reason.

Do it slowly, there is no race to get it off or time limit here, whatever it takes is what you do. Make sure the chip is very close/level to a surface so it doesn't fall and hit when it comes off during this work, bending pins when it does.
I normally have the CPU itself when I do this right at the edge of a table, about level with it's surface so when it does come off it just slides right onto the table surface without any worry of it dropping anywhere. I also have something to stop it from sliding off the other side too like a book or something when it does come loose.
Again, do not push it towards yourself, always push it away for you.

Note the following is extremely rare to run into and always seems to happen with factory applied TIM that's been on it for years.

 

If in an extreme case of it being truly "Stuck" for some reason you MUST use a screwdriver, use a flathead and insert the tip between the chip and cooler.
SLOWLY twist the screwdriver, using only enough force to start the separation and be careful with this, if it suddenly lets go you could make the chip pop off the cooler and fly off or drop. Remember to "Feel" and react to what you are feeling as you twist, if you feel it suddenly getting easier, back off the twisting pressure.
Sometimes a little acetone where the chip meets the cooler helps.

Wish I could show rather than tell you how to do it but that's the gist of it.
Hope it helps.

 

EDIT:
I believe I'll do a video on how to deal with this problem later, it's better understood if you can see it being done.

[frozensun]

Ok guys thanks so much,it's 4 am here and I will try this in 4 h.

I got an idea from a friend of mine to use hair blower on socket...that okay?

[Guest]

Just unclip it and twist and turn the heat sink (without pulling up) until it breaks free, then pull the cooler off. (As basic as I can get the procedure in one sentence. XD

[frozensun]

11 minutes ago, ShrimpBrime said:

Just unclip it and twist and turn the heat sink (without pulling up) until it breaks free, then pull the cooler off. (As basic as I can get the procedure in one sentence. XD

Tried that no luck.

I can apply more force but as u see guys wrote I can damage the CPU that way

boy this will be tough one

I know how I had issue on 8y old rig with 212 Evo.

this paste hasn't been changed like maybe 12-15 years...

[frozensun]

Ok my techs,with a use of a hair blower I did manage to remove cooler from CPU just twisting it.

So an idea was helpful a lot.

Now to figure out how to remove fan from heatsink,if there is such way?

If fan is bad,sadly i can not find stock amd fan here,can I use any I suppose 80 mm fan (with molex)?

[jaslion]

2 hours ago, frozensun said:

Ok my techs,with a use of a hair blower I did manage to remove cooler from CPU just twisting it.

So an idea was helpful a lot.

Now to figure out how to remove fan from heatsink,if there is such way?

If fan is bad,sadly i can not find stock amd fan here,can I use any I suppose 80 mm fan (with molex)?

It's held on with clips. Basically not meant to be removed and made in such a way it is very hard to get it off.

 

As for the replacement do not get a molex 80mm fan your board has a 4pin fan header so get something with that the artic p8 fans are excellent fans for this purpose.

[frozensun]

yeah okay,did clean the paste both on CPU and cooler,cleaned RAM from dust install back on,still without paste just to get picture and turned on the switch on PSU,but got loud click with flash at the back of the PSU...so now no picture at all,probably the GPU is dead,because I tried with other PSU,no pic at all,no speaker beep...

I was confused because buzzing sound was coming from GPU cooler not CPU,but I'm tired as hell cuz damn insomnia hits me for weeks and I sleep only 2 h per night...so I got confused where was buzzind sound coming from.
I'll take PC to repair shop,though these kinda of PC are not worth to repair,CPU was released back in 2005.

I feel sorry for PC,but dad should tell me he had issues with PSU (loud bang at the switch position).

[Beerzerker]

2 hours ago, frozensun said:

yeah okay,did clean the paste both on CPU and cooler,cleaned RAM from dust install back on,still without paste just to get picture and turned on the switch on PSU,but got loud click with flash at the back of the PSU...so now no picture at all,probably the GPU is dead,because I tried with other PSU,no pic at all,no speaker beep...

I was confused because buzzing sound was coming from GPU cooler not CPU,but I'm tired as hell cuz damn insomnia hits me for weeks and I sleep only 2 h per night...so I got confused where was buzzind sound coming from.
I'll take PC to repair shop,though these kinda of PC are not worth to repair,CPU was released back in 2005.

I feel sorry for PC,but dad should tell me he had issues with PSU (loud bang at the switch position).

From what you describe it sounds like the PSU blew and took other stuff with it.
All you can do is either test the components yourself if you can or let the PC shop do that but with it being as old as you say it is, not worth the expense vs just replacing it all with something more up to date.