Misaligned cpu pins

[Martin Boggan]

Is there such a thing as a cpu pin alignment tool? I have a AMD Athlon XP 1700 that has the pins so misaligned that the chip won't drop into the socket. I've straightened all the obviously bent pins, but still can't get it to drop in. Eyeballing the rows of pins, the rows do not look as straight as they should be.

Straightening a pin here and there just isn't cutting it. I need to be able to align all the pins. If there isn't any such tool "out there," does anyone know of a way to improvise?

Thanks for any and all info or advice.

Martin

Use a CC and/or ID card. Not the best, but might save your CPU.

[RedFury]

There is nothing as far as I am aware of. Best bet is to pull some kind of straight edge out and check all the rows for alignment. Beyond that, you may need to "coax" it into place.

I had a CPU that wouldn't go in myself...had a couple of bent pins ( how it happens I can't imagine ). I managed to eyeball it and find the misaligned pins. It took a good 15 minutes of work but it finally dropped in, and once I pulled the lever down, I've never had a problem with the processor since. Just don't get to aggressive with it. Patience and a good eye are key here.

[JayMan]

Rather than doing the pins individually, ya might wanna try using a straight, flat "tool" (such as the credit card evilrick suggested)...

Atleast then you should be able to get the rows of pins aligned with each other... And hopefully after enough time ya will get em all aligned correctly...

Hm... don't take offence to this... But did ya make sure ya orientated the CPU the correct way for the socket?

JayMan

[Martin Boggan]

Thanks to all for trying. No, Jay, I don't take offense at your question. Proper orientation of the chip is of course important. Yes, I lined up the two angled corners, so no problem there.

I've tried the straight-edge approach as well as the individual pin approach (using a mechanical pencil tip -- good idea picked up on this forum), but so far no success.

Next, I'm trying to find a junked socket A motherboard and see if I could use the top of it to sight through the holes and maybe see where the problem pins are.

Anyway, thanks again for trying!!!!

Martin

[RedFury]

That was going to be my next suggestion, but most people don't have Socket A sockets just laying around for that purpose. The only reason I've got a Socket 7 is because I pulled it from a computer that was in a fire, and it desoldered itself from the motherboard.

[Martin Boggan]

I am pleased to announce that I succeeded in realigning the cpu pins. I salvaged the top plastic layer of a Socket A Zif socket, sprayed silicon lubricant on it and then gently worked the cpu pins through the holes of the socket. After doing this a few times, the cpu was fine.

Thanks to all who offered suggestions. I hope this helps someone else.

Martin

[tgxiii]

Wow, good job! I never would have thought about using an old socket to straighten the pins.

[JayMan]

Excellent, glad you got it fixed up!

JayMan

[nukes]

Something like this happened to me the other day. I was cleaning out the heatsink of my fileserver (K6/2-500) and I went to unclip it and it wouldn't move, so I pulled it up and the cpu came with it, somehow stuck to the bottom, but one of the catches didn't release and I had a pile of pins bent. when I got it out, the clip for the HS on the socket broke off, leaving no means of securing the heatsink. Good thing was that the CPU was strongly adhered to the HS, so I popped it back in and its been running fine. I didn't know ZIF sockets were meant to let the chip out when the arm was down. odd.