HEL80 random freezing solution

I thought I would share this piece of anecdotal experience with everybody for posterity.

I purchased my HEL80 barebones and assembled it myself with parts from Newegg.

Disclaimer: I work in the computer industry. I've built well over 100 computers from parts, I service computers regularly, and I've repaired and reassembled at least half a dozen laptops. Please don't think I'm a sorry l0ser or just plain inexperienced.

After assembling my HEL80, it had a problem of randomly locking up. Temperatures were well within reason (high 30's to low 40's). It would lockup in DOS or Windows. Naturally I suspected some sort of incompatibility with the RAM first, but this turned out not to be the problem.

I finally determined that although the PC would lockup intermittently at low temperatures, I could consistently MAKE it lockup by stressing the cpu with a burn-in program or heating the CPU area with a heat gun. I feared a bad solder joint on the motherboard, but thankfully this also turned out not to be the problem.

SOLUTION:
I removed the CPU, cleaned the factory heat-sink polymer gunk off, firmly reinstalled the CPU, and installed the heat sink with a thin coat of thermal paste.

No more lockups _EVER_.

I really doubt that the thermal paste had anything to do with it, but I had to use it after separating the heat sink from the CPU. I'm pretty sure that somehow the CPU didn't seat well in the socket the first time and created a temperature-dependent poor connection.

So if your HEL80 is having lockup problems and you've tried everything else, why not reinstall the CPU with a little firm pressure as you lock it shut and see if it helps.

Cheers.
(I love my HEL80 and WSXGA+ BTW. I made it MY WAY.)

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences .