How to clean a CPU socket... and a thermo paper trick (PWJ182)

[@princevegeta1752]

My friend you are a lifesaver! I took apart my rig for cleaning and the paste I had applied had migrated to the edge of my cpu so as soon as I pulled it up the paste flicked right into the socket! Thanks to your guide here tho absolutely nothing bad came of it I was able to clean it up 100% and everything is back to normal

[@PlaywithJunk]

If it can get dirty, it can be cleaned again.

[@iamwester9638]

THAT'S WHY I AM WATCHING THIS XD

[@RBLevin]

PS: Don't use rubbing alcohol. It will literally gum up your hardware. Use pure isopropyl alcohol.

[@Sakkura1]

Depends on the rubbing alcohol - in some cases that is literally a synonym for isopropyl alcohol.

[@kilhbffvc7011]

What about Etalon?

[@Leomann88]

yep, did it today with 70%. Worked very nice but scared me a bit. ( the idea of liquid on the mobo pins / electrical components ).

[@swiffin]

I find it near impossible to bend any socket pins with this method using a light brush. This method has saved some good motherboards for me that ppl would have otherwise tossed out.

[@PlaywithJunk]

Thumbs up! :-)

[@SeanBZA]

Thermal paper thing is the glue in the clear plastic converting the bisophenol A and dye in the direct thermal paper label back to the clear form. Also will happen if it gets alcohol spilt on it as this also does the same. The dye changes colour depending on pH of the blend, and the glue tends to be somewhat basic, making the dye change back to the clear form. Same for the alcohol, which does the same, as reacts with the 2 components. Only way to have this not happen is if your printer supports using a thermal transfer ribbon, as this is a wax that is melted and adhered to the paper surface, and is not going to fade easily. Direct thermal labels are almost always going to be fading with time, depending on exposure they might last a few weeks or a few years in a dark cool dry climate. For the wipes use surgical wipe sachets, they are the same non woven fabric and alcohol, and are a lot cheaper. Just use some extra alcohol with them, and please clean the tabasco bottle, there are floating contaminants in it.

[@PlaywithJunk]

My experience is that alcohol turns it black.

[@SeanBZA]

@@PlaywithJunk Goes black then as the alcohol evaporates it turns all a pale shade. Same with adding citronella oil to get the adhesive to release. What printer are you using there, i use some old Zebra LP2844's that were scrapped for being too slow, and with a bad single thermal element dot.

[@PlaywithJunk]

@@SeanBZA The labels I use turn black with alcohol and the stay black. I think there are many different formulas for thermo paper.

[@pizzablender]

You can make old thermal printouts readable by exposing them to acetone vapour. It blackens everything, but not faded printed areas. Thus you end up with negative.

[@RBLevin]

It's a great day when a new PwJ video appears in my feed.

[@PlaywithJunk]

Nice to hear that :-)

[@Grey-Troll]

WOW! This cleaning of the socket and cpu pads totally fixed all the issues I was having with an old 4790K! I was having totally random memory issues and very strange sluggishness and/or glitches in both linux and windows. Now its performing as it should! I used brake/parts cleaner instead of isopropyl alcohol... that really easily removed the contaminates on the cpu pads with almost no effort and evaporates faster as a bonus.

[@PlaywithJunk]

I thought brake cleaner was a bit too aggressive. But if it worked for you…. congratulations!

[@Grey-Troll]

@@PlaywithJunk Probably, but I figure its an old chip and I can grab another for $35(ish) xD That and I'm lazy and the can of brake cleaner was the only solvent within reach haha

[@joselaba]

Wow your video saved my 12900KF/z690 setup, only thing I did different was use contact cleaner at the end in order to fully “force remove” any of the remaining thermal paste. Worked like a charm. Thank you.

[@retropcdurham]

I use coffee filters as well since they won't lint if they tear, like paper towels do.

[@PlaywithJunk]

Interesting idea. Yes why not... that will work too. I don't see a big problem with lint... I just blow it off if there are some.

[@ajastoa6545]

Thank you so much for this video! just removed my cooling block and noticed something suspicious at the bottom. Sure enough, some paste had manage to get into the pins. I don't understand how the CPU still worked, but thanks to this video I manage to save it. Big thanks, again!

[@PlaywithJunk]

Each pin of the socket has a pressure force of a couple of grams. If the paste is thin enough the pin may push through that layer and contact the CPU. Or, if you are lucky, it's an unused pin or one of the hundreds GND or voltage supply pins that all work in parallel.

[@titusdaniel]

It definitely feels like prank advice when you see a person soaking down these electronics with alcohol, but I believe you. I saved a drowned iphone one time by taking it a apart and using 99% alcohol to displace and dry the water. It's still scary to think about doing this to my motherboard and CPU though.

[@PlaywithJunk]

Even water ist not a problem for electronics. I already washed server boards with soap and warm water. The problem is when water and electricity come together like in a battery powered device. So the first step must be to remove the battery.... Worst boards come from metal machining companies or automotive service. There is always a mixture of dust and oil.

[@jwbwater1]

Excellent video. Thank you for taking the time to make it. Much better than developing my own method by trial and error.

[@piotrtomasik7832]

Hey, your cleaning tips with CPU alignment in socket using this wiggling moves helped me to recover one not not working DIMM slots, Thanks !

[@PlaywithJunk]

Good to hear, you're welcome! Memory problems are often caused by bad CPU contacts. And CPU errors by bad memory... 🙂

[@astieluv]

Thank you so much! The brush trick saved me from going through a stupid RMA process

[@PlaywithJunk]

Your welcome! And most manufacturers deny warranty in such cases. They say "problem caused by user"

[@windward2818]

This video is basically about repairing an intermittent fault or error on a mother board with suspect dirty mechanical connections, either memory or CPU, or any other mechanical connection like PCIe, etc. Before handling electronics you should be ESD safe. If you look closely at his work surface it looks like a steel work table which is probably grounded, and even if not grounded will certainly prevent static voltage gradients (after you discharge yourself to it). I like steel (especially SS) tables unless the board your working on still has charged caps, which is propably more applicable to power supply repair. So I like putting an antistatic mat on top of the steel table. Then I can handle the board and discharge caps as a first step if need be with out the danger of shorting out a charged cap on a metal surface. SS really cleans up nice especially if you handle a lot of liquid flux and/or perform messy soldering tasks. Although it is not written in the Intel LGA771 socket (Old Xeon) mechanical design guide, it looks to me like the pins are spring loaded and the CPU when seated and latched compresses the spring contacts (gold plated on the contact end) to a specific distance without bottoming out the contacts in their respective guides. So spring force is holding the contact against the CPU land. As with most wiping contacts I feel adding a contact cleaner with lubricating properties as an advantage. So I would be interested to find out after cleaning with alcohol what if I then treat the CPU pins with Deoxit Gold G100L (Liquid in a bottle with a little brush) to help protect the gold surfaces and lubricate the pins in their guides (Reduce sliding friction). I am in the USA so I can order Deoxit from Digikey. You can by Deoxit in many different application formats, like they offer wipes for edge connectors. Edit: Obviously the above is about a board that has been already in service. If you are building your own servers or PCs, before assemply always inspect all of the pin and socket connections. I use a stereo zoom microscope and have spotted partrially bent pins on connectors which I was able to straighten out before assembly. A slightly bent pin will become a smashed pin unless it is straighten before attempting the first connector mating.

[@PlaywithJunk]

A very detailled comment! The table surface is a gray antistatic mat that is of course grounded through a 1 Megohm resistor. The mat has sufficient insulation so that there is no danger when handling running power supplies with 400VDC directly touching the mat. I also have a video about repairing bent pins in a CPU socket...

[@windward2818]

@@PlaywithJunk Thank you for the reply. In cold climates the indoor humidity level can be very low in the colder months, and this dry air increases ESD risks. I used to live in such a climate as cold as Switzerland but in the USA and a grounded metal work table was very robust in dealing with ESD when doing repairs and builds, but also was used for PCB rework which could get messy and a SS top is very easy to clean. I think the top was 316L stainless and the body Carbon Steel, not really 100% sure on the alloys. I saw your video on repairing bent CPU socket pins. I use a zoom stereo Trinocular microscope (Similar to Meiji EMZ-8TR) so I can have a camera attached and still use the stereo eyepieces to see what I am doing. The camera is used to take images of PCB level repair (usually prototype trace repair, rework and jumpering) which is attached to a report sent to the layout and or design engineer in PDF format. Some of my very fine work tools like Tweezers and Screw Drivers are made in Switzerland. For example, my small flat blade screwdrivers are manufactured by Bergeon they are on a rotating holder and are color coded. I think a lot of my very small delicate electronics tools are actually Watchmaker or Jeweler type tools.

[@desire_002]

@@windward2818 you alright bro?

[@nophobia123]

thank you so much saved my rig and my day watching your video

[@PlaywithJunk]

You're welcome :-)

[@jimsvideos7201]

I had a 1366 board not recognize a DIMM; turns out one pin was bent by perhaps its own width. A tiny nudge with a pin and it was fine.

[@PlaywithJunk]

Yeah bent pins are another reason for problems. I already made a video about that.

[@AmitChaudhry27]

Happy holidays. Just found this awesome channel. 😂😂😂😂😂 Chris I thought this is a Christmas joke and to clean then you'll lite up those slots dipped in alcohol. This is main issue with me also. Dust is major issue in my room 😂😂😂. Merry Christmas

[@iwebster1697]

Fantastic video I have some excess solder on my socket and will give these methods a try.. Thank you for this video.

[@PlaywithJunk]

You have SOLDER on your CPU socket? How did that happen?

[@iwebster1697]

Sorry I meant thermal paste.

[@PlaywithJunk]

@@iwebster1697 That sounds more logical 🙂

[@ZeroCool396]

If you are planing on using a lot of isopropyl alcohol wear rubber gloves.This stuff can dry your hands pretty fast.

[@KylesDigitalLab]

Will this get thermal paste off my socket, I was taking out a CPU on my LGA1200 mobo and some paste on got on the pins, I am so scared to use a paintbrush, I don't want to bend any pins. I need the socket to be clean because my motherboard is dead and I need to RMA it.

[@PlaywithJunk]

If you are worried using a brush, you can soak the pins in alcohol (Iso) and the blow it off with air from a can or compressor. But using a very fine brush should not be a problem. Maybe you have an old board for practising.

[@KylesDigitalLab]

@@PlaywithJunk I ended up spraying some contact cleaner on the socket, it managed to get all of the paste off without bending a single pin.

[@PlaywithJunk]

@@KylesDigitalLab Contact cleaner to clean contacts...brilliant 🙂

[@henninghoefer]

Wouldn't it be better to do CPU & socket first (i.e. work from the inside out)? Otherwise you might blow dirt back into the RAM sockets.

[@PlaywithJunk]

Normally I do.

[@texastyrannyresponseteam794]

so stop using a wire wheel on my drill?

[@PlaywithJunk]

Are you from Texas? They normally use a chainsaw...or not?

[@EnthusiastAA]

You deserve a big thanks brother. Thank u so much 💕

[@PielsiZ]

My Mobo Msi h55m-e33 have a problem power cycling "( ...should i try clean the mobo or something?

[@PlaywithJunk]

What exactly do you mean with "power cycling"? Is it not possible to turn it on or off ? Try to unplug everything you can, just except the CPU and try to power on. If this doesn't work try another CPU. If still not good, your board is faulty. Also look at the capacitors, do they look good? Do they bulge or leak?

[@gee52717]

Would this work with an AMD cpu socket? I have 99% mechanical alchohol on the way i keep getting a cpu red light upon launch i believe there may be thermal paste in the socket

[@PlaywithJunk]

I don't know what "mechanical" alcohol is.... But if it's Isopropanol (Isopropyl alcohol) then go ahead. Soak the socket with alcohol and then blow it off. Maybe repeat a few times. And don't forget to clean the CPU too.

[@gee52717]

@@PlaywithJunk lol i meant like mechanical friendly but thank you I’m gonna try this appreciate your reply

[@LiquidSnake48]

The cpu and socket cleaning fix temperature issue or not ?

[@PlaywithJunk]

This has nothing to do with temperature, only contact problems like CPU and RAM issues. But if you renew the thermal paste, that will improve cooling as well.

[@urlordmaster]

can u help me bro 😢 I used am4 socket with thinner and no more power on after this.I though some moisture there and blew the socket with dryer.after doing this it power on again and use as long as opening the pc.if I off a sometime,it was nomore power on again.Then I use dryer to blew the cpu socket and it power on again 😢 what do I do bro.

[@PlaywithJunk]

Thinner? ou mean paint thinner? That's bad stuff man! It can dissolve plastics and it may also contain some oil. Very bad. You can try to clean again with Isopropyl alcohol as I show in the video. You should also clean the cpu contacts. Be careful not to bend any pins.

[@urlordmaster]

@@PlaywithJunk thanks bro I will try to clean,Now I can use my pc when give a little hot air to cpu socket,I can use as normal without shutting down for a long time 😅

[@urlordmaster]

but when I power off for a long time it show cpu led and not power on again 😅 then I use hot air to socket and open normally again.I think some liquid or some oil like bro said still inside the socket.Thanks for ur video bro.I will try to clean again and I will tell my result again.

[@vimcode]

What percentage of alcohol do you use?

[@PlaywithJunk]

It's Isopropyl alcohol 99%

[@TheFrostEngel]

Kannst du das bitte noch in der Video Beschreibung ergänzen? Sonst nehmen noch zu viel Menschen Spiritus...

[@PlaywithJunk]

@@TheFrostEngel Gute Idee.

[@richardbaker308]

You do clean the IHS with alcohol since you put your finger all over it right?

[@PlaywithJunk]

Maybe...? ;-)

[@glenslick2774]

Always better to have a box of Kimtech Kimwipes on hand to use for cleaning instead of regular household cleaning paper. A lot less likely to get little bits of paper lint in whatever you are cleaning.

[@PlaywithJunk]

That's why I'm using the air gun after cleaning. Those wipes are pretty expensive but yes, they are better :-)

[@Vexerino]

can i use a toothbrush to clean the cpu socket? and how long should i wait until the alcohol fully evaporates?

[@PlaywithJunk]

I would not recommend a toothbrush, it may be too hard/stiff. Use a small pinting brush like I did, that works well. Alcohol evaporades quite fast. Look at the board, if it looks dry, it most likely is. Use compressed air to help evaporation.

[@flipschwipp6572]

brakecleaner combines solvent and air duster / brushing action

[@PlaywithJunk]

Brake cleaner is possibly a bit too strong. Don't know if that's healthy for the plastics.

[@benbaselet2026]

@@PlaywithJunk I've seen bräkleen used on some super greasy motherboards without disaster but... yeah, not my first weapon of choice for a relatively good board.

[@BoHolbo]

NEVER use brake cleaner where there is even the slightest risk of it getting in contact with plastic. It’s true that some of the modern break cleaning products you can buy these days, are (much) less aggressive towards oil based polymers than the old ones. (They’re also less effective for cleaning brakes, in my opinion.) And since IPA (93% concentration and above) is perfect for the job of cleaning connection points in most electronics anyway, there is no need for more aggressive solvents in the first place.

[@UnknownPerson-nl7te]

Don't use a hard brush or you will surely kill your socket, and never be too rough on it, one of the registers pin broken is enough to make the pc unusable

[@PlaywithJunk]

I think it is obvious to use a *soft* brush and *care* ... but there are also people out there who smear thermal grease on both sides of the CPU. ;-)

[@5argetech56]

Works for LapTop SODIMM sockets too!

[@PlaywithJunk]

Sure, that works for all kind of contacts. Even a 63 Amp CEE plug can be cleaned like this way. I just recommend to let it dry completely before plugging in :-)

[@clopes87]

do i need to remove the motherboard cmos battery before attempting to do this?

[@PlaywithJunk]

No there is no need to remove the battery. But it's a good idea to check it before you close your PC again.

[@clopes87]

@@PlaywithJunk ok thank you. I got thermal paste on my mobo socket last night when taking things apart

[@MukundMadhav.]

How can I clean the socket of processor, where processor is placed in the mother board Is your method safe?

[@PlaywithJunk]

In the video, I'm cleaning the CPU chip, the CPU socket and also RAM sockets. What exactly is your question? And yes, my method is safe if done carefully.

[@MukundMadhav.]

@@PlaywithJunk I was asking I want to remove dirt from the pins inside the socket!!! How can I do that?

[@PlaywithJunk]

@@MukundMadhav. Do you have a socket with holes? If yes, it's a bit more difficult. I would use an IPA (isopropanol) spray to wash out the whole socket. Then use compressed air to blow everything dry.

[@pepeshopping]

ALL thermal paper fades with time. In this case, yes, the film on top is reacting with the thermal paper as if it was old.

[@PlaywithJunk]

Yes I know but normally that takes months or years.

[@rudssbotes1718]

To anyone watching this, you will bend or break your cpu socket pins, DONT TRY THIS, i just screwed mine

[@PlaywithJunk]

That's why I say "carefully" and "soft brush"... I did this dozens of times and never damaged anything. I admit there is a danger for clumsy people ;-)

[@texastyrannyresponseteam794]

you can also use soap and water if you like... PULL THE CMOS BATTERY OUT.. then put that board in the sink and scrub it with dawn dish soap... and rinse well.... set it out in the sun for an afternoon or put in an oven on low (200 f) setting and and put it back together... will work perfect.. same for keyboards that have had coffee or cola spills... throw them in the bathtub... rinse with hot water.. dont have to remove the keys... keep working rhem under water till ts all clean and works again... look at all that gunk in the water... your keyboard is nasty.. once again... drip dry and put in sun... maybe a couple days to get dry between membranes. good as new...

[@PlaywithJunk]

Yes, I have already washed entire servers with water and soap. But I still clean the sockets with Isoprop. Alc. after washing. I have the feeling that some soap may be left. And some greasy dirt will not solve with soap alone. I once had a server from a metal industry customer with a thick, black, greasy layer of dirt. There was no other way than hot water, soap and brush. Looked like new after that treatment.

[@texastyrannyresponseteam794]

@@PlaywithJunk yeah, I've pulled some machines from industrial applications that were in horrendous condition..

[@simplex7096]

i did that to my mb because termal paste got on it, and even the brush pretty much like your made my motherboard a paperweight now T_T

[@PlaywithJunk]

I'm sorry to hear that. I washed many sockets since I made the video and had no problems after. These pins are very delicate....

[@Rivstar]

Excellent video

[@PlaywithJunk]

🙂 Thank you!

[@SoloHaxks]

Pretty sure he's just joking bc it would be pretty not so smart if you brush the pins quickly, you can easily bent them

[@PlaywithJunk]

You never know if people are joking or not, so I better give a real answer.

[@MrDubje]

Thermal paper (dymo labels and such) is the worst invention ever for receipts that you have to keep for warranty purposes. In the old days cash registers were equipped with a tiny dot-matrix printer. A little loud, but those receipts never faded. The thermal ones have the benefit that they can print a receipt in literally a blink of an eye (some are crazy fast), but require the special paper because they don't use a ribbon or cartridge, and you're often instructed to make a copy of them if you buy something valuable, else they're gone when you need them for warranty! Thermal labels can not handle: pressure, daylight, alcohol, moisture, heat, glue... I mean... What was so bad about the matrix printers again? Changing a ribbon once in a while?

[@namAlexander]

contact cleaner is the best it dissolves hard thermal pads that alcohol pads can not , i was using 70% alcohol pads did not touch pads so what your doing try contact cleaner as it also evaporates fast no need for air can and some of them cans can have oil in the vapour

[@PlaywithJunk]

Contact cleaner may work as well or better than alcohol but some cleaners do also have oily components. These will make problems on CPU sockets. Choose the right one... The reason why I use compressed air (or cans) is not only to dry off the socket but also to get rid of most of the dissolved dirt. Just imagine you cleaned a socket from thermal paste and just let it dry by itself. The dissolved paste will create a thin layer everywhere the cleaner evaporates. The dirt does not vanish magically, it's still there, just diluted. Blowing the socket will not remove dirt either but it will move it away from the contacts... (and spread it all over the board) :-) But that's not a problem.

[@fab6749]

I just bent all the pins trying to clean it

[@PlaywithJunk]

I said "carefully" and "soft brush"... Not ham-fisted with a screwdriver!

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

I think the plastic cover is only letting the cold light through from the moon,thus reversing the printing method. Sorry I think I've been watching too many videos on youtube. :)

[@benbaselet2026]

Perhaps not too many, but certainly the wrong kind :-)

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

Maybe 50 odd years of working with lead solder is finally taking its toll. ;)

[@PlaywithJunk]

No it doesn't. No it doesn't. No it doesn't. No...

[@TheEmbeddedHobbyist]

There must be something in it! The other night I watched the moon for 25 minutes and my cup of tea went cold. :) And now back to reality

[@PlaywithJunk]

@@TheEmbeddedHobbyist This year many things are strange.....

[@Mr.Pro55k]

Lmao I took my cpu to a pc suppot shop and that uncle literally the socket lightly with some oil type brown colour material with a super dirty toothbrush, I was dead at this moment. After that he applied a full load of thermal paste, I told him to remove half of the quantity. The pc is running fine, somewhat 2-3° cooler than before but I'm afraid that the pins in the cpu socket might have got bent💀 Idk but the pc is running ahh fine, till now atleast, 2 hours after this all happened.

[@PlaywithJunk]

If the pins are bent you can see it when you look at the reflections. I wouldn't use a toothbrush that's way too hard. A very small and soft painters brush like the one I use is safe. If you have some instinct... (fingerspitzengefühl)

[@eekpie]

try acetone on thermal paper. its good to secure receipts before shredding

[@kilhbffvc7011]

Can I use Etanol 96%?

[@MrVinamp]

When you have a cpu with pins you have a problem

[@PlaywithJunk]

Not a problem. You just have an old CPU... Fits perfectly into an old board. Yes I know what you mean. but how would you call it? Pads? Maybe...

[@Logan800]

how the hell is a r9 5900 x old

[@pauldeboer]

"did you know that most problems with CPU's and memories come from dirty sockets" - personal experience? Also, the fading of thermal print is well known , it's the plasticizers that do this.

[@PlaywithJunk]

Yes this is my personal experience. These problems often occur when replacing mainboards or RAM.

[@_Everyone__]

Nope, if it ain't broken, don't fix it ! ;-)

[@thusharamannaperuma3006]

Thanks

[@sascha5668]

Mit Pinsel in den CPU Sockel? Du traust die was. Das kann böse enden. Die PINs brechen so leicht ab.

[@PlaywithJunk]

Ja etwas Fingerspitzengefühl muss sein. Deshalb verwende ich auch einen weichen Pinsel. Allerdings halten die Federn einiges aus wenn man nicht an einer einzelnen hängen bleibt. Aber ja. Vorsicht ist die Mutter der Porzellankiste... und wäre sie vorsichtig gewesen, wäre sie nicht Mutter geworden :-)

[@leighmorgan2959]

Can i do this with am5, 78003dx eith alcohol and lint free swab ? Its flat surface contact side not pins.

[@PlaywithJunk]

Cleaning the processor contact pads? Well that's the same technology as a Xeon processor. I see no reason why that should not work... 🙂

[@leighmorgan2959]

@@PlaywithJunk cheers, bro. I bent pins in am5 board, gutted, ordered new board. This time surgical presision. I pray everything else is ok. Expensive lesson.

[@PlaywithJunk]

@@leighmorgan2959 If the pins are only slightly bent it works fine. But when they are completely folded, they will break. But there are chances that the pin is eithe not used or one of the VCC or GND lines. If one of these is missing, it doesn't matter. But if it's a vital data pin, you're screwd

[@leighmorgan2959]

@@PlaywithJunk thx for reply. Brought a new board. I hope all other parts are ok. The CPU I'm worried about.

[@leighmorgan2959]

@@PlaywithJunk went ahead and cleaned them, I notice discolor where I wiped, will that matter, sorry for all the questions, I appreciate any answers and you're time. Can tell u know what you're doing. Reddit can be a bit hostile. So I can't be doing with that.