• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

best way to remove pins from a motherboard?

JackAnon

New Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2020
Messages
4 (0.00/day)
here are the specs, so you can facepalm along: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/XrxJPn

decided 'rona season would be a great time to build my first computer, so I bought the parts, and shipped em. a week later, they come, i'm psyched asf, get right into the build. everything's going fine, i'm readin the manuals and stuff to see where everything goes and pluggin stuff in accordingly, till i get to the cpu. now mind you, I was doing all of this stoned, probably not a good idea. In retrospect, i figured out that I put the cpu in sideways, and booted it. there's a black screen, i'm confused as hecc, not knowin what i did. I go to panic power off, and see the cpu debug light is on. i power the pc off, go to remove the cooler to get to the cpu, I forgot to twist it left and right, and the cpu ripped out of it's socket, with the cooler. I spend the next 30 minutes bending pins back in place, till i see the error of my ways. 4 pins are stuck in the motherboard, in a direction they shouldn't be in. feelsbad. i attempted tapping on the back of the motherboard, they didn't budge. tried tweezers, but I couldn't get em out. i've searched through google for a fair amount of time, haven't come to anything conclusive. help a gamer out if y'can, would be appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
13,023 (1.95/day)
Location
Nebraska, USA
System Name Brightworks Systems BWS-6 E-IV
Processor Intel Core i5-6600 @ 3.9GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 Rev 1.0
Cooling Quality case, 2 x Fractal Design 140mm fans, stock CPU HSF
Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s) EVGA GEForce GTX 1050Ti 4Gb GDDR5
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB SSD, Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SSD
Display(s) Samsung S24E650BW LED x 2
Case Fractal Design Define R4
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 550W G2 Gold
Mouse Logitech M190
Keyboard Microsoft Wireless Comfort 5050
Software W10 Pro 64-bit
Remove pins? Please explain.
 

sneekypeet

not-so supermod
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
29,540 (4.36/day)
System Name EVA-01
Processor Intel i7 13700K
Motherboard Asus ROG Maximus Z690 HERO EVA Edition
Cooling ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 with Noctua Industrial Fans
Memory PAtriot Viper Elite RGB 96GB @ 6000MHz.
Video Card(s) Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3090 24GB OC EVA Edition
Storage Addlink S95 M.2 PCIe GEN 4x4 2TB
Display(s) Asus ROG SWIFT OLED PG42UQ
Case Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s) Realtek on board > Sony Receiver > Cerwin Vegas
Power Supply be quiet DARK POWER PRO 12 1500W
Mouse ROG STRIX Impact Electro Punk
Keyboard ROG STRIX Scope TKL Electro Punk
Software Windows 11

dorsetknob

"YOUR RMA REQUEST IS CON-REFUSED"
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Messages
9,106 (1.27/day)
Location
Dorset where else eh? >>> Thats ENGLAND<<<
GHETTO ATTEMPT
you could use the butane tube from a discarded lighter ( smash the lighter with a hammer very satisfying).
cover end in tissue ,put in lips Hold over pin in socket and SUCK (tissue is to avoid inhaling broken pin).
Might work :p
you could also try A neodymium magnet (pin may be magnetic)
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
13,023 (1.95/day)
Location
Nebraska, USA
System Name Brightworks Systems BWS-6 E-IV
Processor Intel Core i5-6600 @ 3.9GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 Rev 1.0
Cooling Quality case, 2 x Fractal Design 140mm fans, stock CPU HSF
Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s) EVGA GEForce GTX 1050Ti 4Gb GDDR5
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB SSD, Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SSD
Display(s) Samsung S24E650BW LED x 2
Case Fractal Design Define R4
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 550W G2 Gold
Mouse Logitech M190
Keyboard Microsoft Wireless Comfort 5050
Software W10 Pro 64-bit
Its all there in the text.
Thanks, but that entire paragraph was not there when I posted. Note the OP's "Last edited" time stamp compared to my post's.

@JackAnon - I don't understand why tweezers didn't work. Did you lift the locking lever before trying to remove them?

I can only assume when initially lowering the locking lever, you jammed the pins between the locked and unlocked positions. I suspect you have made a costly mistake and both the CPU and motherboard need to be replaced. Note such damage surely is not covered by any warranty. And you need to hope you didn't zap your RAM in the process as surely voltages were in contact where they should not have been.

I personally don't see how you inserted it sideways without noticing it was not seated properly. The CPU would not have sat properly in the socket. I understand you were wasted, but still. Oh well.

Stoned, huh?
Did'ja learn anything from this?
You are assuming any lessons learned were remembered, right? ;)
 

freeagent

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Sep 16, 2018
Messages
8,392 (3.75/day)
Location
Winnipeg, Canada
Processor AMD R7 5800X3D
Motherboard Asus Crosshair VIII Dark Hero
Cooling Thermalright Frozen Edge 360, 3x TL-B12 V2, 2x TL-B12 V1
Memory 2x8 G.Skill Trident Z Royal 3200C14, 2x8GB G.Skill Trident Z Black and White 3200 C14
Video Card(s) Zotac 4070 Ti Trinity OC
Storage WD SN850 1TB, SN850X 2TB, SN770 1TB
Display(s) LG 50UP7100
Case Fractal Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s) JBL Bar 700
Power Supply Seasonic Vertex GX-1000, Monster HDP1800
Mouse Logitech G502 Hero
Keyboard Logitech G213
VR HMD Oculus 3
Software Yes
Benchmark Scores Yes
I blindly stuffed my usb3 case plug into the mobo flattening a couple of pins not once but twice. The second time was enough to soften them enough to break off in an attempt to straighten them. Was a super clean removal and lost the usb2 on the front panel. The board died later on from unrelated issues. My beloved z77. It came to me with issues so I am surprised I got 3 years out of it. Now that I am back on x58 I want a new system.
 

JackAnon

New Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2020
Messages
4 (0.00/day)
Thanks, but that entire paragraph was not there when I posted. Note the OP's "Last edited" time stamp compared to my post's.

@JackAnon - I don't understand why tweezers didn't work. Did you lift the locking lever before trying to remove them?

I can only assume when initially lowering the locking lever, you jammed the pins between the locked and unlocked positions. I suspect you have made a costly mistake and both the CPU and motherboard need to be replaced. Note such damage surely is not covered by any warranty. And you need to hope you didn't zap your RAM in the process as surely voltages were in contact where they should not have been.

I personally don't see how you inserted it sideways without noticing it was not seated properly. The CPU would not have sat properly in the socket. I understand you were wasted, but still. Oh well.

You are assuming any lessons learned were remembered, right? ;)
I tried tweezing both locked, and unlocked twice. it seems like you need the finger strength of a god to yoink the pins out. looked into it further, apparently you can disassemble the socket? gonna try some crackhead diy shit, i'll come back with the results. thanks for the reply.

GHETTO ATTEMPT
you could use the butane tube from a discarded lighter ( smash the lighter with a hammer very satisfying).
cover end in tissue ,put in lips Hold over pin in socket and SUCK (tissue is to avoid inhaling broken pin).
Might work :p
you could also try A neodymium magnet (pin may be magnetic)
i like the way you think
 
Joined
Jan 17, 2010
Messages
12,314 (2.28/day)
Location
Oregon
System Name Juliette // HTPC
Processor Intel i7 9700K // AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
Motherboard ASUS Prime Z390X-A // ASRock B550 ITX-AC
Cooling Noctua NH-U12 Black // Stock
Memory Corsair DDR4 3600 32gb //G.SKILL Trident Z Royal Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3600
Video Card(s) ASUS RTX4070 OC// GTX 1650
Storage Samsung 970 EVO NVMe 1Tb, Intel 665p Series M.2 2280 1TB // Samsung 1Tb SSD
Display(s) ASUS VP348QGL 34" Quad HD 3440 x 1440 // 55" LG 4K SK8000 Series
Case Seasonic SYNCRO Q7// Silverstone Granada GD05
Audio Device(s) Focusrite Scarlett 4i4 // HDMI to Samsung HW-R650 sound bar
Power Supply Seasonic SYNCRO 750 W // CORSAIR Vengeance 650M
Mouse Cooler Master MM710 53G
Keyboard Logitech 920-009300 G512 SE
Software Windows 10 Pro // Windows 10 Pro
Its a mistake people usually only make once. I doubt it can be fixed. Changing a socket is a manufacture only process. They use to change them for $50 but I don't think they do that any longer.
Picture may help. But if you clamped down on a cpu not in the socket correctly, its bad. If the pins aren't real bad sometimes you can just bend them back.
 

JackAnon

New Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2020
Messages
4 (0.00/day)
Its a mistake people usually only make once. I doubt it can be fixed. Changing a socket is a manufacture only process. They use to change them for $50 but I don't think they do that any longer
i know the mobo's prolly scuffed, but I have to attempt it to satisfy my crackhead curiosity
 
Joined
Jan 25, 2006
Messages
1,470 (0.21/day)
Processor Ryzen 1600AF @4.2Ghz 1.35v
Motherboard MSI B450M PRO-A-MAX
Cooling Deepcool Gammaxx L120t
Memory 16GB Team Group Dark Pro Sammy-B-die 3400mhz 14.15.14.30-1.4v
Video Card(s) XFX RX 5600 XT THICC II PRO
Storage 240GB Brave eagle SSD/ 2TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s) Dell SE2719HR
Case MSI Mag Vampiric 011C AMD Ryzen Edition
Power Supply EVGA 600W 80+
Software Windows 10 Pro
very expensive mistake, your CPU is shot and likely your motherboard may be if you cant fix the situation, maybe try a needle with the tiniest amount of super glue on the tip, fix it to the pin for 30 seconds and see if you can pull them out
 

sneekypeet

not-so supermod
Staff member
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
29,540 (4.36/day)
System Name EVA-01
Processor Intel i7 13700K
Motherboard Asus ROG Maximus Z690 HERO EVA Edition
Cooling ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 with Noctua Industrial Fans
Memory PAtriot Viper Elite RGB 96GB @ 6000MHz.
Video Card(s) Asus ROG Strix GeForce RTX 3090 24GB OC EVA Edition
Storage Addlink S95 M.2 PCIe GEN 4x4 2TB
Display(s) Asus ROG SWIFT OLED PG42UQ
Case Thermaltake Core P3 TG
Audio Device(s) Realtek on board > Sony Receiver > Cerwin Vegas
Power Supply be quiet DARK POWER PRO 12 1500W
Mouse ROG STRIX Impact Electro Punk
Keyboard ROG STRIX Scope TKL Electro Punk
Software Windows 11
very expensive mistake, your CPU is shot and likely your motherboard may be if you cant fix the situation, maybe try a needle with the tiniest amount of super glue on the tip, fix it to the pin for 30 seconds and see if you can pull them out

I had thought similar, but using a toothpick to the same end.
I mean if the motherboard is a goner otherwise, why not try just about everything?

Missing pins can be fixed with bits of wire, @Mussels has a thread on this topic fixing his Ryzen chip, although it was only one pin. Same thing applies though.
 
Joined
Oct 22, 2014
Messages
14,056 (3.84/day)
Location
Sunshine Coast
System Name Lenovo ThinkCentre
Processor AMD 5650GE
Motherboard Lenovo
Memory 32 GB DDR4
Display(s) AOC 24" Freesync 1m.s. 75Hz
Mouse Lenovo
Keyboard Lenovo
Software W11 Pro 64 bit
Looks like y'all got it covered in here.
I don't think trying anything with super glue is a good idea, I have mental images of tooth picks and needles stuck in the holes now too. :laugh:
A very fine needle to probe at the dislodged pin and give the board a decent whack upside down after might do it.
 
Joined
Nov 21, 2010
Messages
2,350 (0.46/day)
Location
Right where I want to be
System Name Miami
Processor Ryzen 3800X
Motherboard Asus Crosshair VII Formula
Cooling Ek Velocity/ 2x 280mm Radiators/ Alphacool fullcover
Memory F4-3600C16Q-32GTZNC
Video Card(s) XFX 6900 XT Speedster 0
Storage 1TB WD M.2 SSD/ 2TB WD SN750/ 4TB WD Black HDD
Display(s) DELL AW3420DW / HP ZR24w
Case Lian Li O11 Dynamic XL
Audio Device(s) EVGA Nu Audio
Power Supply Seasonic Prime Gold 1000W+750W
Mouse Corsair Scimitar/Glorious Model O-
Keyboard Corsair K95 Platinum
Software Windows 10 Pro
Do this with the mb upside down if you aren't comfortable doing this

go to home depot, buy thin steel or copper hanging wire and epoxy.
cut the wire into lengths that can be easily gripped
dip one end of the wire to the pin(use as little as possible to avoid dripping, and as much as possible for a good bond. ), let the epoxy cure.
when cured pull the pins out. repeat as necessary.

Had to do this for a friend who was somehow ripped a CPU out when taking a heatsink off.
 
Joined
Dec 29, 2010
Messages
3,788 (0.75/day)
Processor AMD 5900x
Motherboard Asus x570 Strix-E
Cooling Hardware Labs
Memory G.Skill 4000c17 2x16gb
Video Card(s) RTX 3090
Storage Sabrent
Display(s) Samsung G9
Case Phanteks 719
Audio Device(s) Fiio K5 Pro
Power Supply EVGA 1000 P2
Mouse Logitech G600
Keyboard Corsair K95
Tooth picks and cyanoacrylate glue, aka super glue gel kind. Add a dab to end of pick, wait till it tacks up and insert and hold till it bonds. I would do some tests to get a feel for it and curing/bond times etc. Most glues will bond in seconds. Try not to get any glue into the holes. Have some acetone at the ready as it breaks down cyanoacrylate glue. Pray you don't have to resort to acetone.
 
Joined
Mar 23, 2016
Messages
4,840 (1.54/day)
Processor Core i7-13700
Motherboard MSI Z790 Gaming Plus WiFi
Cooling Cooler Master RGB something
Memory Corsair DDR5-6000 small OC to 6200
Video Card(s) XFX Speedster SWFT309 AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT CORE Gaming
Storage 970 EVO NVMe M.2 500GB,,WD850N 2TB
Display(s) Samsung 28” 4K monitor
Case Phantek Eclipse P400S
Audio Device(s) EVGA NU Audio
Power Supply EVGA 850 BQ
Mouse Logitech G502 Hero
Keyboard Logitech G G413 Silver
Software Windows 11 Professional v23H2
Any chance for a photo of the socket?
 
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Messages
9,899 (1.86/day)
Location
Jakarta, Indonesia
System Name micropage7
Processor Intel Xeon X3470
Motherboard Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. P55A-UD3R (Socket 1156)
Cooling Enermax ETS-T40F
Memory Samsung 8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3
Video Card(s) NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800
Storage V-GEN03AS18EU120GB, Seagate 2 x 1TB and Seagate 4TB
Display(s) Samsung 21 inch LCD Wide Screen
Case Icute Super 18
Audio Device(s) Auzentech X-Fi Forte
Power Supply Silverstone 600 Watt
Mouse Logitech G502
Keyboard Sades Excalibur + Taihao keycaps
Software Win 7 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Classified
what about some pics so we can see the position and maybe better solution
 

JackAnon

New Member
Joined
Jun 17, 2020
Messages
4 (0.00/day)
Any chance for a photo of the socket?
what about some pics so we can see the position and maybe better solution
phone's dead, charging

what about some pics so we can see the position and maybe better solution
8 pins, iz ded. stay tuned for episode 2 where i liquid cool a rig with gasoline.
IMG_0695.jpg
[
 
Joined
May 12, 2017
Messages
2,207 (0.81/day)
If we are talking AM4 motherboard with broken pins stuck in the socket, try turning the motherboard upside down with the socket facing the floor, then rock the CPU locking lever back & forth. Hopefully & with a little bit of luck pins may fall to the floor.

I would expect some or all of the pins to fall to the floor. Just keep rocking the lever with the motherboard socket facing the floor at all times.

EDIT: Do not allow the lever to go to the fully closed position, anything from quarter to three quarters from the open position should do it. What you are basically doing is using the socket to rock the pins with gravity helping it to fall to the floor.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Dec 29, 2010
Messages
3,788 (0.75/day)
Processor AMD 5900x
Motherboard Asus x570 Strix-E
Cooling Hardware Labs
Memory G.Skill 4000c17 2x16gb
Video Card(s) RTX 3090
Storage Sabrent
Display(s) Samsung G9
Case Phanteks 719
Audio Device(s) Fiio K5 Pro
Power Supply EVGA 1000 P2
Mouse Logitech G600
Keyboard Corsair K95
You can also try some gum like bazooka well chewed. The crazy glue and toothpicks is probably too hardcore.
 
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
5,533 (1.03/day)
Location
Gougeland (NZ)
System Name Cumquat 2021
Processor AMD RyZen R7 7800X3D
Motherboard Asus Strix X670E - E Gaming WIFI
Cooling Deep Cool LT720 + CM MasterGel Pro TP + Lian Li Uni Fan V2
Memory 32GB GSkill Trident Z5 Neo 6000
Video Card(s) Sapphire Nitro+ OC RX6800 16GB DDR6 2270Cclk / 2010Mclk
Storage 1x Adata SX8200PRO NVMe 1TB gen3 x4 1X Samsung 980 Pro NVMe Gen 4 x4 1TB, 12TB of HDD Storage
Display(s) AOC 24G2 IPS 144Hz FreeSync Premium 1920x1080p
Case Lian Li O11D XL ROG edition
Audio Device(s) RX6800 via HDMI + Pioneer VSX-531 amp Technics 100W 5.1 Speaker set
Power Supply EVGA 1000W G5 Gold
Mouse Logitech G502 Proteus Core Wired
Keyboard Logitech G915 Wireless
Software Windows 11 X64 PRO (build 23H2)
Benchmark Scores it sucks even more less now ;)
yeah that socket is screwed there ain't no coming back from that
 
Joined
May 12, 2017
Messages
2,207 (0.81/day)
Top half of the socket can be removed, but it's something I have not mastered yet. Need to study more to understand it.
If the pin is lying flat in the socket, then you are done for. This is why you must not close the lever like in the photo. There is a risk the pin will get dragged, pulled under if short enough.
 
Top