Alex, absolutely no reason to do this "I then tried to plug it in without the fan to let the paste cook." all it does, it puts on more thermal stresses on your processors. I am not sure what modifications were made to remove the x-clamps. You might want to post an images with your question. Also, it will help if you tell us which three quadrant lights are blinking. Remember that any processor only takes seconds to overheat and trip any thermal protection. At this point I recommend that you use [product|IF205-024|this kit.] Follow [guide|3550|this guide] to install it, also consider a reflow of your IC's. Hope this helps, good luck.
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Alex, absolutely no reason to do this "I then tried to plug it in without the fan to let the paste cook." all it does, it puts on more thermal stresses on your processors. You want the thermal paste to remain soft and a paste, not dried out. This will absolutely defeat the purpose of it. I am not sure what modifications were made to remove the x-clamps. You might want to post an images with your question. Also, it will help if you tell us which three quadrant lights are blinking. Remember that any processor only takes seconds to overheat and trip any thermal protection. At this point I recommend that you use [product|IF205-024|this kit.] Follow [guide|3550|this guide] to install it, also consider a reflow of your IC's. Hope this helps, good luck.
Alex, absolutely no reason to do this "I then tried to plug it in without the fan to let the paste cook." all it does, it puts on more thermal stresses on your processors. I am not sure what modifications were made to remove the x-clamps. You might want to post an images with your question. Also, it will help if you tell us which three quadrant lights are blinking. Remember that any processor only takes seconds to overheat and trip any thermal protection. At this point I recommend that you use [product|IF205-024|this kit.] Follow [guide|3550|this guide] to install it, also consider a reflow of your IC's. Hope this helps, good luck.