[DarqFlare]

Here's the short of it:

I had a problem with my old motherboard, so I got a replacement. Chaintech Athlon 64 board w/Athlon 64 3400+ processor.

I install everything and the power light comes on but nothing will go. I inspect the system and discover that I smudged thermal grease underneath the processor where the pins are... I use rubbing alcohol to remove all of it, and it's pristine now. Put it back together and it still won't boot...

I should mention that with my old motherboard, it would freeze during POST. This one doesn't even get that far.

 

[GoLoGo]

You might of just fried/short circuited your CPU. If this happend recently... I would let the motherboard sit for a couple of hours/days until all the humidity you cause from thermal grease/alcohol is gone.... you could of damaged circuits... there are so many possibilities.. the only way to know for sure is to run tests... different cpu on motherboard or the other way around...

 

[DarqFlare]

I let the CPU sit from after applying the thermal grease, as well as after I cleaned it.