When I inserted the new CPU, the computer wouldn't POST. Thinking the new CPU was bunk, I put the original CPU back in... still no POST. I got worried, thinking maybe I killed both processors or the motherboard with static electricity. Then I remembered snagging the paper towel on the socket pins.
Using a flashlight, I examined the socket---it looked like something was wrong with one of the pins, but it was hard to tell exactly what. At least on this motherboard (Intel D975XBX2KR "Bad Axe 2"), the pins don't just stick straight up (e.g. like the pins on AMD processors). Instead, they come out of the motherboard at a slight angle, almost parallel to the motherboard, then have a bend in them where they narrow and "go vertical". Basically, what this amounts to is an arrangement that's hard to see what's going on, with metal effectively going in several directions.
After studying it long enough, I realized one of the pins was bent, almost touching another pin! I had to take a tiny flathead screwdriver and bend the pin back to where it was supposed to be. It was like delicate surgery!
Anyway... just want to warn others not to get sloppy with their CPU installing like I did. Wasn't there a thread not too long ago about bone-headed things you've done when working with PCs? Add this one to the list.
Fortunately, I was able to fix it and everything is now working fine.
