Blue Screen of Death crash. Minidump analysis?

Hi there.

Yesterday, I decided it was finally time to clean out the Intel cooler... I went ahead and pulled the motherboard out to get a better angle, but in the process, I ended up tearing a small section off one of the mounting legs on the cooler. It seems to stay attached to the processor just fine now, and everything looks physically okay. However, whenever I boot the PC, I’m greeted by a macOS error stating: "macOS has recovered from an unexpected shutdown," and the shutdown description provided is as follows:

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: Super Bowl
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.256.1
Locale ID: 4122

Additional information about the problem:
BCCode: f4
BCP1: 0000000000000003
BCP2: FFFFFA8003B5A060
BCP3: FFFFFA8003B5A340
BCP4: FFFFF80002F82460
OS Version: 6_1_7601
Service Pack: 1_0
Product: 256_1

Files that help describe the problem:
C:\Windows\Minidump\012914-17097-01.dmp
C:\Users\Pekara\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-63960-0.sysdata.xml

I'm honestly at a loss as to what the issue might be—I have no idea what a minidump file actually signifies. I've attempted to search online, but most discussions seem to revolve around GPU fans or transistor leakage. If anyone could offer some guidance, I would truly appreciate it...

One more thing I should probably mention... there is this constant buzzing sound coming from a small resistor near where the shutdown and restart cables connect. I haven't the slightest clue what that could be. Any helpful insight would be greatly appreciated.

What exactly did you rip on the Intel? Is it actually seated tight like it was before? You should probably hop into the BIOS to check those temps—let me know what kind of processor you're running, too. Also, does that Blue Screen of Death pop up after every single boot?

If you bent any of the fins on that Intel heatsink, it isn't going to cool your processor properly—since it won't seat correctly, your temperatures are just going to spike until the whole system shuts itself down. You’re probably looking at buying a new Intel unit...

I honestly have no clue what you mean regarding that resistor, so maybe just ask God what else you managed to break 🙂 Anyway, if you can't get anything done on the PC because it throws a Blue Screen of Death the second you boot it up? Then it's almost certainly a thermal issue. Also, take a quick look at the capacitors on your motherboard—are they bulging or leaking? p.s. When you were cleaning the processor, did you actually scrape off the old thermal paste from the heatsink before applying a fresh layer?

Yeah, it’s got to be an issue with the Intel cooler then... I'm running an i3 dual-core at 2.13 GHz.

Does anyone happen to know roughly what a new cooler goes for these days? Also, is it even possible to just replace the mounting clip?

Thanks for the help.

Unfortunately, you can't just pick up an OEM Intel cooler on its own—they really only bundle those with the processor itself.

But hey, you could grab a decent one for maybe twenty or thirty bucks, like this one:

Or maybe this one: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/cooler-master-product-link/050.903.193