Got an S9 Miner with a Missing Heatsink, Still Working?

Hey there, Just grabbed an S9 miner off Ebay and opened it up for a check. A bunch of screws were loose, and while cleaning, I noticed that Board 8 is missing a heatsink. Interestingly, it’s still hashing fine. How is that possible? I thought if one chip dies, it would affect the others too. Let me know if you want pics.

Can you post pics of all three boards, front and back? I wanna see what that missing heatsink looks like. I fixed your photo link too.

I think you’re a bit mixed up. Heatsinks are just for cooling, and the miner can run without one... at least for a while! A missing chip is what really causes issues. Based on your photo, it looks like all 63 chips are intact. Plus, there are usually heatsinks missing by design on the back.

True, but remember that temp readings only show a few spots on the board. One chip could be overheating without any signs. Running without a heatsink can lead to quick failure, and that could mess up the whole board.

Yeah, those heatsinks form a V shape to guide airflow. That’s why I wanna see your board pics. If the missing heatsink is in the V area, you might be okay. But if it’s on the other side, you could end up damaging the board.

No worries, fixing this isn’t too hard. If you have a loose heatsink, just reattach it with thermal adhesive. For a missing one, you could make a DIY heatsink from something like an aluminum can. If you need to buy one, maybe grab one from an old PC and trim it.

Here’s a pic of the board. It’s at position 8, far from the PCIe connection. Still running fine without a heatsink. I can add one since I have a spare. What do you mean by the V direction of airflow?

Also, I tried attaching a pic, but only the link shows up. I’ve tried HTML embed, BBCode, even the image icon here. What gives?

Hey everyone, I recently got an S9 SE 16T used without any warranty. Initially worked fine, but after moving it, now one hashboard isn’t working and is showing a different frequency. I’ll attach the kernel log, any help? Booting Linux on physical CPU 0x0...

Dude, you gotta clean up that kernel log. Put it in a code tag to make it readable. Also, here are some basic steps: - Factory reset by holding the IP report button for 15 seconds. - Update the firmware to the latest. - If that fails, try using the SD card for flashing.

Yeah, I spotted a component that’s detached from my hashboard too. I have another unit where the board looks fine, but it just stopped working entirely. My hashboard was doing 15+ Th/s, then bam, dead.

Did you try following my suggestions? Seems like your hashboard might be overheating. Increase the fan speed to max and see if that helps.

I tried everything you suggested, except for the SD card flash since I can’t find the service package. I did use some custom firmware and then reverted to the original, but no luck. The logs showed it was heating up before it died.

Next time, make sure to dig a little deeper for the SD card firmware. I’ll send you a direct link to download the correct firmware.

Thanks for the tips, but that didn’t work either. Looks like repairing the hashboard is my only option.

If nothing works, just swap out the hashboard instead of trying to repair it. But if you want to take the time to fix it, there’s a guide from zeusBTC on troubleshooting.

Thanks for the help guys! Quick question: can I use an S9 hashboard on my S9 SE 16T?

I doubt it. They’re not compatible. Have you checked the physical differences? They might work with modified firmware, but fitting them in the S9 SE housing could be an issue. You can grab parts from the S9 hashboard though, like the ASIC chips, they’re compatible.