Question Dell laptop locking up ?

[Philipjustanewbie]

Dell Latitude 7480 15-6300u 16gig ram, 256gb Toshiba nvme SSD.

I bought this from a tech "recycler" on eBay, sold as working, os installed, about a year ago.
Starting to lock up more and more, Ubuntu, Pop!_os, Zorin, all act the same way. It runs for a random amount of time, then locks up. No trackpad, touchscreen, function keys, keyboard backlight stays frozen on, the only thing that works is to hold the power key and restart.
Took it apart to find this:

20230910_164649.jpg

drive.google.com

I'm new, if that image doesn't open, there are bubbles, and the paste is spilling off the edges onto the main board, bridging both chips and showing signs of scorching.

What's your opinion, Is this my culprit and did I mess up my hardware past the point of no return?

 

[JeffreyP55]

Sounds like the CPU fan died. Does it spin. You are killing it by repeatedly powering the unit up.
Clean out all the dust bunnies and make sure the CPU fan is spinning.

 

[Philipjustanewbie]

Good thought! I will check that. I held my ear up to it once but I wasn't certain I heard it.

 

[JeffreyP55]

Good thought! I will check that. I held my ear up to it once but I wasn't certain I heard it.

Hearing isn't good enough even if you could. Open the unit. It needs a full cleaning. I having been using the exhaust side of a shopVac for at least 20 years and have never had a failure. Only a clean machine. Most people use a whipy portable vacuum cleaner. Bah!

 

[Philipjustanewbie]

Ok, I ordered a new fan and heatsink. I will replace the paste, of course... How much should I apply? Is it ok to bridge the two chips with squeeze out, etc? I am having trouble finding a good guide online. Most skim over this point.

 

[JeffreyP55]

Ok, I ordered a new fan and heatsink. I will replace the paste, of course... How much should I apply? Is it ok to bridge the two chips with squeeze out, etc? I am having trouble finding a good guide online. Most skim over this point.

Drop a little turd of thermal paste in the middle of the CPU. It will spread out to make a very thin layer that will do the trick. more is not needed and makes a mess.