Spilled Thermal Paste

[Jan1234]

My laptop had a history of shutting down when running programs such as games. After some researching, I figured out that it may be due to overheating. I decided to clean out the fan and apply new thermal paste to allow the system to be cool again (because the laptop was several years old without anyone doing it). When applying the thermal paste, some went a little to the sides and went on the little gold things around the area where you need to apply the paste (it didn't spill underneath on the pins). I cleaned it off and when putting the computer back together it has a black screen on start up. I made sure that everything was plugged in properly. I could hear the fan and see the lights of the laptop turn on, its just a black screen.

Is there anyway to fix this?
The little gold things are now silver, if I manage to clean them back to gold, could it fix the problem? is there anyway to do so?

 

[damric]

You decide when it's clean enough. I can't really see from your photo.

Up to you if you want to get new grease or not. I typically won't use the metal particle greases directly on processor dies like this because the leads are exposed. They make totally non conductive stuff and it's cheap like $5. But I know you just want to see if it works now, so if you want to you can apply what you already have. This time just use a tiny drop in the center of the chip, and carefully spread it with a credit card so it's just a very thin layer over the chip without the possibility that it will overflow onto the leads again when pressure is applied.

If you are confident that you put everything back together and plugged in the right way, give it a shot.

 

[Jan1234]

Before I apply the paste I am going to make sure I thoroughly cleaned it all. I am going to try and get a better camera so I could take pictures you could actually see. Thank you for still sticking around and replying.

 

[damric]

I like problems like this because it's already broken, and I really can't mess it up any worse 😀

But to be honest, I hate working on laptops and tablets. Unfortunately that's the majority of computer repair shop work.

 

[neon neophyte]

dont use so much paste this time. that was WAY too much. you frosted it like a cake. you are supposed to use as little as possible

and the pea drop/rice grain method works best.

 

[damric]

dont use so much paste this time. that was WAY too much. you frosted it like a cake. you are supposed to use as little as possible

and the pea drop/rice grain method works best.

Even less than that because it's directly on the die with very little room to go when pressure is applied.

 

[Jan1234]

How hard is it to remove the old thermal pad off the copper? It is super tough

 

[damric]

How hard is it to remove the old thermal pad off the copper? It is super tough

It's tough. I use razorblade, and sandpaper as a last resort.

 

[Jan1234]

what happens if I scratch the copper a little?

 

[damric]

what happens if I scratch the copper a little?

Not a big deal. you can sand it down, but thermal grease will fill up the scratches anyway, that's its job.

 

[neon neophyte]

should be specified that if you are going to sand it you should use a fine grain sand paper

 

[damric]

Yeah and don't sand it so much that you burst the heat pipe!

 

[Jan1234]

I've managed to remove most of the thermal pad, I am going to put it together and see if it runs. I can barely see it now... but if i leave it... would it cause the black screen?

 

[damric]

If it's blocking the thermal transfer, it would be a problem.

 

[Jan1234]

Any tips in removing the left overs other than sand paper and q tips?

 

[damric]

Any tips in removing the left overs other than sand paper and q tips?

Yeah don't use your teeth. Razorblade is what I use on thermal pads.They are annoying to remove especially old ones that have baked on over the years.

 

[Jan1234]

Yeah this laptop is a couple if years old (I believe 5+), so its going to be a tough one.

 

[Jan1234]

Even though I could see some gray, when I rub it with a q tip nothing comes.. Does this mean that it is ready?

 

[Jan1234]

And should i blow it with the air duster to ensure that all the particles are off and that it is dry?

 

[damric]

Go for it.

 

[Jan1234]

http://puu.sh/9b33s/c70bd1fab8.jpg
http://puu.sh/9b388/e2c6fbf195.jpg
I just kind of wanted to show you how it looked like before I started, I hope the quality is a little better

 

[damric]

Oh that's clean enough.

 

[Jan1234]

Okay time to apply the paste, fingers crossed that this works

 

[Jan1234]

Darn it... still a black screen. I have done everything correctly this time as well. I see all the lights and the fan turning, there was also a beep on the start up... I guess I shorted my motherboard or something

Is there anything else I could do before I call it quits?

 

[damric]

Yeah there's lots of troubleshooting you can do. It beeped, which is a really good sign. What did the beep sound like?

This could be something as simple as the monitor ribbon coming loose.

 

[Jan1234]

It was like a loud beep, then a small beep right after