Tricky: How to remove thermal pad residues from the CPU??

[daywalker]

I have a Duron 1Ghz and unfortunately i am not planning on an upgrade any time soon. Yet, i want to buy a new Globalwin cooler to improve my CPU's temperatures. The problem is that i never applied thermal compound on my cpu, i just used the thermal pad of the heatsink. And now, there are thermal pad residues on the CPU core (and on a few other parts i think) and i dont know how to remove it without damaging my CPU. Got any ideas or suggestions??

Thanks in advance

 

[Smilin]

Rubbing alcohol and/or some gentle scraping.

 

[daywalker]

Originally posted by: Smilin
Rubbing alcohol and/or some gentle scraping.

Oh boy... Scary stuff

 

[455Buick]

Hi Daywalker,

Try this link http://www.protoncomputers.com/cgi-local/shop.pl/page=padremoval.htm www.arcticsilver.com also has some good ideas and procedures. Since the original pad was used, it will be a little harder, but take your time! The surfaces will scratch pretty easily. Don't use any metal type scrappers. I've used plastic credit cards, fingernails, and wooden popsicle sticks to remove the residue. Just be prepared to take your time.

I hope this helped,

 

[cleverhandle]

Rubber cement and the plastic toothpick from my Swiss Army Knife.

edit: followed by Goo Gone at the end, but the rubber cement does pretty well...

 

[glenn1]

A can of Freon TF cleaning solvent will only set you back a few dollars, is completely safe on any/all computer components, and is easy to get (check your local hardware/electronic components/HVAC supplier). One can will last you damn near forever and is the quickest, easiest way to remove those "bubblegum" thermal pads from heatsinks that i've ever seen, or any other sort of foreign matter from any of your computer components for that matter. Miller-Stevenson is a good brand to look for.

 

[Salvador]

I just did it. I soaked the thermal pad in goo gone and then scraped it with an old credit card. When I got most of the gooky stuff off, I followed it up with more goo gone on a rag and got the rest of it off. I then cleaned it with rubbing alcohol and I'm now good to go. Very simple and fast.

If you don't have any goo gone, I'd recommend getting some. I use it so much on so many things. I don't know what I'd do without it now.

Edit. I thought you were asking how to get the thermal pad crap off of the heat sink. Anyway.. I used the goo gone on the cpu as well. I did the same thing with the cpu. Put some goo gone on the core, scraped it carefully with the old credit card and then followed it up with more goo gone on a rag to get it totally clean. I used a wood tooth pick around the outside of the core to get the thermal pad that was trapped along the sides. After I got all the thermal pad off, I followed it up with rubbing alcohol to clean everything. The cpu is now spotless just like I had never used anything on it.

Sal

 

[optimistic]

Plain ol kitchen dish soap. Just be sure to let air try for a long time before use.

 

[Mday]

kitchen soap will leave a residue... otherwise, the other recommendations work. use a wooden or plastic toothpick to remove any solidified gunk, or a soft bristled brush (toothbrush)... then the solvents such as acetone, goo gone, or rubber cement (the rubber cement is in a solvent which keeps it liquid).

 

[Ness]

nail polish remover.

It will take 5 times less time than rubbing alcohol, and dries residue free, just like it.