Remove old paste

Forums › Desktop computing › Remove old paste

xpd

Geek of Coastguard
14115 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4574

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#318275 2-Jan-2025 13:07

Not a desktop but close enough.....

Trying to "repair" an Xbox One S I got for free, it runs but occasionally locks up, so figured its prob overheating. While stripping the thing down, found the warranty sticker is gone, so indication someone has been inside before.

Get the heatsink off and find a mess of a paste job. So potentially whats causing the issue.

Question is, whats safest way for me to remove the past from where its overrun onto the board.... I have Isopropyl Alcohol (99%) - Guess I give the paste a spray of that ?

XPD / Gavin

LinkTree

K8Toledo

1018 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 311

#3327020 2-Jan-2025 14:59

Yeah Isopropyl Alcohol should work, I find a soft cloth works too unless the paste has hardened. I've been known to use spray & wipe lol.

Someone clearly missed the mark when they applied the paste.

SpartanVXL

1498 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 666

#3327052 2-Jan-2025 17:09

Cottonbud or toothpick gently brush/pick off those clumps. Iso will dissolve it but take a while, use it to soften it up first.

Qazzy03

545 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 491

#3327056 2-Jan-2025 17:38

I tend to use a cotton bud with Isopropyl Alcohol.
If the paste is like putty but movable, I use tweezers to get those bits (only if moveable).
When finished I use the corner of kitchen roll to gently get most of the remainder Isopropyl Alcohol and then let air for a bit, before doing a reapply.

mattwnz

20515 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4795

#3327059 2-Jan-2025 17:53

Looks like they installed way too much thermal paste so it squirted out the side. Or they applied it around the chip instead of on it. But I always use IPA like others to clean it off chips.

xpd

Geek of Coastguard
14115 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4574

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3327137 2-Jan-2025 21:13

Right, got a lot of it off, fun part is testing to see if 1) I didn't kill anything 2) If its alive, did it fix the issue. :)

XPD / Gavin

LinkTree

K8Toledo

1018 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 311

#3327141 2-Jan-2025 21:33

xpd:

Right, got a lot of it off, fun part is testing to see if 1) I didn't kill anything 2) If its alive, did it fix the issue. :)

Just a thought, you said it locks up? I would remove all the paste from around the GPU, just in case, reason being if the paste is conductive it may attribute to the GPU freezing up.

Geekzone support

Support Geekzone with one-off or recurring donations Donate via PressPatron.

xpd

Geek of Coastguard
14115 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4574

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3327178 3-Jan-2025 06:45

Yeah hence why I cleaned up much as I could this round... will see how it goes, and if still plays up will give it another go to remove more.

XPD / Gavin

LinkTree