Hi everyone,
I've gone and messed up. My Dell inspiron 7570 laptop has been running hot and my internet research suggested I change the thermal paste to help with the issue. There are some great videos on how to do this online and the process seemed easy enough so I gave it ago. Now the laptop won't start at all. No lights turn on, no fans spin, nothing.
I followed this video
https://youtu.be/bqO-D1byJ9o
Removing the case and heatsink was easy. I used isopropyl alcohol and cotton buds to remove the old paste, let it dry and attached a small dot of paste before repeating the heat sink and tightening everything up again. Now the laptop won't start.
I didn't unplug any cables or disconnect anything other than the shell/case and the heatsink. I can't see anything obviously disconnected, I cant see any obvious damage, I did not get any paste where it shouldn't be.
What could I have done wrong? Have I cooked something in the computers circuitry?
I haven't plugged the pc into the wall yet as I'm worried I may damage something.
Any tips or advice?
I seem to be back online.
The fix: post to ozbargain
Seriously though - I reseated the heatsink one more time then it turned on and displayed the Dell screen for a while and then windows asked me to input a bitlocker recovery code.
The heatsink is getting hot so I guess that means it's… sinking heat
Not sure what I did differently the last time but perhaps removing and reseating better distributed the paste? or maybe there was a bit of residual alcohol/old paste causing issues somewhere that evaporate/dislodged on it's own accord?
Not really sure, but crisis averted for now…