No thermal paste in heatsink

So I sent my laptop into HP awhile ago to fix the overheating issue. But I was informed that technician failed to put thermal paste on the heat-sink which is pretty much the most critical thing ever... I found all this out after the heating issues persisted. Now HP won't repair it because my warranty ran out and it's now "unsuitable" for another warranty.

I've read through the HP Envy servicing guide and my question is this: Is it practical for me to take apart my laptop to put the paste in manually? And if so where do I physically put the paste on the diagram shown on page 65 (73 in the pdf) of the manual?

Any suggestions on what I should do would be awesome!

Also not entirely sure if this is the right forum to post in.

System Specs!

--------[ EVEREST Home Edition (c) 2003-2005 Lavalys, Inc. ]------------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v2.20.405
Homepage Computer Diagnostics & Network Audits Software | Lavalys.com
Report Type Report Wizard
Computer PC
Generator
Operating System Windows 7 Ultimate Media Center Edition 6.1.7601
Date 2012-01-20
Time 17:07


--------[ Summary ]-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Computer:
Operating System Windows 7 Ultimate Media Center Edition
OS Service Pack -
DirectX 4.09.00.0904 (DirectX 9.0c)
Computer Name JASONPALCHAK-PC
User Name Jason Palchak

Motherboard:
CPU Type Mobile , 1733 MHz
Motherboard Name Unknown
Motherboard Chipset Unknown
System Memory 8128 MB
BIOS Type Unknown

Display:
Video Adapter ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850
Video Adapter ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850
Video Adapter ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5850
Monitor Generic PnP Monitor [NoDB] (LEW0C0044002)
Monitor Generic PnP Monitor [NoDB]

Multimedia:
Audio Adapter High Definition Audio Controller [NoDB]
Audio Adapter High Definition Audio Controller [NoDB]

Storage:
IDE Controller Intel(R) 5 Series 4 Port SATA AHCI Controller
Disk Drive ST9500420AS (465 GB, IDE)
Disk Drive ST9500420AS (465 GB, IDE)
Disk Drive SanDisk SanDisk Cruzer USB Device (3 GB, USB)
Disk Drive HP Photosmart C4700 USB Device
Disk Drive Seagate FreeAgent USB Device (931 GB, USB)
Disk Drive WD Ext HDD 1021 USB Device (1863 GB, USB)
Disk Drive WD Ext HDD 1021 USB Device (1863 GB, USB)
Optical Drive hp CDDVDW TS-T633C
Optical Drive SanDisk SanDisk Cruzer USB Device
SMART Hard Disks Status OK

Partitions:
C: (NTFS) 456856 MB (116667 MB free)
D: (NTFS) 476937 MB (163308 MB free)
E: (NTFS) 19778 MB (2863 MB free)
F: (FAT32) 99 MB (66 MB free)
H: (NTFS) 1907724 MB (1703514 MB free)
J: (NTFS) 953867 MB (10 MB free)
L: (NTFS) 1907725 MB (1902311 MB free)
Total Size 5588.9 GB (3797.6 GB free)

Input:
Keyboard HID Keyboard Device
Keyboard Microsoft USB Digital Media Keyboard (IntelliType Pro)
Keyboard Standard PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse Microsoft USB IntelliMouse Optical (IntelliPoint)
Mouse Synaptics PS/2 Port TouchPad
Mouse Wacom Mouse

Network:
Network Adapter Intel(R) Centrino(R) Advanced-N 6200 AGN (129.21.89.194)
Network Adapter Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter #2
Network Adapter Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter
Network Adapter Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller (129.21.148.127)
Network Adapter VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter (192.168.56.1)

Peripherals:
Printer Adobe PDF
Printer Brother MFC-845CW USB Printer
Printer Fax
Printer HP Deskjet 5400 Series
Printer HP Photosmart C4700 series
Printer HP Photosmart Premium C309g-m
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
Printer Send To OneNote 2010
USB1 Controller Renesas Electronics USB 3.0 Host Controller [NoDB]
USB2 Controller Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3B34 [NoDB]
USB2 Controller Intel(R) 5 Series/3400 Series Chipset Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3B3C [NoDB]
USB Device Generic USB Hub
USB Device Generic USB Hub
USB Device Generic USB Hub
USB Device HP ENVY HD Webcam
USB Device HP Photosmart C4700 series (DOT4USB)
USB Device HP Photosmart C4700
USB Device Microsoft Hardware USB Keyboard
USB Device Microsoft USB IntelliMouse Optical
USB Device USB Composite Device
USB Device USB Composite Device
USB Device USB Composite Device
USB Device USB Input Device
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device
USB Device USB Mass Storage Device
USB Device USB Printing Support
Battery Microsoft AC Adapter
Battery Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery
Battery Microsoft Composite Battery

 

Hi. You might want to edit your post, take out loads of irrelevant stuff, it makes it really really long!

If thats what HP did to your laptop then they are useless! I'd go mad after them, they admitted it and won't fix it for you?! Probably easier to fix it yourself and you know its done right.

If you like your laptop and not wanting a new one then it is worth applying the thermal paste. Its not hard to do, lots of screws! I've replaced motherboards in a laptop of mine. Its easy. Small parts.

Thermal paste on the CPU and GPU. I didn't look at the PDF manual you mentioned at the top of your post. So from my experience from my DV9774 motherboard replacement there was thermal paste on my CPU and a thermal pad on the GPU. My replacement motherboard came with a a copper shim to use on the GPU instead of the pad. This was to reduce GPU temps better. So not sure on you rmodel what is on the GPU (pad or paste only, or a shim already). Can you put a link for your manual, and we can look at that page you mentioned.

 

WOOPS! I didn't realize that I had that much useless info xD
I just did a general copy of the output from everest lol


http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02160120.pdf Page 65 (73 of 116)

 

There are plenty of guides on the web which show you how to apply thermal paste. It is easy to do, but if you do it wrong, you'll get poor results - high temps.

Basic rule, thermal compound spread thin on the heatspreader of the CPU.

 

Basically to reapply thermal paste where it should be is between the CPU (#1 on the lower diagram on page 65) and the heatspeader (#2) that contacts the CPU. The rest all have thermal pads according to your manual. Check online how to apply it, like 2.0 said.

Did HP definately say there's no thermal paste on your CPU? Where did they get that info? Sounds really weird. I ws wondering if they just made some dumb assumption, perhaps something else is wrong...like is your fan spinning and stuff like that? I assume you've checked all that.

 

I'm pretty sure it isn't the fan.

 

Its well worth it then to pull it apart and put the paste on. You can't go on using it at those temps.

 

Also I found this nice tutorial on how to apply the paste but do I really need 99% Isopropyl? All I have is 70% around the house.

 

70 is fine. No worries.

 

UPDATE!



Thank you everyone for your help!

Final parting question: How often should I replace the compound? When I notice excessive heat and CPU slow down?

 

Hey congrats on a job well done.

You won't need to replace the thermal compound for years. You may want to do it again in 3 years if you still own it. But more important is to clean the fan blades and blow out or vacuum out the dust between the radiator grills every 6 months or sooner.