Thermal paste acting as glue?!

[mountopher]

Tried to remove the cooler and the CPU didn’t want to be left behind. I saw posts on other forums about using floss to saw through the compound, and I’ve now got about 10 broken pieces and zero progress to show. 
 

help?

[boggy77]

put it back in. run a benchmark to heat the paste up. try to twist the cooler and slide it laterally instead of pulling upwards.

[minibois]

1 minute ago, mountopher said:

Tried to remove the cooler and the CPU didn’t want to be left behind. I saw posts on other forums about using floss to saw through the compound, and I’ve now got about 10 broken pieces and zero progress to show. 

help?

Do you have a rougher/stronger thread material? e.g. wool?

Otherwise I would try a card (creditcard like material) inbetween the CPU and cooler. Make sure to hold the CPU and just use the card to push inbetween the cooler and CPU; don't pry up.

[mountopher]

Just now, boggy77 said:

put it back in. run a benchmark to heat the paste up. try to twist the cooler and slide it laterally instead of pulling upwards.

I don’t know how I would get it lined back up and get the retention arm back down... could a hair drier work?

[the erector.]

how old is the paste? may be able to use a knife on the top of the cpu to very carefully remove is little at a time

[mountopher]

1 minute ago, minibois said:

Do you have a rougher/stronger thread material? e.g. wool?

Otherwise I would try a card (creditcard like material) inbetween the CPU and cooler. Make sure to hold the CPU and just use the card to push inbetween the cooler and CPU; don't pry up.

Will try, thanks. 

[Ben17]

 

Just now, mountopher said:

I don’t know how I would get it lined back up and get the retention arm back down... could a hair drier work?

It could work 

I can't remeber how got the cpu of my cooler when it happened to me I think I wound just pulling it off, then accidentally dropping it lol.....I had to unbend 5 pins then 

[mountopher]

Just now, the erector. said:

how old is the paste? may be able to use a knife on the top of the cpu to very carefully remove is little at a time

2 years. First upgrade of my build, it’s a Ryzen 1600 stock paste. 

[the erector.]

just try to nudge a butter knife in DO NOT force it in but try your best to push through

[mountopher]

Thanks for all the help! Heat and then trying all sorts of prying tools I put a flathead between a solid part of the heat sink and corner or the CPU, applied basically no pressure and it slid off. My finger hurt due to the heat from the fins, but all well. 

[SpookyCitrus]

Whenever removing a Ryzen CPU you want to break the thermal paste first before removing the cooler, by doing as @boggy77 said just before pulling the CPU out, I wouldn't recommend trying to put it back into the socket with the cooler attached as that would most likely cause bent or broken pins. After undoing the coolers retention usually twisting it in a clockwise or counter clockwise direction will break up the paste before you try to remove it from the chassis, AMD processors are known to have this issue when removing the cooler with dry paste. As for getting it off the cooler now that it is out of the system I would recommend using fishing line.

[SpookyCitrus]

Just now, mountopher said:

Thanks for all the help! Heat and then trying all sorts of prying tools I put a flathead between a solid part of the heat sink and corner or the CPU, applied basically no pressure and it slid off. My finger hurt due to the heat from the fins, but all well. 

You used a heat gun on the CPU?

[mountopher]

On 5/6/2020 at 11:40 AM, SpookyCitrus said:

You used a heat gun on the CPU?

Hair dryer. Made for hot fins on the heat sink.