Laptop wont power up

[Big Nav]

So I thought I would practice my thermal paste application on my laptop before my 1st computer build, and the laptop was over 3 years old and I read the paste dries out over time. Did not know there would be a hard chunk at the tip of a new tube, (kind of like how cheese in a can gets) while whipping it off it got on the motherboard an smeared. I had to take rubbing alchohol and a tooth brush to get it off after a soaked towel would not get it. I have have went over board with amount of rubbing  alcohol I used. And now it will power up for about 4 sec and shut off. It it a lost cause?

[Malymole]

You've probably short-circuited the motherboard. If it wont start up after a day, then you've fried something

[shootdog]

are you sure all you cable and ram is already plugged back? cause i think alcohol doesnt break motherboard that easy. is the fan turned on? 

[bmx6454]

how long did you let it dry before powering up? either way, i would pull it all back apart, and use keyboard cleaner, in bursts, to dry out everything, and let it sit a day, and reassemble and test.

[Big Nav]

I powered it up right after I had re-applied the thermal paste for the second time after cleaning the motherboard, I read that the alcohol dries quick enough it wouldn't be a problem. granted I had to use 70% and not 90% because it could not find the 90% due to people buying it up the second it hits the shelves to make their own hand sanitizer, or so the lady at the store told me. I propped up a box fan over the top of it to dry it out, because @bmx6454 I had bought it used from a pawn shop and it has some stripped screws on the motherboard and I can not completely take it apart.

[bmx6454]

48 minutes ago, Big Nav said:

I powered it up right after I had re-applied the thermal paste for the second time after cleaning the motherboard, I read that the alcohol dries quick enough it wouldn't be a problem. granted I had to use 70% and not 90% because it could not find the 90% due to people buying it up the second it hits the shelves to make their own hand sanitizer, or so the lady at the store told me. I propped up a box fan over the top of it to dry it out, because @bmx6454 I had bought it used from a pawn shop and it has some stripped screws on the motherboard and I can not completely take it apart.

alcohol can take alot longer to dry when it gets under chips.

[Big Nav]

success. Letting it dry out for a day worked just fine. I am actually using my laptop to make the update