Replacing the Thermal Paste on my 2008 MacBook

I use my 2008 MacBook for everything. I use it for my school work, my coding, and personal activities. I depend on it so much. One day, it got so hot and refused to turn on. I’ve had the thing for well over 7 years and it’s gone through a lot. The backlight and power inverter was replaced years prior after the brightness controller didn’t work. So was the battery after it expanded from overcharging.

This time, the computer would immediately shut off after 3 seconds of starting up. The heat it generated convinced me that it was the built-in shutoff mechanism Apple uses to prevent the device from overheating. Not to mention, the screen started acting strange. I was determined to take apart my computer and check up on the thermal paste.

Sure enough, I disassembled the laptop and there was what remained on the CPU and GPU. The thermal paste was so dry it cracked and made poor contact with the chips.

Cleaning off the residue was so easy considering it was purely in a powder state. I even took the liberty to clean out the heat sinks, fan, and vents. The accumulation of dust and lint sure made the clean worthwhile.

I put the new thermal paste in and reassembled the unit. Everything worked smoothly right after.