I know this topic has been beaten like a dead horse - use isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs, toothpicks, the works. Only problem is, all this has done is pushed the thermal paste flat against the chip... Like, I tried to get it out of the pins, but wound up just pushing it down. This is dried thermal paste too, mind you, from when I was cleaning old thermal paste off my cpu. Any tips on getting it off? I've tried letting some alcohol drip down onto it and then flossing it out with unflavored floss and then using a toothpick to pick it out but it wasn't exactly effective. I was thinking of getting a small bowl, setting the cpu in it, and filling it with alcohol until it touches the paste - no further than that, and then letting it soak for a while, and then trying to take it off. thoughts?