Laptop fan/heat sink R+R

Hi guys. My daughters compaq (model cq62-215dx) has had a cooling fan failure. This is the first laptop I have opened and it was fun. A little tricky finding all the hidden screws. It is also the first time I will be removing the heat sink from a cpu. It's a combo heat sink fan unit. I ordered the new one today so I have a few days to worry about this. My question is what's it take to remove the old heat sink and then apply the new thermal paste for the reassembly. Is the old paste like a glue? Do I have to be careful about separating the heat sink from the cpu? Is there a solvent or something I should use to clean the cpu surface? Is there a little trick you know that makes this easier? Thanks for your help.

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Is the old paste like a glue?

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No, but it might be pretty tight.

It's the same as other heatsinks. I usually just try to wipe off as much excess as possible.

Thanks.

This was the first laptop I have worked on. I was surprised by all the screws holding things together, ( I have a few left over) and I liked those zero force connectors. Things aren't so different, just a bit smaller. I installed the fan and the heat sink no problem there. The computer is still locking up so I now suspect a software issue. I'll be starting a new thread as I need help with this one also.

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( I have a few left over)

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You shouldn't have any left over. That's why you need to mark/label where each screw came from. Some screws might have the same thread, but different lengths as well.