Logically, no one should do this, it he/she is not comfortable with this type of servicing. Always disconnect the battery first. You are not alone with this. Did that my self. Killed a motherboard. And yes, this thing is too expensive to do this. Especially when voiding warranty with this step. Nirexis is under time pressure, so I can understand him, but anyone else should use the warranty process. There could have been another problem, not connected to the LM and ASUS could just deny any warranty after this step. The only difference between LM and a normal paste is the application process. It is not hard to do. But a little bit different. It is not watery, it holds together. The only way how to spill the LM is pushing too hard on the applicator. I did not use the syringe tip. It is quite hard to get out thru the tip. Unscrewed, and it went out flawlessly.
