On Wednesday, September 7, 2011 3:45:15 PM UTC-7, KenO wrote:

[trouble removing heatsink from CPU chip]

Agree the Dell 2350 adhesive seems like a black rubber? Have you had
any experience with it?

Some thermal compounds are adhesive, some are greasy, and the one
you have sounds like a waxy adhesive type. I'd sharpen some toothpicks
and shove 'em into the crack. A few seconds with a hot air gun
(or just a hair dryer) won't hurt anything, either.

You'll need to replace the compound, lots of variants are available.