N7010 overheating

tetsujin1979

bought a new Dell N7010 laptop about 3 months ago, but it's been overheating and shutting down constantly in the last week or so and I was wondering if anyone here could recommend a replacement fan? There's no warning, but it happens more often if the laptop is unplugged from the mains. It does happen if it's plugged in, but not as often.

I've never repaired a latop before, but I've fixed up a few PC's.

The specs for the laptop are here: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/insN7010/en/index.htm

thanks for any help

Alanstrainor

I'd be sending it back before taking it apart and do anything yourself.

cookie1977

It is under warranty, yes definitely send it back and dont open it.

tetsujin1979

Problem is, I bought it on eBay, so I'm not sure if the warranty is still valid.

iMayne

Try contacting the seller for the receipt - if they still have it.

To solve that issue, applying thermal compound will not solve your issue. The issue is caused by the solder balls, underneath the chip, are cracked. Heard of "PS3 YLOD"? Search YouTube for that. That will explain everything you need to know.

Does not seems new to me.

zenno

hold your horses people, don't just jump to one conclusion.

o.p say's he purchased this laptop off EBay and the person that used it before the o.p probably had it a good while. I fix laptops and desktops and I can tell you the majority of problems with overheating are related to large accumulations of solidified fluff and dust deposits blocking the air intake of cool air to the heatsink this is the most common problem I have seen while fixing 90% of laptops especially.

if this is the case then it is an easy job. If you can get your hands on the service manual online you or a friend or someone you know that knows a bit about laptops could fix it very easily. it would be very rare for the laptop to overheat just out of the blue unless the laptop has fallen or has been knocked hard or dropped. taking the processor out and reaplying new thermal compound is no good and is a waste of time but like I said, if the laptop was damaged by a fall or bang then the cpu or heatsink in this case could have come loose or unseated therefor it would need an inspection regarding new thermal compound.

tetsujin1979

Thanks for the reply zenno
The laptop was advertised as new, came in the original packaging, with original discs, and as far as I could tell was in perfect condition.
I did think that the problem was as simple as you say, just the air intake being blocked. The fan seems to be on constantly, except when I turn it on, so it might be that. Is there anyway of knowing without taking the machine itself apart?

cookie1977

I'd contact dell and ask them about your systems warranty, and if there's any. They'll know the date of manufacture straight from the service tag. It might be under warranty and a quick call could answer that.

zenno

tetsujin1979 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply zenno
The laptop was advertised as new, came in the original packaging, with original discs, and as far as I could tell was in perfect condition.
I did think that the problem was as simple as you say, just the air intake being blocked. The fan seems to be on constantly, except when I turn it on, so it might be that. Is there anyway of knowing without taking the machine itself apart?

just like cookie said call dell and give them your laptops service tag which will be on the underside of the laptop and see first what they say. if it's out of warranty then you will have to sort it out as said below.

unfortunately no. you have to get inside and unscrew the two screws holding the fan in place to inspect the buildup of junk in there as well as inspecting the heatsink of which is connected to the fan as well. either way the laptop will have to be dismantled to troubleshoot this problem or any other problen in regard to overheating.

a good sign that the fan passage is blocked would be the noise of the fan, does the fan make alot of noise after it being on for 5-10 minutes and does the underside of the laptop where the fan is get really hot ? if so the problem is what I mentioned or there is a problem with the heatsink not connecting properly with the cpu.

zenno

tetsujin1979 wrote: »

The fan seems to be on constantly, except when I turn it on,

if i am reading this correctly are you saying that the fan is on even when the laptop is turned off ? or maybe is your comment just a typo ?. also can you tell me if the laptop had a fall or bang just before this problem first occured ?.

if you find that your warranty is out with dell, give me a pm and I will try and fix it for you free of charge if you are in my location swords.