Cleaning laptop fan?

TheShizz

I've just been on to a bloke at a Laptop shop enquiring about compressed air because my laptop has a serious over-heating problem.

However, the chap says that compressed air will do nothing, and suggested I bring into him and he'll "clean" the fan for €80.

Surely this is not the best option, or is it? I know nothing about this stuff, but I do know that I'm never in a million years going to pay that amount for the job. No chance.

That being said, it is a major pain in the hole, so any tips or alternative methods to fix this issue are welcome.

Cheers.

TheShizz

Also, why would a laptop shop sell compressed air - and they do - if it doesn't work for stuff like this? What else would a can of compressed air be useful for in regards to a laptop?

delta36

If your laptop fan is SERIOUSLY clogged, taking apart the laptop to manually clean out the fan would help, that said, €80 for that is daylight robbery.

I've had plenty of success with cans of compressed air in the past. Run something like CoreTEMP before you use the air. see what temperature you operate at. Then turn off your laptop, let it cool, and use the compressed air, and see what temperature difference you have, it should be quite noticeable, especially if you've never cleared out the fan before.

Duggy747

Compressed air a lot of times won't work on a laptop if you're just blowing air through the vent because you're blowing the dust and dirt back into the fan where it clogs the blades and the fan can't spin, causing overheating. You can also damage the fan this way as many people don't stop it from spinning as they're blowing air on it.

There's other uses for compressed air for the likes of cleaning dirt / crumbs out out of a keyboard and it's easier to use on a desktop PC where you just take the side panel off and clean away.

For laptops, the proper way to clean it out is to dismantle the entire thing. Most laptops are designed in such a way that the fan is the last piece you remove, some even require you to remove the screen. Plus, if you dismantle the laptop you can apply a fresh batch of thermal paste on top of the CPU to help keep it in good shape.

What make / model laptop is it?

Mi1o

Laptop should be taken apart and clean from dust also thermal paste and pads must be replaced for CPU/GPU/Chipset, this service shouldn't cost more then €40

sawdoubters

what make is it nivida had recall for overheating

TheShizz

It's a Dell Vostro. I smoke around it quite often because I work off a laptop from home, so that is likely a very big factor in the overheating process. There's probably loads of brown stuff on the fans and on the core parts of the system.

I found a bloke who'll do it for €55. I'm not doing it myself because I'll only f*ck it up.

allthedoyles

Overheating is mainly caused by dust , so using it on bedclothes , sofa , or even on your knees , can cause a build-up

dave1982

Yeah don't use compressed air I did it stopped the fan completely, I think air is more for between keys on the keypad

TheShizz

It's second hand but it would have definitely been used on a bed sheet quite a lot before I took possession of it because I know who used to own it.

Let's be real though - if I go ahead and pay €55 for this is it going to make a sizeable difference? I need it to. The nature of my work often requires me to have multiple windows open simultaneously, and this is quite hard to maintain as you can imagine when it overheats.

dave1982

TheShizz wrote: »

It's second hand but it would have definitely been used on a bed sheet quite a lot before I took possession of it because I know who used to own it.

Let's be real though - if I go ahead and pay €55 for this is it going to make a sizeable difference? I need it to. The nature of my work often requires me to have multiple windows open simultaneously, and this is quite hard to maintain as you can imagine when it overheats.

I'd recommend getting it done fans are there fro a reason it could fry the laptop completely eventually, balls paying out 55 though

janeparker

In this situation, vendor or manufacturer can suggest best way. You should avoid delay because of this problem can affect your computer's motherboard adversely.

notmymark

There is nothing difficult about cleaning a laptop and if you follow the right steps it is quite hard to mess up the machine. €55 seems like an OK price for an insured professional to do it... its not a hard task but could take 30mins or so to do right.

Compressed air is used to clean out electrical components on the computer (cloths create static) but this is only one part of the process. Restricted airflow through the fan (say caused by a build up of dust) should be cleaned manually with a cloth or similar. As has already been stated using compressed air will just blow the dust further into the machine.

You will have to open up the back of the machine to clean it properly and see the best improvements. This will give you full access to the fan and allows you to use the compressed air on the motherboard and components.

If you are interested in doing it yourself then let us know and I’m sure myself or another member can provide you with steps how to do it best.

After you have it cleaned consider getting a USB powered cooling pad. They basically blow air onto the bottom of the machine and keep it cooler.

TheShizz

Ok you've given me the confidence to do it myself, but it's on you if and when I inflict irreversible damage to the thing.

Right so, firstly do I need to remove the screen? This is one aspect of the whole process which I'm very reluctant about doing. I've also got major concerns about removing the keyboard, because I've removed one before and I couldn't get it back in normally.

Secondly, assuming I get access to the motherboard and fan and everything else, what else am I going to be cleaning? And how? I've got a duster, and cloths and tissues and whatnot. I assume it's not advisable to use water.

Duggy747

Just be patient and gentle removing the case, components and cables.

Vostro laptops are more difficult to deal with taking apart by the way the cables are tightly packed into routes but I think the screen is pretty straight-forward to take off, you'll just have to disconnect and free the Wi-Fi antenna(s) + Video cable.

You can view the service manual online by googling whichever model Vostro (Vostro 1500, for example) it is which will help show you how to dismantle the machine. There might even be a Youtube video available.

Put the screws in groups so you'll remember where they go when putting it back. Base screws together, screen screws together, motherboard screws together, etc.

TheShizz

I've taken all the visible screws out, and yes I've grouped them all separately to avoid confusion. Now I don't know how to take the yoke off to give me access to the shyte I need access to.

TheShizz

I've removed the hard drive, too.

TheShizz

Alright so there's two cables - black and white - connected to the WLAN card.

The bloke in the tutorial I'm watching disconnected the cables from the card with a tweasers. I have a tweasers, but I don't have the confidence to disconnect the cables because, really, I've got no idea how. Well, I think I could, but putting them back in is an entirely different story.

dilallio

Do NOT use water. Don't use dusters or cloths either - they can generate static electricity which can fry electronic components.

It's not too difficult but it's not easy-peasy either. You will need to download a service manual which will tell you in detailed steps how to proceed. You will need a proper set of screwdrivers - preferably with magnetised heads so that you won't lose tiny screws.

It will take a professional 20 - 35 mins, but if you haven't done it yourself prepare to spend an hour plus. As you remove screws don't be afraid to take a pic with your phone of the locations, and keep the different size screws in seperate containers, otherwise you will have some left over when you're finished.

If you're removing memory chips / wifi cards, hold them by the edges and try and not touch the copper tracks on the underside of the circuit boards - static-electricity can damage them.

After you remove the heat-sink (long copper metal conductor) remove thae fan and dismantle it and remove all the fluff form the plastic duct which goes between the fan and air vent. You may not see this fluff until you dis-assemble the duct.

Be very careful when screwing back the heatsink - after inserting the 1st screw, do the one opposite - just like changing a car-wheel. Go around afterwards and tighten the screws in the same order. If you don't do this correctly, the laptop will overheat way too much.

It's a good idea to install Coretemp - this will monitor the cpu temperature(s) and over time you will be able to determine when you need to clean the fan again. Just remeber that when running intensive programs (such as having 6 or more flash video screens open at one time), your core temperatures will rise by anything up to 30 degrees or more, but this is normal and the temps will reduce to normal levels after.

My advice if you're not completely comfortable, is to get the other person to do it for 55 euro but watch them so that you can do it yourself next time.

Duggy747

TheShizz wrote: »

The bloke in the tutorial I'm watching disconnected the cables from the card with a tweasers. I have a tweasers, but I don't have the confidence to disconnect the cables because, really, I've got no idea how. Well, I think I could, but putting them back in is an entirely different story.

WiFi cables are easy to take off, just grab the cable near the top and gently pull upwards and they'll come off. Putting them back on is relatively simple too, just need a bit of patience and don't force it.

TheShizz

I'm past the point of no return here I'm afraid mate. I'll either clean it myself or I'll break it trying.

How many fans are there usually in a laptop? Reason I ask is because I've got access to one, dusty as f*ck. If it's the only fan, and I've already got access to it, would it be wrong to clean it as best I can from here?

I'm encountering a lot of stuff I'm not comfortable with, like disconnecting keyboard from the motherboard.

TheShizz

Duggy747 wrote: »

WiFi cables are easy to take off, just grab the cable near the top and gently pull upwards and they'll come off. Putting them back on is relatively simple too, just need a bit of patience and don't force it.

I left that part for the moment. It's something I'd f*ck up.

Duggy747

TheShizz wrote: »

I'm past the point of no return here I'm afraid mate. I'll either clean it myself or I'll break it trying.

How many fans are there usually in a laptop? Reason I ask is because I've got access to one, dusty as f*ck. If it's the only fan, and I've already got access to it, would it be wrong to clean it as best I can from here?

I'm encountering a lot of stuff I'm not comfortable with, like disconnecting keyboard from the motherboard.

These things are a lot easier than you think, don't be too worried. The Wi-Fi cables are very easy to remove and don't take much pressure at all to take them off the Wi-Fi card.

1 fan in your laptop, you could try to clean it but you won't do much good. You really need to at least get the top part surrounding the keyboard off to get good access to it. Ideally, you have to remove the fan so you can properly clean it and the heatsink grill.

For removing the keyboard, the black(brown?) clip on the white slot should clip up which will free the cable.

Same goes for the touchpad cable directly below the keyboard cable.

TheShizz

Right, we're getting there lads.

I will not be able to remove the entire panel you see from the picture. Reason being there is one, just one, screw that I cannot remove. Somebody must have hammered it in initially, and now I have ruined the indentations in it so that my screw driver no longer gets much purchase.

TheShizz

Here's what she looks like, though.

This is the only laptop fan I've ever seen so I have nothing to compare it to, but does it look dirty?

Duggy747

Ok, you seem to have a bit of access to the fan, not ideal but giving you're stuck with a damaged screw you could try cleaning from here. The blades look chock-full of lovely dirt, too.

Putting the compressed air nozzle into the fan, facing towards the grill (vent), keep the fan still and blow away.

TheShizz

Duggy747 wrote: »

Ok, you seem to have a bit of access to the fan, not ideal but giving you're stuck with a damaged screw you could try cleaning from here. The blades look chock-full of lovely dirt, too.

Putting the compressed air nozzle into the fan, facing towards the grill (vent), keep the fan still and blow away.

I don't have compressed air

TheShizz

What about a Hoover?

Duggy747

TheShizz wrote: »

What about a Hoover?

Definitely not.

You'll kill your laptop stone dead from the static electricity.

What you need to do is free the built up dirt that's stuck to the grill beside the fan and take it out of there.

TheShizz

I can take the fan out. The palm lifts up enough to let me at it despite the stuck screw.

I have removed to the two screws keeping the fan in place, but there are connectors and I'm not sure how to disconnect them.

I don't whether I disconnect cable by cable or the disconnect the large white thing seen from the picture.

TheShizz

Okay I won't use a Hoover.

bonzodog2

The main problem is not the dirt on the fan blades, but a load of compressed fluff on the copper-coloured thing with fins to the left of the fan on your picture. The fan needs to come off to remove this, its like trying to breathe through a carpet. Is the screw problem on the ones securing the fan assembly?

bonzodog2

That cable will just pull out easily enough, and should only go back in one way

TheShizz

No the stuck screw is on the other side of the laptop, on the underside of the Disc tray place.

Still working on disconnecting the fan.

TheShizz

This is annoying me, and I don't want to pull it.

bonzodog2

Needle-nosed pliers or tweezers on the cable should be OK, or fingernails/small screwdrivers on the white plug. Its not stupidly fragile.

TheShizz

Incidentally, this is what came off the copper part.

Is that a standard amount of dust or a lot?

bonzodog2

On the low side of typical; it is often actually like a little carpet. While you have the fan off you may as well clean the blades, although the fluff carpet is the major problem.

TheShizz

I got the fan off yes. What's the recommended device for cleaning them

bonzodog2

Small paintbrush/Q-tips/anything not too sharp. It doesn't need to be super-squeaky clean

TheShizz

Running into a bit of trouble getting it to switch on so I can't see the fruits of my labour just yet.

TheShizz

Ok we're on the home stretch I think there's a problem. Big problem.

It turns on okay. But there is no visual on the screen and I can't turn it off. And I'm afraid to touch anything incase I electrocute myself.

Any ideas?

TheShizz

What are those two cables connected to the WLAN card? Are they for visual? If so that explains why I can't see anything because I've been having problems re-connecting them.

I've took the battery out in the mean time.

bonzodog2

The cables to the WLAN card are for the wifi antenna, usually in the lid behind the screen. The connectors can be a little tricky to put back, I usually hold the cable with a needle-nosed pliers to get the connector oriented correctly then push down with a finger.

No video - recheck the video cable connection

TheShizz

I thought they were connected to the touchpad, because the mouse doesn't work.

The keyboard does, and it switches on and off, I have visual. I have everything but the mouse, and internet.

TheShizz

Also, the fan is making noises for no reason - but it's not overheating so bit of good and bad news there I think.

bonzodog2

TheShizz wrote: »

I thought they were connected to the touchpad, because the mouse doesn't work.

Recheck the trackpad ribbon cable

TheShizz

Which ribbon is for the mouse? I thought I put all the ribbons back correctly; keyboard, screen and power switch.

TheShizz

Is that ribbon, which is closest to the mouse pad, the one which connects to the touch pad?

hearny

yes disconnect the ribbon cable and try to reattach it.

Also double check the cables going to the wifi card (This image https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/667836/294827.jpg

they clip back on just be gentle with them.

TheShizz

Doesn't work mate. Maybe I'm not attaching it correctly, but it's as firm as you can get it so who the f*ck knows.

There's also an issue with the fan itself. I don't think I re-connected it correctly, because I'd be at the login screen on windows and all of a sudden it starts off. Doesn't get hot as I said, but it still shouldn't be making a noise when nothing is going on.

I'm happy it doesn't get hot but I'm starting to feel out of my depth.