Laptop fan whurring noise

moneyman

I have a Lenovo laptop and the other day the fan started whurring/whizzing and it won't stop. The fan is no longer blowing air. Is there an easy way to fix this or does anyone have an idea how much it would cost to get fixed?

bonzodog2

You most likely have an insulating carpet of fluff, stopping airflow through the cooling system. Check YT for videos for your model, it may be within your skillset if it has an access panel; or it may require almost total disassembly to get to the bits needing cleaning.

Don't put it off!

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

+1 don't put it off.

It could be a simple job or it could be a total bastard of a job depending where the fan is located. I disassembled mine and blew the dust/fluff out and used a small bit of spray grease on the fan itself and totally cleaed up the whirring noise. I would have replaced the fan but it was a reall job to locate one online.

moneyman

bonzodog2 wrote: »

You most likely have an insulating carpet of fluff, stopping airflow through the cooling system. Check YT for videos for your model, it may be within your skillset if it has an access panel; or it may require almost total disassembly to get to the bits needing cleaning.

Don't put it off!

Thank you. Had a look on youtube and I really wouldn't trust myself not to damage it.

Any idea how much it would cost to get fixed?

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

I couldn't see it costing any more than 40-50.

Yeah if it looks beyond your expertise just leave it to someone else who can do it. There's a lot of finniky bits inside a laptop. Mine was a total bastard to do, the fan was literally the last thing to come out.

ED E

Take it to your local garage, go to the air pump and use that on the vent from a distance, maybe 10cm away.

If its clogged, that should clear it.

A repair will be upwards of €60 as the whole thing needs taking down. Parts about a tenner usually.

moneyman

I think I'll take it to a shop to be safe, although the thought of forking out €50+ to get it fixed is making me depressed.

Can anyone recommend a reliable/good-value shop to go to? I'm in Dublin, city centre.

rik 0 shay

Hiya Moneyman.
I cleaned mine myself. Just took the back off and cleaned out the dust. You will find videos on u tube how to do it. Any computer repair man could do it in a half an hour.
Eventually the fan went in mine but I got another 5 years out of it. It cost e50 to install a new one. Would have chanced it myself but its a bit fiddley. For the cost its better to get it done by an expert. My laptop is now 9 years old and still going. Its a dell. Ill never use any other make. You get what you pay for really!
Ive got a great guy locally who fixed mine. Im in Greystones. Id give you his details but I probably wouldn't be allowed.
I do hope you can get it fixed.
Rik.

moneyman

Dropped it to a shop on dorset street, the guy opened it in front of me and I could see the dust. Annoyed I didnt try to open it myself at home beforehand, or take it home with me again. Anyway I left it to him overnight, he texted me today and this is the message I got: Hi. Your laptop is ready for collection. All internals has been cleaned, new thermal paste on processor. Fan cleaned. Total €60. Thanks

Surely 60 quid for blowing the dust away is a piss take? I'll have to pay him since its done now but it's a joke that places can get away with that.

greasepalm

time parts and paste,might be a standard charge in stripping it down further as when you were there maybe only 1 part was removed, and he went further if saying new thermal paste?

i would never ever tell anyone to use a garage airline with all that crap coming out might kill your unit with impurities.there are aerosol cans of air for these jobs.

rik 0 shay

Hiya Moneyman
Yes, its easy to clean it out but replacing the fan is a bit awkward. I wouldn't chance it. Glad you got it working as if it was overheating it could have wrecked your laptop.
Have a look on uTube on how to clean the vents, heat sinc etc. Just need some thermal paste, a fine paint brush and a can of air spray.I spray mine every week through the top grill, sideand underside vents etc. I chanced repairing mine myself because the laptop was old, like me and if I messed up, I wouldn't have been too upset.
Anybody know of any computer mechanic courses on around Dublin? Id do one! I think theres a lot of "cowboys" at it. At least you obviously got someone who knew what they were doing. Still, e180 an hour isn't bad money!
Average price I would say!
Good luck
Rik.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

Honestly I think it's worth it. It's a time consuming job and could have been way more awkward than you think. Plus he did thermal paste. 60 euro isn't too bad.

moneyman

Probably jumped the gun. He was a very nice guy, spent 15 minutes explaining what he did and other potential issues in the future, he also took photos and showed me. You could tell he's extremely interested in his job anyway. Steep price but hopefully no more problems with the fan.

Laptop won't find any network since I got it home but this has happened before. Upgrading to Windows 10 now so hoping that will inadvertently fix the issue.

Thanks to all who commented.

greasepalm

is wifi switched on and rescanned?

moneyman

greasepalm wrote: »

is wifi switched on and rescanned?

Theres no way to turn it on/off on my Lenovo, think its just airplane mode if you want it off. The update to Windows 10 did nothing so I'm stuck without wifi and don't know how to fix it. No idea why this happened but it's infuriating. I've obviously searched online to find solutions but no luck. Any ideas? It's just not showing up any available networks.

greasepalm

have you searched for wifi issues from lenovo themselves,maybe internal wifi faulty.network have you gone through in trying to set up again as disable then enable?

bonzodog2

Check the antenna cables didn't get dislodged from the wifi card.