How do I deal with an over heating CPU fan?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jo
  • Start date Start date
Jo

Jo

Messages
3,667
Name
Jo Fisher
Edit My Images
Yes
As the title says really :lol:

My CPU fan is over heating all the time. I am having to prop it up at the front to try and let some cool air get in underneath, to stop it from shutting my system down.

What are the options?

I know some of them are:

Get a new fan
Get one of those docks with fans in them
Take apart my laptop and clean it myself (:eek:)

I did install a new fan on my PC, so this shouldn't be too difficult. But I would know where to start looking for 'how to' information. I did try a little while ago, but nothing useful came up before I gave up.

Edit: I have a Toshiba Equium. Tell me where to look and I'll tell you the exact model. I tried to find it, but can never remember :lol:

Also, I'm practically almost skint having just had a tow bar put on the car, so I need the cheapest option.

The 16 oC weather today is making my system slooooow and my fan hot to trott!

:help:
 
Chances are it will just need a clean, fans and heatsinks get all sort of fluff/dust and hair stuck in them after a little use.
 
My sons laptop has the same issue, never shut down, but always seemed hot. To me the feet are not deep enough to allow decent air flow around the underside of the laptop. Went to Wilkinsons and got some round rubber pads which are roughtly twice the depth, come in a pack of around 12 and are sticky backed, one on each corner, has raised the laptop upto twice its normal hieght. Still warm but nowhere near as bad, worth a tryand they only cost a couple of quid.
 
peppyuk said:
Chances are it will just need a clean, fans and heatsinks get all sort of fluff/dust and hair stuck in them after a little use.
Click to expand...

agreed.
 
im assuming you mean on a laptop? can you actually see the fan spinning?

if its doing a thermal shutdown there is something quite seriously wrong like the fan has failed completely, the heatsink is completely clogged with dust etc or the heatsink has failed and become detached from the CPU.
 
It only shuts down when it gets extra hot. Usually when I'm playing games on a gaming site :$ I think it's probably just dirty, I do dust off the visable dust now and again without taking it apart. But clearly it needs to be opened for a proper clean :shrug:

So how do I go about that? I don't see an obvious place to take a section off near the fan :shrug: Bare in mind any instruction needs to be simple as I won't be able to get online to look at them as my laptop will be having open heart surgery :lol:
 
Neil I'll be OK doing it tbh. I managed to fit a new fan to my old PC, and have fixed a heating element on a tumble dryer before .. the list is endless. I can do anything I put my mind to usually :) It's just I am nervous for my baby having such surgery (:lol:).

Right, if it helps it's a Toshiba Equium A200-IV0 Model number PSAF5E-002005KS :shrug: Like I say I can't see any obvious place to remove near the fan. Or does this mean I will have to take the whole back off? Oh, and is there anything I should avoid doing to the fan when cleaning?
 
First things are to make sure the air intake and air exhaust ports are clean and clear of fluff, dust etc. I have seen a few exhaust ports clogged up so the hot air is just circulating inside the laptop. Sometimes you can blow hard into these ports to clear them or use an air canister.

I would imagine you would have to remove either the keyboard or some back panel to get to the heatsink and fan, but normally its the keyboard. I haven't checked the model you mentioned but im sure there would be a online manual that tells you how to get to the heatsink and fan.

Has the air intake and exhuast ports got appropriate clearance when you use the laptop, i.e. is there enough air getting in and out of the laptop ?
 
I can't say for sure about your laptop, but all the laptops I've taken apart, you start around the top of the keyboard, normally a cover that unclips and allows access to some screws. Quite often the keyboard will be one of the first bits out of the way. Then you just have to see what's what from there.
 
HCK said:
First things are to make sure the air intake and air exhaust ports are clean and clear of fluff, dust etc. I have seen a few exhaust ports clogged up so the hot air is just circulating inside the laptop. Sometimes you can blow hard into these ports to clear them or use an air canister.

I would imagine you would have to remove either the keyboard or some back panel to get to the heatsink and fan, but normally its the keyboard. I haven't checked the model you mentioned but im sure there would be a online manual that tells you how to get to the heatsink and fan.

Has the air intake and exhuast ports got appropriate clearance when you use the laptop, i.e. is there enough air getting in and out of the laptop ?
Click to expand...

Thanks :)

The intake is coolish, but the exhaust is what's red hot (at it's worst it is capable of burning I'm sure). That's presuming I have the the right way around :shrug: Is the intake the one underneath and the exhaust the grill thing on the side?

If I were to go in via the keyboard, where should I look for screws or clips? As I don't see any viable ones.
 
Jo
Try the Tosh site and see if you can download a manual. I have a Compaq and the support site offers a manual for all sorts of tasks, from changing hard drives, DVD drives and adding memory.

I seem to remember it also told you what screws you need to remove so as to clean the fan area. See if Tosh are as helpful
 
Hi,

Quick way to check which the exhaust is to feel which port is blowing out :-)

The exhaust is the one that is blowing out the hot air.

Im not sure how you get to the heatsink on your laptop im trying to find a manual for you.....just had a thought is there a fan on the bottom of your laptop ? If so can it be removed and cleaned ?

I have just download the manual from Toshiba, it gives no info on how to get to the heatsink :-(
 
Hi Jo,

If you have never taken apart a laptop before, then that should be your last resort. It's true, replacing a fan is not a problem, but it's making sure that everything goes back exactly as it was. No matter how hard you try, there always seem to be 1-2 small screws left after you put it back together :thinking: I can build a desktop pc from scratch, but taking a laptop apart scares me.

Try cleaning the exhaust port as others have suggested, but maybe using a powerful vacuum cleaner to suck the dust & fluff out by putting the nozzle to the exhaust port. The compressed air cleaner is only good if you have taken the thing apart, otherwise you could risk just blowing the dust around the chassis and repeating the problem a couple of months down the line.

Good luck.
 
Can of compressed air? :shrug: saves breaking your laptop into pieces :lol:

Is there really no removable panels underneath? On my sisters old laptop when removing the cover to upgrade the RAM a lot of other components were visible too. So I gave them a quick clean though there wasn't much in the way of dust.
 
Switch off laptop, take out battery, apply hoover to intake port, switch on hoover.


Works for me :D
 
TimSandhu said:
have never taken apart a laptop before, then that should be your last resort. It's true, replacing a fan is not a problem, but it's making sure that everything goes back exactly as it was. No matter how hard you try, there always seem to be 1-2 small screws left after you put it back together :thinking: I can build a desktop pc from scratch, but taking a laptop apart scares me.
Click to expand...

i always draw out a little map/diagram and place screws on it as i take them out. helps no end.

also personally im not a big fan of compressed air, normally it contains all sorts of nasties like moisture etc. plus it can blow all the crap into other sensitive areas. if possible id always suggest getting proper access and stripping down properly.
 
Thanks all for your advise. I shall give the hoover a go tonight, and if that doesn't do it I'll see if I can remove the keyboard, if not then I'll go in through the back.
 
Jo said:
Thanks all for your advise. I shall give the hoover a go tonight, and if that doesn't do it I'll see if I can remove the keyboard, if not then I'll go in through the back.
Click to expand...


Too much info. LOL.


Best of luck though, laptops are so fiddly to dismantle.
 
i think you will have to remove the keyboard to go in through the back:thinking:

pretty sure there are screws under there to remove, probably some under the rubber feet as well;)
 
Ice is all you need Jo

Sit the lappy on a big chunk of ice, and grate ice onto the keyboard

Pretty much guarantees it won't overheat - won't work afterwards either, but always look on the bright side I say ;)

If you don't fancy that - do what the others say above

HTH

DD
 
Careful using a hoover, seriously, the static can kill computers/laptops. You are best using an air blower.

As someone who took laptops/printers etc apart all the time some general advice....

Get a fishing tackle box and a pad of paper.....

Now draw the laptop bottom (assuming these screws come out first) and mark it so that you know which way round it is. Now take out the first screw and draw a circle on your drawing with a 1 next to it and place the screw in pot 1 of the tackle box. Now take out the next screw..... Is it EXACTLY the same as the previous screw???? (same pitch, screw width and length)..... If it is then place a 1 next to that screw on your diagram and stick the screw in the same pot otherwise stick it in pot 2 and mark the diagram with a 2. Continue this as you go along until you have removed all the screws you need to then remove the panel.

Now draw another diagram and carry on. This way you will know where EVERY screw goes and the order.....

When you remove ANY panel do so carefully as panels often have wires connecting them to other parts.

Sometimes the connectors attaching components to motherboards are not that strong (ibook 1.33 GHz power button connector !!!) Look at each one and see EXACTLY how it is disconnected BEFORE you start pulling it.

USE THE CORRECT SIZED SCREWDRIVERS!!!

Do you have a SPUDGER ???? It is like a plastic flat blade screwdriver and is used to pop panels apart from other panels.... If not use a LARGE but slim bladed screwdriver and be careful or your laptop will look battered afterwards.

TAKE YOUR TIME.....

The above works for any item that you need to disassemble such as cameras etc. It is tried and tested and works :)

You could also take a few pictures at each stage too......

Check ebay for a fan. I have found lots of replacements on there. You will probably get away with removing the fan and blowing it out properly then spraying it with SILICON spray then wiping off any excess. I would also advise running the fan outside of the laptop for a minute after spraying it (if you can) to get rid of any excess spray.

If you need any further pointers just shout and I will be happy to help.
 
Keyboards are often clipped in from the top so look near the top of the keys THEN just to complicate matters there is often a screw on the back of the computer that runs straight through the whole laptop and screws into the back of the keyboard : )
 
cowasaki said:
Keyboards are often clipped in from the top so look near the top of the keys THEN just to complicate matters there is often a screw on the back of the computer that runs straight through the whole laptop and screws into the back of the keyboard : )
Click to expand...

dells usually just have 3-4 screws under the panel above the keyboard that unclips mind :)

Now draw the laptop bottom (assuming these screws come out first) and mark it so that you know which way round it is. Now take out the first screw and draw a circle on your drawing with a 1 next to it and place the screw in pot 1 of the tackle box. Now take out the next screw..... Is it EXACTLY the same as the previous screw???? (same pitch, screw width and length)..... If it is then place a 1 next to that screw on your diagram and stick the screw in the same pot otherwise stick it in pot 2 and mark the diagram with a 2. Continue this as you go along until you have removed all the screws you need to then remove the panel.
Click to expand...

roughly what i do apart from i place the screws onto my "map" (keep pets away during this period lol).
 
neil_g said:
dells usually just have 3-4 screws under the panel above the keyboard that unclips mind :)



roughly what i do apart from i place the screws onto my "map" (keep pets away during this period lol).
Click to expand...

Using the tackle box method means that you can take the item apart and place all the bits in a box awaiting the replacement item. You often need to dismantle the laptop before you know what to order and, yes, it avoids pet based accidents :)
 
Thanks for all the pointer cowasaki :D I'll remember this if I do need to venture in and replace or thoroughly clean it in future. For the moment I managed to get hold of some canned air, did a quick spray while having the hoover in place the other side. Hopefully that means that whatever was blown loose was sucked through at the same time. Seems to have done the trick for now anyway.

Thanks again all!
 
Mine does this also, I get around it by dangling the edge off the desk so the air can escape.

Must have 3 years worth of dust inside :D
 
My laptop kept switching itself off after about an hour and a half of use so i took the back cover off and used a vacum cleaner to get all the dust and fluff out and i have not had a problem with it since.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top