ahardb0dy Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Just a heads up as I just went thru this. My dell 1720 laptop which I use everyday felt like it was getting hotter than normal, and last night it actually shut down with an error message saying it got too hot. I cleaned the intake and exhaust grille/vent areas but it still felt hot. So about an hour ago I decided to take it apart to check the fan, after removing basically everything finally got to the fan. Talk about dirty !!! The graphics card and the CPU share the path the hot air takes leaving the chassis and the little radiator looking fins were totally clogged. So it should be better now for a while. Just wanted to share in case any one else is having similiar problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Toshibas do it bad. Mine shuts off sometimes, not as much as it used to since I cleaned all of the crap out of it. But, if i'm dragging it down a lot it'll get hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 I'll tell you when I finally got to the fan and saw the black stuff, at first I thought it was some kind of gasket !! Until I pulled on the black stuff !! Those little fins had to be almost totally blocked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 (edited) I got an app for my Mac called SMC fan control, it lets me see the temp inside the laptop and the fan speed (and crank up the fan before I heat it up). I also made a redneck cooling pad out of a computer fan and the box my speakers came in... Edited May 13, 2012 by Slartibartfast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Just wanted to share in case any one else is having similiar problem. Thanks for sharing. I have the 1520 and have noticed lately that it runs a little hotter than it used to. Maybe I'll look into my fan assembly tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted May 13, 2012 Author Share Posted May 13, 2012 It was fun to get to the fan, def have access to the service manual for free on the dell support site, link to your service manual: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1520/en/sm/index.htm to get to the fan you have to: this applies to my 1720 not sure if yours will be 100% the same remove the hinge cover (no screws) remove the keyboard (4 screws) remove the hard drive (2 screws for access panel, 3 to remove hard drive) - yours is 4 screws HD slides out side remove the cd/dvd drive (1 screw) remove the battery remove the display (2 screws on bottom, 2 on rear) remove the wireless card ( 2 screws for access cover) remove the 16 screws on the bottom to get the plam rest (top cover) off - yours has 11 screws on bottom 4 on top remove the graphics card (where the fins are on the left end) ( 3 screws in sequential order they are labeled 5-7) remove the cpu cooling thing?? (second place where the fins are most dirty area) ( 4 screws in sequential order labeled 1-4) remove the fan ( 4 screws) - yours has 2 screws remove metal cover on fan (4 tiny eye glass sized screws) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 F that. I'll let this thing burn! At least that way, there will only be one screw involved (that would be me). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwd5021 Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Mmm, fire. Thanks for the helpful info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismothunder Posted May 13, 2012 Share Posted May 13, 2012 Been meaning to do this to my Compaq for a while now. Seems like a pain to get to it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 I took apart a friend's Compaq a few months ago to clean it out, had to pull pretty much everything to get into it. Get some new heat sink grease before you start, chances are you'll need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted May 14, 2012 Author Share Posted May 14, 2012 some laptops, no idea what brand, I saw pics of one, have the fan on the bottom under access panel, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyle94 Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 my old dell inspiron laptop did the same thing. the fins were completly clogged with dust. like if you were to take the lint trap out of a dryer. that bad. but mine never shut off it just got REALLY hot... cleaned it out and ran much better and stayed a lot cooler. my toshiba i have now doesnt do it, but i check it every once in a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted May 14, 2012 Share Posted May 14, 2012 Battery life sucks too when the fan is always going full tilt boogie . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted May 18, 2012 Share Posted May 18, 2012 (edited) Get some new heat sink grease before you start, chances are you'll need it. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ YES I have seen this problem many-a-time in my technology repair career. Kingman is also spot on with the "Toshibas do it the worst". I took my girlfriend's laptop (Toshiba) apart...there was so much dust, hair, etc over the grille, I actually thought it was some sort of air filter. I don't know if any of you are familiar with the lastest gen video game consoles breaking CONSTANTLY? The RROD (xbox 360) and YLOD (PS3). This is the same issue. Dust build up and MORE IMPORTANTLY poor heat conduction due to thermal paste. I repaired broken video game consoles for money in a previous life. The word "crazy" doesn't even describe... You need to tear your laptop down to its bare processor and apply new thermal paste. http://www.amazon.co...d/dp/B002CZAPUQ <-This little tube is enough for probably ~25 laptops/processors. Use it very sparingly. You apply a little dot on the processor chip and smear an even, but very thin layer. There are guides online. This is the best stuff. It's made from 99.9% silver (the 2nd best conductor on earth. The first being gold). It will drop the temp of your computer ~15-25 degrees F. That's HUGE. The heat will fry your motherboard, waste battery power, fry the energy cells in your battery, and make your laptop uncomfortable to put on your lap. It's also kinda dangerous if you put your laptop on carpet, bedding, etc. You might ask, why do I have to apply this? Shouldn't have Toshiba, Dell, etc already done that? They are the manufacturers, they know what they are doing, right? WRONG. The Arctic Silver I linked above is VERY expensive. One tube is only about $6, but it adds up fast. You can buy 3.5oz of Arctic Silver for ~$6, but you can buy 20oz. of crap for $4? http://halnziye.en.alibaba.com/product/370412143-210128929/HY810_High_Quality_Thermal_Paste_Grease_Compound_ST25g_for_LED.html There is sub-quality paste on your processors. you will need to get it off, and apply the new stuff. Edited May 18, 2012 by 1994SEV6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 (edited) x2 I fix computers for a living. It is not uncommon for cheap laptops to overheat. If sucking the dust out of the vents doesn't help, you will need to take them apart because the dust really piles up inside the cooling ducts. Also, most of the time they do a really crappy job at the factory of applying the thermal paste. Too much paste will result in poor heat conduction. Chances are you have to take out the heatsink, remove the old paste with alcohol prep wipes, and re-apply the paste. When applying the thermal paste, if you have more than a grain sized drop, it is too much. Generally any good thermal paste will work but Arctic Silver tends to be the best in the industry. If your laptop or desktop runs hot for an extended period of time, it can lead to all sorts of interesting failures including fan failures and battery failures. Edited May 25, 2012 by Tungsten 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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