eplacing fan on laptop

[menger66]

The fan on my Toshiba laptop has been whinny for a long time, I can still feel the fan blowing but not real great is this something i should be able to replace myself? I've never been inside a laptop and don't wanna get in over my head. Thanks mark

[Structo]

Yeah it's curious that they are called laptop computers.
If you have one on your lap then the vents are covered and the laptop gets hot!

I haven't ventured into a laptop either but due to miniature components it can be challenging.

[eniam rognab]

ugh, i ran into this same problem about a year ago on my dell... the problem is dust in the heatsink fins

when i took it apart i found the fan was integrated into the heatsink apparatus and was not a "quick fix" to replace just the fan, it needed a whole new assembly. so i blew out the fan and fins with canned air, scrubbed everything with a q-tip/alcohol and it has been working ever since.

take it apart carefully, watch a utoob video on your model computer beforehand. take out the hard drive and use an ESD strap. not too bad, but the screws are TINY!!

good luck (i did this at school though, where i was surrounded by a dozen nerds )

[menger66]

EB If a cleaning and a blowout does the job that would be great, Ill give it a try i've been dreading opening it up. never thought about watching utube video that helps alot thanks mark

[eniam rognab]

no probs, i had lotsa fun exploding my laptop all apart and putting it back together again, but it was an involved process and what i actually accomplished could have been done without all that... except learning and SCIENCE!!!

but yup, we are big crop dusters, keeping heatsinks clean is routine maintenence

[Phil_S]

+1 on looking at youtube. I'm actually OK opening a laptop, but I had to do a phone repair recently. I found great videos on my exact model. The hardest part is finding all the screws (which are in little wells), the order or sequence of dis-assembly, and it really helps to see how to do certain things. You don't want to break any of the little plastic mounting tabs that interlock the parts.

You might also find a manual on the technical assistance page of the manufacturer's website that show you what to do.

This is a fairly easy job believe it or not. Just use the correct size screwdrivers and don't force anything. If you find yourself applying a lot of force (except maybe to unseat a virgin screw LOL you know what I mean) you are doing it wrong, so stop before you break it.

Static electricity is a problem for computers. One zap and you can blow a chip or a hard drive or who knows what. It is best to do the job on a table in a room that has no carpet. Carpet generates static electricity. I'm thinking kitchen table. Discharge yourself on the kitchen sink faucet!

When in doubt, take pictures of what you are doing so you can put it back the way you found it.

[DonMoose]

ifixit.com sells a basic toolkit with a bunch of the odd little driver heads and a compartmented tray for the zillion different sizes and lengths of screw that tend to be involved. Also - if you do take out a heatsink, re-grease the thing before re-installing. Clean off the old gunk and put a rice-grain-sized dab of a good compound down before reapplying.

I really hate fixing laptops.