Laptop fan - Replace or not

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 12:11 pm

I just discovered that the fan on my 3 year old laptop is dead. I don't use the laptop that much, maybe 3 to 4 hours a day. Should I bother replacing the fan or buy a new laptop?

Specs

Toshiba L305-S5968

Intel Pentium T4200
3 GB Memory
320 GB HD
Vista Home Premium

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 7:07 pm

170 views and 0 responses?

RaisinCain · Post by **RaisinCain** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 7:18 pm

I'd say replace it but it's going to be a pain in the ass. If you decide to, I would try and get the field manual so that you know the steps.

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Mon Mar 26, 2012 8:50 pm

RaisinCain wrote:I'd say replace it but it's going to be a pain in the ass. If you decide to, I would try and get the field manual so that you know the steps.

Searched out a couple places to see how to replace the fan....Yes, pain in the ass. Got to the part where I had the keyboard off, but could not seem to get any further then that..

Post by **Philip** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 6:42 am

Replace it, some of them have Youtube disassembling videos, and it's a good learning experience. Just be careful and make sure you have no major parts left over when you reassemble it

The Dude · Post by **The Dude** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 7:36 am

If you do go for it keep track of what screws came out of what hole. Sometimes they are different lengths and if you put a long screw in where a short one came out bad things can happen. Also if you have to remove the heatsink, and if it uses thermal pads, you don't want to damage one if you don't have any spares. If you have to remove the bottom case/cover, watch out for screws hidden under the rubber feet or under the labels/stickers. I've disassembled a Dell laptop and it was an adventure and a good learning experience.

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:40 pm

In the meantime, I can still use it without fear of damage, right? As long as I don't go too many hours and keep it elevated?

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 4:32 am

As long as your temps are good.

If you dont know your temps, use this:

http://www.piriform.com/speccy

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:25 am

YARDofSTUF wrote:As long as your temps are good.

If you dont know your temps, use this:

http://www.piriform.com/speccy

Sweet, what is the acceptable temp range? I didn't try the program yet, but have used it in the past.

The Dude · Post by **The Dude** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:34 am

One of those laptop cooling pads with the fans in it might help? Does the fan turn at all? Does it spin freely? Sometimes you can peel the label back and see the bearings. If so a drop or two of light oil will sometimes get it spinning freely again. It doesn't always work but its simple enough to try. If you are careful peeling the label back and don't rip it you just press it back in place after to keep the dust out.

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:44 am

Summary
Operating System
MS Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit SP2

CPU
Intel Pentium T4200 @ 2.00GHz 106 °F
Penryn 45nm Technology

RAM
3.00 GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 398MHz (6-6-6-18)

Motherboard
TOSHIBA Portable PC (CPU) 124 °F

Graphics
LP154WX4-TLCC (1280x800@60Hz)
Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family
Mobile Intel(R) 4 Series Express Chipset Family

Hard Drives
313GB Western Digital WDC WD3200BEVS-26VAT0 (SATA) 85 °F

Optical Drives
TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-L633A

Audio
Realtek High Definition Audio

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:46 am

The Dude wrote:One of those laptop cooling pads with the fans in it might help? Does the fan turn at all? Does it spin freely? Sometimes you can peel the label back and see the bearings. If so a drop or two of light oil will sometimes get it spinning freely again. It doesn't always work but its simple enough to try. If you are careful peeling the label back and don't rip it you just press it back in place after to keep the dust out.

It spins on first boot, then stops. I can't access the fan yet, I tried the other day.

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:52 am

Motherboard temp is a bit high, oh and switch to Celsius damnit. lol

Try to keep the CPU under 60 C, and motherboard under 55 C.

The Dude · Post by **The Dude** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 7:53 am

If it spins I wouldn't worry about trying to oil the bearings just yet then. I would look for a setting in the BIOS for Fan Speed or something similar. If there is an "always on" option I would try that to see what happens. There may also be software installed by the manufacturer to control it. My ASUS motherboards have a Cool & Quiet option for CPU fan speed control.

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 8:30 am

YARDofSTUF wrote:Motherboard temp is a bit high, oh and switch to Celsius damnit. lol

YARDofSTUF wrote:Try to keep the CPU under 60 C, and motherboard under 55 C.

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 8:32 am

The Dude wrote:If it spins I wouldn't worry about trying to oil the bearings just yet then. I would look for a setting in the BIOS for Fan Speed or something similar. If there is an "always on" option I would try that to see what happens. There may also be software installed by the manufacturer to control it. My ASUS motherboards have a Cool & Quiet option for CPU fan speed control.

Will check. I'm thinking this problem just started recently. I'm sure I would have noticed this thing being very warm after using it for a few hours. Doesn't the BIOS usually trigger an alarm when the temps get high?

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 8:38 am

There should be an auto shutoff temp setting in the bios but its usually set very high, like 90-100 C

The Dude · Post by **The Dude** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 11:42 am

CableDude wrote:Will check. I'm thinking this problem just started recently. I'm sure I would have noticed this thing being very warm after using it for a few hours. Doesn't the BIOS usually trigger an alarm when the temps get high?

Like Yardofstuff said, it depends on how hot its getting and what temp threshold the BIOS is set to. The setting he's talking about I've seen on a lot of desktop PC's. Laptops likely have that setting too, but the setting I'm talking about is separate from that. On a laptop, if the CPU isn't doing much and isn't hot, the fan will slow down or even stop to save battery power. As it heats up the fan speeds up. The same thing happens on my two ASUS desktop motherboards but its to reduce noise, as there is no battery. Usually you have the option to set the fan to always on. It will run at full speed regardless. Its a good way to see if its actually working correctly without waiting for things to heat up. Or overheat if it never turns on.

BIOS options seem to be slim to none for the few laptops I've worked on so you may not have that option, can't hurt to look and see though.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 12:43 pm

If it spins on first boot...the software to control the spin may be off. If I remember...ctrl+Z or alt+Z on some of those freaky Toshi's. (sorry..I can't stand Toshibas)

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 3:50 pm

No options with regards to fans in the bios. Not seeing anything with regards to software either.

The Dude · Post by **The Dude** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 4:02 pm

The few laptops I've worked on were pretty sparse as far as BIOS options go. Date, time, boot order, maybe some diagnostics. Most times its a freaking adventure just trying to see what key to press to get in in the first place. If you leave it running does the fan ever start up? They can be pretty quiet at low speed.

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 4:07 pm

I guess it comes on at an as needed basis?? It was on couple times since my last post.

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 4:17 pm

It's on now

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 4:23 pm

Maybe I should try speedfan on it? Seems the fan is only spinning when needed

The Dude · Post by **The Dude** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 5:00 pm

I do believe most laptops work that way? My old Acer Aspire does basically the same thing. It spins up during boot and then slows down again once Windows loads. It will go on and off depending on how hot the laptop gets. You may find that even though you can't hear it, its still on, just at low speed.

CableDude · Post by **CableDude** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 5:18 pm

The Dude wrote:I do believe most laptops work that way? My old Acer Aspire does basically the same thing. It spins up during boot and then slows down again once Windows loads. It will go on and off depending on how hot the laptop gets. You may find that even though you can't hear it, its still on, just at low speed.

I guess I never realized that.