Old HP Computer - Fan Failure

[Guest]

Hello,

I have no experience in PC building/maintenence/modification, although I have wanted to build my own PC for a long while. I am currently trying to fix someone else's old PC...a HP Pavilion 8760C. The hard drive has been completely corrupted and needs to be reformatted. However at the same time, the CPU fan seems to be failing. When I first power it up, it says something along the line of:
"Ventilation Fan Failure" "Shutdown system" "System may overheat"

I believe it is correct in detecting it as failing, as the fan noise gradually increases more and more regardless of what the PC is doing, eventually it starts going way up and way down and begins making a few thumping noises. The "Ventilation Fan" is both the CPU fan that cools the heatsink, as well as the sole case fan (with the exception of the PSU fan). The fan is inside an air-duct that hovers over the CPU heatsink. There seems to be no way to just attach a fan on top of the heatsink, so I seem to have to use an air duck. The fan is a Delta 80x80x25mm ASB0812HH. I have taken pictures, but those are delayed as I am having some problems uploading them to my PC.

Anyway, I am going to replace the fan and I have a few questions:

1. What 80mm fan would you recommend as a replacement? This computer is of course not overclocked in any way. Stability of the CPU is of course the #1 priority...#2 would be silence. I am kind of concerned about getting a fan with too low airflow (in favor of silence), due to the fan hovering a little above the heatsink instead of being directly attached to it. Should I be concerned about that?

2. Are these generic air ducts that come in manufactured PCs normally designed so that you can replace the fan in them? Or once the fan fails, your supposed to get rid of the air duct too? Having a tough time figuring out how, if any way, to get the fan out of the airduct.

3. If NO to #2, then is there any air ducts you could recommend as a replacement? Keep in mind that the current one looks pretty small to me, and is at a 90degree angle from the CPU to the back of the case.

As I said, I have taken pictures and will try to upload them tommorow if they will be helpful. If you need any more information, let me know.

Any help/advice would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Eru]

I believe your computer has a pentium3 chip. They came without the fans fixed on the heatsink.
I have a similar computer from compaq. I believe the fan can be replaced without having to change the duct.
My computer has the fan screwed on to the duct. If your case is similar, you could just take the whole thing with you to the nearest store and check if the fans fit. ou could always order the same model online later.

As about the make and model, i suggest you check at www.silentpcreview.com

All the best!

 

[qwertycopter]

I had a similar thing with my Dell, Pentium 4, big green duct, and a proprietary 94mm case fan under the duct. It went out while under warranty and I got a replacement shipped. But in the meantime I got a cheap 80mm from best buy. Seeing as Dell has a proprietary design on most of their hardware, I had to use twist ties to rig it to the exhaust vents. It seemed to work.

One thing, though. Your motherboard obviously monitors the case/cpu fan. So if you install a different fan, IE one without monitoring, you're probably going to continue to get fan warnings on boot.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

Here are the specs for your current fan:

Sleeve Function VDC VDC Amp Watt R.P.M. m3/min CFM mmH2O IN H2O dB-A
ASB0812HH -R00 / -F00 12 7.0 to 13.8 0.20 2.40 3250 1.06 37.4 4.59 0.181 34.0

I suggest you figure out what the biggest fan is that will fit inside your duct, and try to find a fan that size with similar wattage and rpms (to keep the bios happy). Simply use your imagination for fitting. drill holes in the duct for screwing the fan in, or glue it or whatever seems appropirate.

I've attached a socket a cooler to a mx460 board using a steel drill and 4 screws .... whatever u wanna do, just use your imagination and it can be done.

 

[Guest]

Unfortunately, it seems the fan is integrated with the air duct and not designed to be replaceable (so you have to get an entire new air duct/fan combo), but HP no longer sells a replacement duct/fan combo and I can't seem to find it anywhere else online either. So it looks like I will have to get a new air duct and new fan. Here are the pictures of my current air duct/fan and case:









Sorry about the poor image quality, I am using a very cheap camera.

Does anyone have any ideas as to a new air duct? I have found a couple, but they seem pretty large compared to this tiny one and the lack of space I have between the back of case (on the left of last picture) and the CPU.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

Are you sure you can't get it out? On the second image it looks like there are two plastic 'flaps' inside the duct which you can push a bit away from the fan and then 'prod' the fan in from the outside ...

Anyhow, plexiglass is cheap ... get some of that, and built your own duct
I imagine for less than $10 you'll get a 50x50cm plate to cut in pieces ....

 

[slacker190]

Those fans are removable, you just have to force them backwards through the duct. Get a replacement fan of the same size, and snap it back in place. Not much to the operation.