Taking fan out of laptop to clean

[dc007]

Hello all,

My gf has a dell laptop that keeps overheating to the point that it shuts off and is too hot to touch. I was going to go inside of it and see if it was dust buildup inside of the fan unit. If it wasn't, I was going to try and replace the heatsink/fan.

Question I have is, if i just go inside and clean out the fan (assuming I'd have to pull up the processor to do that, would i have to clean and reapply the paste if I am not taking the heat sink off?

 

[popatim]

if you're just unscrewing and removing the fan then no you dont 'need' to

 

[C12Friedman]

Most laptops (including Dell) have a fan/heatsink which is a single unit (very few - no Dells I know of) will allow you to remove the fan only. This guide will show you what is involved
http://www.insidemylaptop.com/replace-cooling-fan-dell-latitude-d600-laptop/
I don't know if this is your gf's model but is representitive of the Dells I've encountered (only 2). You would need thermal compound before replacing the fan.

 

[dc007]

The guide you linked shows taking out the fan without the heatsink. I actually went ahead and just took it together myself due to not being able to find any helpful resources online. I took just the fan out and cleaned it, will monitor the temperature the next few days to see what happens.

The website you linked is a helpful resource, will bookmark for later issues.

 

[C12Friedman]

Actually, step 10 (before removing the fan) is remove heatsink but if you can get your fan out without removing heatsink, awesome - what model Dell (for future reference)

 

[dc007]

Inspirion 1564...looking at the directions more closely, I skipped the part where u take up the heatsink and just unscrewed the fan

 

[C12Friedman]

Inspirion 1564...looking at the directions more closely, I skipped the part where u take up the heatsink and just unscrewed the fan

I like it! The easier, the better.

 

[dc007]

Best answer selected by dc007.