Replacing laptop fan?

VanyaHargreeves

Hi guys,
I have a dell inspiron 1545, and my laptop fan seems to have stopped working. I cleaned it out but it still isn't working, and I'm thinking it'll be needing replacing...Problem is I'm not the best at technology and I get the feeling it's not exactly quite as simple as taking out a heat sink to reach the laptop fan. So I was wondering if
a) anyone could give me a rough estimate of how much it might cost to get professionally done and
b) if not, give me a short tutorial on how to do it? Would I have to remove the keyboard? Because I attempted that earlier but failed miserably.
- Would it be a better idea to just scrap it and buy a new laptop?
And c) If worst comes to worst, a recommendation of a really good laptop? I was perhaps thinking a Sony Vaio but I'm told they are overpriced.


Forgot to say - please, and thank you very much! Guh, I can be so rude sometimes...

LucianH

I'm about to do something similar with my daughter's HP. I came across this site which has good instructions of how to do it:

http://www.insidemylaptop.com/category/3-compaq-hp-laptops/

It may be worth searching the site to see if you can find your laptop. I also found a maintenance manual for the HP with some searching on google.

If you can find the same you can at least take a view of whether you think you can do it.

VanyaHargreeves

LucianH wrote: »

I'm about to do something similar with my daughter's HP. I came across this site which has good instructions of how to do it:

http://www.insidemylaptop.com/category/3-compaq-hp-laptops/

It may be worth searching the site to see if you can find your laptop. I also found a maintenance manual for the HP with some searching on google.

If you can find the same you can at least take a view of whether you think you can do it.

Thank you!
Sadly I can't find anything that applies to my laptop

GunJack

fans can be either very easy or very difficult.

1. easy - if access to it is just under a removable cover on the rear of the machine, then it's 3 screws and unplug the power connector. Sounds like if you've cleaned it out you have an easy one.

2. difficult - if you have to take half the lappy apart to get access to the fan. Once you get to it, though, you've done the difficult bit, and it reverts 1. above. Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly*

*Copyright Haynes Manuals since the year dot

GunJack

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1545/en/index.htm

Service manual here to download

VanyaHargreeves

The thing is, I can reach into the fan in order to clean it after I take out the heat sink, but I can't see any screws or any way of actually removing the fan.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1525/en/SM/spearsc4.jpg

This is what it looks like, I don't know if you'd be able to gage anything from that?

VanyaHargreeves

I forgot to mention, I'm quite technologically impaired - so I've just mostly assumed it's the laptop fan that's the problem. This is because I cannot hear any laptop fan noises, which is unusual because it's a laptop...and my laptop core temperature is 92 degrees which is VERY not good. So I've just assumed that the laptop fan is broken. Does this sound right?

chunter

The part itself costs about a tenner.

The problem is that the motherboard may have to come out to get at the fan. (or at least most of the components)

Having said that, Dell do tend to be about more sensible about it than most manufacturers.
Think I did a inspiron 1000 in less than an hour earlier in the year.

It's figidy and it's only because manufacturers make it awkward.
It should be as easy to sort out as replacing a wireless card.

1545 service manual.
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins1545/en/index.htm
Yeh, system board has to come out.

VanyaHargreeves

I found the part on eBay for £3.65 second hand; do you think it's worth it to get a new one, or will a second hand one be okay?

GunJack

chunter wrote: »

Yeh, system board has to come out.

..and that's what hacks me off the most - the most common bits you need to change, like wifi cards, ram, fans (even if it is only to clean them) and the like they hide :mad:

Yet good design leaves all these easy to get to. Unfortunately the 1545 is in the 50% that are pigs, comparatively speaking

buglawton

My lappy was making a high pitched rattly whine that I always attributed to the fan. Took off the keyboard and fan seemed ok. It turned out I needed a new hard drive. Now, blissful silence.