cleaning laptop fan

how can i clean me laptop fan? i saw a vid on how to get to the fan but you have to rip half the laptop apart i dont wana do that. can i just blow at the fan through the vents or put a vacuum cleaner next to it? or should i get a can of air?

Comments

  • DaedrothDaedroth Posts: 3,065
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    A can of compressed air is probably your best option if you don't want to take the laptop apart.
  • chrisjrchrisjr Posts: 33,282
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    You have to be careful blowing air into the laptop. If you don't get it right all you do is end up blowing the crud into the guts of the machine for the fan to suck back up again. Back to square one.

    If you are careful sucking it out with a vacuum cleaner might work better. Or a combination of the two. The compressed air to loosen the crud up and the vacuum cleaner to suck it out.

    Obviously the ideal solution is to take the laptop apart to get up close and personal with the fan to clean it properly.
  • zx50zx50 Posts: 91,227
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    If you don't fancy taking half of it apart to clean the fans out, why not take it to a computer shop and ask them to remove the dust from the fans for you?
  • ChickenWingsChickenWings Posts: 2,057
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    I would never use compressed air - do not see the point in blowing dust further in to the laptop and making more problems!

    I just turn the laptop off and hoover over the vents gently. Probably only 5% effective if that, but oh well.
  • zx50zx50 Posts: 91,227
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    I had to take half of the last laptop I had to get rid of the thick dust that was clogging up the fans. After removing the dust, the laptop then started being able to handle things much better without overheating very quickly.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,151
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    If you're going to vacuum it, or used compresses air, you're supposed to hold the fan blades still, to avoid damaging the motor
  • fallfallfallfallfallfall Posts: 308
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    I don't want to be rude but im still like :confused:
    some people say don't use compressed air because it will blow all the dust back in to the laptop. And i dont want to take the keyboard and motherboard out because static electricity will fry it. why cant it be easy?
  • chrisjrchrisjr Posts: 33,282
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    I don't want to be rude but im still like :confused:
    some people say don't use compressed air because it will blow all the dust back in to the laptop. And i dont want to take the keyboard and motherboard out because static electricity will fry it. why cant it be easy?
    If you are careful there is little to no risk from static. As said above the risk with using compressed air is that you just blow the crud back into the laptop. You can't guarantee that blowing in one vent is going to force it out of another vent. And that means the crud is just lying around inside the machine waiting to get sucked into the fan again.

    I would be surprised if you have to strip the machine down that far just to clean the fan out. What make and model is it? Might help if we know the beast in question. :)
  • fallfallfallfallfallfall Posts: 308
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    If you are careful there is little to no risk from static. As said above the risk with using compressed air is that you just blow the crud back into the laptop. You can't guarantee that blowing in one vent is going to force it out of another vent. And that means the crud is just lying around inside the machine waiting to get sucked into the fan again.

    I would be surprised if you have to strip the machine down that far just to clean the fan out. What make and model is it? Might help if we know the beast in question.

    I have a Dell Inspiron 1564 thanks
  • chrisjrchrisjr Posts: 33,282
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    I have a Dell Inspiron 1564 thanks
    Looks like all you have to do is lift out the keyboard. The procedure is described in the service manual

    ftp://ftp.dell.com/Manuals/all-products/esuprt_laptop/esuprt_inspiron_laptop/inspiron-1564_service%20manual_en-us.pdf

    Look for the section on removing the keyboard but just ignore the bit about disconnecting the ribbon cable that links it to the motherboard. You can just fold it out of the way but leave it connected.

    That should open it up enough to get at the fan in the top left corner. I wonder if the procedures you mentioned earlier were to replace the fan which does involve demolishing more of the case. But just to clean it removing the keyboard out of the way should suffice.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 15
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    we have 3 laptops here and i took them apart to clean the dust out of them without any problems at all, its the only way to clean them out properly.putting them all back together was easy.family and friends always give me there laptops to clean when needed.
  • zx50zx50 Posts: 91,227
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    I don't want to be rude but im still like :confused:
    some people say don't use compressed air because it will blow all the dust back in to the laptop. And i dont want to take the keyboard and motherboard out because static electricity will fry it. why cant it be easy?

    I didn't take the motherboard out when clearing the fan in my old laptop a few years ago. I just took the top off it and then started clearing the fan out. The difference in the CPU being able to handle things without overheating was very noticeable.
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