Cooling fan
A CPU cooling fan is a dedicated fan which cools down the heatsink and eventually the CPU (Processor). Usually the CPU cooling fan comes as a part of the heatsink assembly – a metal part drawing heat from the CPU chip. In addition to the CPU cooling fan, some laptops have a dedicated GPU (graphics processing unit) fan which cools down the GPU chip.
The CPU and GPU cooling fans connect directly to the motherboard via a cable running from the fan. When CPU and GPU chips get hotter, the cooling fan spins faster.
COOLING FAN LOCATION IN A LAPTOP.
On some laptops the cooling fan can be easily accessed through a door on the bottom, as on the following Gateway laptop.
If you cannot find it on the bottom, then it’s buried inside the case, as on the following Dell laptop.
COOLING FAN RELATED PROBLEMS.
If your laptop feels very hot and shuts down without any warning, it’s possible that you have a faulty fan. Listen for the fan. Is it working? Sometimes you can see the fan through the fan grill on the bottom of the laptop. Can you see the fan spinning?
If the fan never starts, probably it is bad and has to be replaced.
When the fan bearing goes bad, the fan starts making grinding noise. In this case you’ll have to replace the fan.
If your CPU fan works hard all the time, most likely it happens because the heatsink is dirty and is clogged with dust and lint. You can clean the heatsink using compressed air.
Need spare parts for your laptop?
If you are looking for spare parts for your laptop you can find brand new and used parts here. Just search by the part name and laptop model.
February 10th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
Divyesh,
Most likely the laptop shuts down because of overheating. It happens because there is dust stuck inside the heat sink and cooling fan.
In most cases you can clean the heat sink assembly with compressed air.
Buy a can of compressed air or find an air compressor and spray air into the intake on the button until all dust is gone. Test your laptop now.
February 4th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
hi,
i have a compaq presario c700 laptop.
with intel celeron + 2gb ram + 250 Harddisk.
My laptop is autometic shut down after 2 to 3 hours.
i always put my laptop on table then also it’s shutdown autometic.
after 3 hours it’s heated more.
Please email me your replay as soon as possible.
Thank you.
January 19th, 2010 at 11:27 pm
brainsnake,
Here’s a guide for taking apart a Compaq Presario F700. Not sure if it’s similar to your laptop but it might help to access and replace the cooling fan.
http://www.insidemylaptop.com/disassemble-compaq-presario-f700-notebook/
Is it similar to Presario C700?
January 17th, 2010 at 6:02 pm
I have HP COMPAQ Presario c700. I know that My CPU fan is not working properly, I want to replace it. So, please tell me how can i find part nomber for my fan and how to replace it in home. I mean it can get messy if i just try to figure out way to open it. Please help me.
December 19th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Hi,
I have IBM think pad T60: 6371-CTO:
Laptop fan is making noise Can you please let me know which is the correct part Number.
Thermal device and fan (Integrated) : 41W6408
(OR)
Thermal device and fan (Discrete) : 41W6409
Thank you,
Prashanth A..
December 13th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
What if the cooling fan doesnt work will that keep the laptop from turning on?
October 1st, 2009 at 1:13 pm
EDWARD MICHNIEWICZ,
I think it’s possible but you have to have some soldering skills. Also, you have to know how to use a multimeter.
I think you can remove the motherboard and using a multimeter find where you can solder the fan directly. It’s will be on as soon as you turn on the laptop.
Where to solder the fan? I don’t know. All motherboards are different.
October 1st, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Sacey Shull,
I believe you cannot use PCG-3C2L number for finding spare parts. There should be another number somewhere on the keyboard cover or screen bezel. It also could be PCG-XXX or VGN-XXX number. Can you see it on your laptop?
September 29th, 2009 at 8:09 am
My Sony Vaio has barely enough time to login into the OS before it shuts down. I can’t hear the fan so It much be that, where do I get a new one for the PCG-3C2L?
September 27th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
My Acer Aspire 3690-2519 laptop cooling fan runs when the computer first boots, apparantly as a test, but then NEVER comes on again and my processor starts to cook. Obviously the fan is not the problem but rather the control circuit. Is there any way to run it all the time as the computer is almost always on AC?
Thanks,
Ed