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.
December 29th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Hi there, I hope you can help.
My laptop shuts down after running for about 30 minutes. It just turns off by itself like loosing power. If I restart the laptop, it works for a while and shuts down again.
I can hear the fan working. What is wrong?
December 30th, 2008 at 8:04 am
Anton,
Try cleaning the heatsink. I think your laptop shuts down because it overheats. Make sure the heatsink is clean and there is no dust inside.
January 1st, 2009 at 12:00 pm
When I power up my notebook the fan starts too and I can hear grinding noise. I’m listening very closely but I cannot tell where the noise coming from. The fan is very close to the hard drive. I don’t know if I have a bad hard drive or fan. How can you tell?
January 1st, 2009 at 1:48 pm
Charly,
Remove the hard drive and start the laptop without it. If you still can hear the same grinding noise, apparently it’s coming from the fan.
January 2nd, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Thanks man,
I had bad fan. Already ordered a new one from ebay.
January 3rd, 2009 at 3:38 pm
It worked! I found a thick layer of dust inside the fan, fortunately it was on the bottom. I cleaned the fan with air compressor.
Working fine now. Has been running for 3 hours already.
Thanks for the advise.
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Sure. That’s a very common problem. Many laptops (different brands and models) suffer from overheating because of clogged heatsink.
Keep it clean now.
January 5th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
I used my Shop-Vac to suck up all the dust. Works like new now and quite.
January 12th, 2009 at 11:30 pm
When laptop stars it’s quiet but after about 5 minutes something starts making rattling noise and than it goes off. After some time stars again. Do you think its bad fan?
January 13th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Rifan,
I think so. Also, listen for the hard drive. Sometimes a faulty hard drive could make very similar noises.
January 28th, 2009 at 8:55 am
Hi there,
My Dell laptop is dead. before it is dead, i suffered to reboot it, sometimes i have to tune power on a few times to get it booted, but once it is on, it worked ok. But finally, it can not be booted:
when the power is on, LED lights on: sometimes all 3 on for a few second then off completely; sometimes only the light labled A is on for a few seconds then off. every time, the fan doesnt spin, but I noticed it worked before only when CPU is HOT.
What is the problem!?
January 29th, 2009 at 9:49 am
qian,
It’s hard to tell what’s going on with the laptop from your description. Could be bad CPU, motherboard, connection related issue, etc…
Did you check the memory module? Try reconnecting RAM modules. Do you have two RAM modules installed? Try removing them one by one. Not sure if it’s going to help, bu you can try.
Did you test the laptop with another AC adapter? Could be bad adapter.
This description:
Sounds like there could be a problem with the motherboard.
February 27th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
Cleaning the fan/heatsink assembly is a good idea to prevent overheating but make sure you use compressed air. I used a vac and it has caused the fan to now make a noise – probably messed up the bearings or the fan is out of alignment. Guess I’ll have to replace it to get it silent again.
February 27th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Also, it’s a good idea to block the fan so it doesn’t spin while you are cleaning it with compressed air.
March 11th, 2009 at 1:02 am
i have an inspiron 1526 and it started making a grinding noise not too long ago. my laptop is still working but it makes the noise alot and then it stops, it seems to be the fan but how do i get to it?
March 11th, 2009 at 7:53 am
kid,
There is no easy access to the cooling fan in an Inspiron 1526 laptop. The fan is mounted under the motherboard.
In order to access and replace the cooling fan, you’ll have to remove the motherboard as it explained in this service manual.
March 17th, 2009 at 9:29 am
I HAVE A ECS GREEN 736 O EXCEL G736 LAPTOP ITS MAKING GRINDING NOISE ITS NOT THE HARDRIVE AND THE CPU FAN SUNON DC 5 VOLTS GM0506 CLEANED IT AND THEIR SEEMS TO BE COMING FROM SOME WHERE ELSE DOES THIS MODEL HAVE MORE FANS LIKE GPU I WAS GOING TO TRY WITH THE FAN DISCONNECTED BUT I DONT WANT TO DAMAGE THE CPU.AND DONT WANT TO TAKE LAPTOT APART TO FIND THERE IS ONLY ONE FAN.
April 15th, 2009 at 12:28 am
My cooling fan is not working well and i already clean it but I have to change it. My problem is that here in Portugal i can’t find and I don’t know where to find one for my Acer Aspire 1691 wmli. I search on several websites but there is a lot of fan that looks like the same. Can you tell me where can i order one safely? Thanks.
April 16th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
Jose,
Most likely there is more than one fan compatible with your laptop. Find a store selling spare pars for Acer laptops and ask them which fan is compatible with your model. They have an access to the list of spare parts and can tell which one you should use.
April 17th, 2009 at 10:14 am
I have a Dell Inspiron 1525. When I bought the laptop back in December, a few weeks later I noticed that if the computer has alot or large programs running, the fan will begin to rattle like it is falling apart. If I turn the programs off, usually the noice subsides and it sounds like normal again. When I first had it, I recalled at times it would begin to rev up like a jet ready for take off. I haven’t heard this in a while. Now it is just the rattle. It will rattle around , then shut off I guess when it is cool again. Start up a few minutes later and rattle again. If I am just checking email or just have it running, the fan stays pretty normal sounding. I am not sure if this is something that needs to be addressed right this moment. I am pretty sure it is loose, a screw a bearing, maybe. If I am doing something that causes it to rattle, I usually try to finish what I do, but I am getting use to it and now start to ignore it , untill I have finished what I need to do on it. My question is, do you think that this is the bearing or something loose. I am sure I should replace it, and I do have warranty. I was going to just ignore the problem until it either failed , or when I get the desktop I want, then maybe send it in. I am definatley going to make use of the warranty and send it in before that runs up in december. So basically to the point. Do you think that this will cause any real problem , if I just continue to ignore it, It is running, but it makes the rattling sound. SO I am not really sure if it is adequately cooling down my system. Thank you for your time.
April 17th, 2009 at 11:50 am
Mike,
The cooling fan can run at a few different speeds. Apparently the bearing is failing and the fan rattles at the highest speed.
I guess the bearing is getting worse and now the fan rattles at all speeds.
To me your description sounds like a failing bearing.
It might cause a real problem if the fan fails completely, you can fry the CPU.
April 19th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I currently use I8kfanGUI software to control my laptop fans, it says i have 2 fans. However, only 1 of them seem to be working, the other sometime on sometime off, and whenever i try to play a game that require heavy graphic one of the fan run at max speed, the other is off…Is there any way that i can control the second fan ?
If possible can you show me where the GPU fan is, on Dell Laptop?
I am using Dell Inspiron 8600.
April 28th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
HI..
PLEASE HELP ME!
I HAVE A COMPAQ PRESARIO 80XL550, have problems, turned off suddenly, I BELIEVE THAT IS THE COOLING FAN. It seems is not working properly? I ALREADY Measured voltages: 5V, works with 5V and a single speed? O VOLTAGE AND MANY MORE SPEED? YELLOW CABLE FOR THAT ROLE? HOW CAN YOU MEASURE THE COOLING FAN, and test whether it works correctly?
THANKS!
April 28th, 2009 at 8:44 pm
KANO,
If the laptop doesn’t start when it’s cold, most likely it’s not related to the cooling fan. The laptop still should turn on even if the fan failed. I think your problem is related to a different component.
Does your laptop get any power if you plug in the power adapter and push on the power button? Is it completely dead or just will not start?
May 7th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Hi: Have a near new ACER 4420 notebook. Cooling fan comes on every 80 secs in a 61 degree room. Is that normal?? Have CPU at it’s lowest setting, power save on, and NO antivirus software at the moment.
May 7th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
glenn,
I think it’s normal. Right now I’m typing on a Toshiba Satellite A135 laptop and my cooling fan turn on and off about every 10 seconds. I’m in a 72 degree room.
Try cleaning the heat sink with compressed air. Maybe the heat sink is clogged with dust and cleaning it will help to keep the CPU cooler and the fan will turn on less often.
May 24th, 2009 at 10:35 am
COMPAQ PRESARIO SERIES 800 MODEL: 80XL550
REPAIR MAN SAYS: If the laptop doesn’t start when it’s cold, most likely it’s not related to the cooling fan. The laptop still should turn on even if the fan failed. I think your problem is related to a different component.
Does your laptop get any power if you plug in the power adapter and push on the power button? Is it completely dead or just will not start?
KANO: HI, Laptop turn on! FAN turn on! turns off when hot! change the fan! and still failed! goes off! please help me!
May 26th, 2009 at 9:01 pm
KANO,
If the cooling fan works fine but the laptop still shuts down because of overheating, it’s possible that you have to replace thermal grease between the heat sink and CPU. Maybe thermal grease dried out?
July 14th, 2009 at 9:55 am
compaq pressario pop up adjust display resolution while adjusting screen went black and fans stopped working. now boots after logo screen flashes twice and goes blank still no fans
July 16th, 2009 at 10:08 pm
robert,
Can you boot in safe mode? Press F8 when logo appears on the screen and select safe mode. Can you?
July 26th, 2009 at 9:08 am
wat is the type/model numb (or anything else) for the acer trvaelmate 6291 cooling fan??
July 31st, 2009 at 10:44 am
bro,
I believe the thermal module part number is 60.TG607.010
I googled for a while and found the list of all parts for an Acer Travelmate 6291/6231 laptops.
September 4th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I’m looking for the cooling fan for the Sony vaio PCG-3C2L (VGN-CS110E), do you happen to know the part number dor the fan only? I called Sony directly and the y told me that I have to buy the cooling fan assembly(complete with the heat sink), which I don’t need and is too expensive from them. Do you happen to know if the fan model is compatible with other models Vaio? I seem to be having trouble when I search using the model number I indicated to you. I would really appreciate your help. Thanks in advance.
September 8th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Boloraw,
I don’t know the part number but you can try searching on SparePartsWarehouse.com
They list parts (and part numbers) for many different Sony laptops.
If you cannot find the part you are looking for, try calling them.
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:30 pm
hi can you help me buy cpu fan Sony vaio PCG – 3C2L tk. how i buy can`t you help me please.
September 23rd, 2009 at 4:33 pm
phuc,
September 25th, 2009 at 6:44 am
ihave adynabook setalite toshiba 1800sa
model ps183n i have try to boot it it never bootup the fan never run the processor is ok memory ok the led ight well could the battery be the problem?
September 25th, 2009 at 9:55 am
hi can you show me where i buy CPU Fan laptop Model PCG 3C2L drand new.tk
September 26th, 2009 at 11:30 am
phuc,
Check out sparepartswarehouse.com
They offer many parts for Sony laptops. I believe they get parts directly from Sony. I bought a couple of keyboards for Sony laptops and they send very good quality parts to me.
September 26th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
sammy franklin,
I don’t think so. The laptop should start even when the battery is removed. Remove the battery and try turning it on. Does it start when the battery if removed? If not, the battery is not your problem.
You can try minimizing the system as much as you can. Remove the hard drive, optical drive, disconnect the LCD screen, etc… Leave only main components such as motherboard, memory and CPU. If the laptop still doesn’t turn on, most likely there is a problem with the motherboard as you said CPU and memory is OK.
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
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?
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?
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.
December 13th, 2009 at 8:30 pm
What if the cooling fan doesnt work will that keep the laptop from turning on?
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..
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.
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?
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.
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.
March 15th, 2010 at 4:49 am
hi i have a prob with dell inspiron 1440. the fan is making a noise. i called dell center to fix it. they said they change the motherboard and the fan. but still the fan is making noise and after 1 or 2 hours the laptop shuts down automatically. when i took my laptop to my computer maintainance lab in university they said the fan is not working. then again i called the dell center they said the fan will only work when the computer is overheated and it will not work if the laptop is overheated. is this the case? if so why do my laptop shuts down after 1-2 hours and why do the fan still make noise. plz help. so that i can contact dell center and tell them the problem again.
March 22nd, 2010 at 10:13 am
i m hving hp busines series. its fan doesnt work all the time. not even after it been too hot..
March 29th, 2010 at 11:16 am
saurav,
Does your laptop shut down by itself when hot?
The cooling fan will not start at all or it works intermittently?
March 29th, 2010 at 2:12 pm
smriti,
Why wouldn’t you send your laptop back to Dell if the problem still exists?
That’s true. In most laptops the cooling fan turn on only when the laptop is getting hot. But if your laptop shuts down by itself when hot, something is wrong.
Usually it shuts down because of overheating, when the heat sink is clogged with dust OR the cooling fan doesn’t work.
http://www.laptoprepair101.com/laptop/2006/01/04/toshiba-laptop-overheating/
April 11th, 2010 at 10:52 am
My Dell latitude D600. My laptop overheated and shut down. Tried to turn it back on and it wouldnt come on. Found your site and opened it up omg no wonder it over heated. The question is, since it wouldnt come back on, is there more going on? Meaning did it fry like the motherboard or something else? I have cleaned the fan and heatsink. And I have no issue replacing the parts that need to be replaced. I just dont want to replace them and still not have it work because something else was damaged. So, is there a way of testing the system to see if it will come back on?
April 12th, 2010 at 7:55 am
Laura Taylor,
Yes, it’s possible you have another problem but I cannot tell what’s going on without looking at the laptop.
In order to start your laptop with video, you need only three main components: motherboard (with video card), processor and memory. If you cannot start the laptop with a known good AC adapter, there is a chance that one of the above mentioned main components is bad.
Try reconnecting memory modules. Try removing memory modules one by one and test the laptop with each one separately.
May 7th, 2010 at 2:43 am
I own MSI laptop with intel duo processor. Every 9-10 monthes I face the same problem- CPU fan stops spinning. So every few months I take my laptop to MSI representative and pay them to fix it, they finish the procedure in less than 10 minutes. The procedure consists of opening the case of the laptop, and removing the dust from the heat sink (this is how they explained it to me). Yesterday the same thing happened again. I decided to fix it myself. I opened the case removed the dust from everything I could, but the fan continued to be still. I brought it immediately to MSI representatives and they fixed problem once again. The reprsentative told me that he just put a thermal grease between processor and heat sink. He also admitted there was no dust inside the case. But then they had put the grease there 10 months ago! I suspect that they are not informing me completely about what exactly they are doing to fix my laptop, they know that it’s simple enough that I could do it myself instead of paying them money every few months to do it. For example they could be entering the BIOS setup and changing something (BIOS is responsible for initial fan spinning), I would be so greatful if anyone could tell me any related information to my problem.
June 13th, 2010 at 7:20 pm
It would be really handy if someone published a list of which laptops have easy access to the CPU heatsink for dust removal by removing a small cover, verus which laptop models require removal of the keyboard. Then we could buy accordingly.
June 16th, 2010 at 11:39 pm
My Asus F6V laptop can boot but after logging, it turn off automatically. I try to turn on it but the second times i turn on , it turns off right away. I wonder my problem is. Can you help me?
June 21st, 2010 at 9:54 pm
Alisa,
Maybe overheating? Have you tried cleaning the cooling fan and heatsink? Can you hear the cooling fan working before the laptop shuts off?
June 26th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Hi, I have an Acer 4937G. I have massive overheating problems, which escalate after playing games. I am unable to get good framerates on games due to the heat. The fan is working fine, it’s unclogged, but the ram, HDD, gpu and cpu are all too hot to touch. I have no idea how to take the laptop apart and what to do…Please help…
June 27th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
Aakash Jain,
If the fooling fan works and heatsink is clean, it’s possible you need to replace thermal grease between the heatsink and CPU.
Maybe thermal grease dried out and not working properly.
Maybe use the cooling pad?
June 29th, 2010 at 10:30 pm
i have hp dv9000 some thing went wrong with this when i press the power button i can see the only power light and 1 light from motherboard for less then sec or 1 sec and turn off .
any one can help plz i added the thermal past cleaned heatsink fan but sill same problem .
is any one knows whats going on with my laptop
will ve very thankfull
June 29th, 2010 at 10:36 pm
a-k,
Most likely it’s either bad memory or motherboard failure.
Try removing memory modules one by one. Test the laptop with each module in either slot. If the problem doesn’t go away, most likely this is motherboard failure.
Pavilion dv9000 has a known problem with the motherboard – video chip failure.
You’ll find more info here: http://www.insidemylaptop.com/free-repair-hp-pavilion-compaq-presario-laptops-out-of-warranty/