Computer Heat Troubles

[lisalover1]

Well, my computer has been running strangely whenever I run Windows 7. For a while, the fan would always run constantly and very loudly, and the computer was very, very hot. So, I decided to try and take apart my laptop and clean the fans using compressed air. I wasn't able to open it up all the way due to confusion and fear of breaking something, so I just cleaned the fans from the outside. When I started up the computer, I noticed that the fan now no longer runs at all, and that CPU usage is always at 100% in the task manager. What should I do? I think my computer is running even warmer now, and I am worried about it. What should I do? My laptop is an HP Pavilion dv7-1020us upgraded from Windows Vista to Windows 7. I should note that the laptop runs considerably cooler when I use Ubuntu Linux, but the fan still doesn't work.

[Hobie-wan]

Fan not working = BAD.

You're lucky it isn't just shutting off or rebooting randomly on you. Get the fan fixed. Now.

[Ziggy]

It can be a pain in the ass taking apart a laptop and putting it back together. Try searching the Internet, there might be a disassemble guide for your model laptop. If not, try to find one for a similar HP laptop, they're mostly the same. After you've taken one apart, you can usually figure out others.

Sometimes fans can be temperamental. When you blew it with air, you might have clogged some clumps of dust in it so it can't spin up. You might try, while the computer is on, trying to nudge it with something and see if you can get it to spin up. Maybe a toothpick or something you can get through the vents.

If that's a no go, I would try opening it up and taking the fan out to thoroughly clean it. Like I said, there may be clumps of dust all in it. But if that's a no go, then you'll have to replace the fan. The hardest part is taking apart the laptop and putting it back together. Replacing the fan should be cake, if you find the correct replacement (I'm not up to speed with laptop CPU fans - maybe HP has a proprietary one that mounts differently or something).

edit: Oh, by the way, fans are usually dirt cheap so you don't have to worry about that. The only time they might not be cheap is if you HAVE to buy an HP or Dell fan because they decided to make their own special fan connector (I HATE YOU, DELL!).

[Hobie-wan]

edit: Oh, by the way, fans are usually dirt cheap so you don't have to worry about that. The only time they might not be cheap is if you HAVE to buy an HP or Dell fan because they decided to make their own special fan connector (I HATE YOU, DELL!).

Every laptop I've worked on had a different proprietary fan/heatpipe in it. Granted this includes older Sony, IBM, Dell, and Wistron made units.

Good point about a lump of dust possibly stopping the fan if it was really dirty though. Usually if you can get the keyboard lifted you can get to the cooling fan. Most have a plastic piece that is above the keyboard that pops off to reveal a few screws that hold the keyboard in. Then you carefully lift and unplug it and get at the fan.