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Fel
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Advice from techs

Post by Fel »

My writing laptop is having issues.

I replaced the fan in it about 6 months ago and it's run alright, but now the fan's stopped working completely. I've got voltage at the connector, and the fan's motor has connectivity (checking an electric motor with an ohm meter can tell you if it's good or bad), yet it's not working. The only thing I can think of is that the fan's not getting enough amps to turn, but if that was the case then the laptop would be having other issues, primarily display issues.

I've never run into an issue like this before. Anyone have any suggestions of what I can try to fix it? As most of you know, I REALLY REALLY REALLY do not want to replace this laptop. If there is any way to fix it, I'd prefer to fix it.
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cdhaag
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Re: Advice from techs

Post by cdhaag »

It sounds like there may be dust in the bearing. You may be able to use an ultrasonic cleaner, failing that you'll need to replace it. Hope this helps.
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Greymist
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Re: Advice from techs

Post by Greymist »

Fel wrote: Mon Aug 09, 2021 1:34 pm My writing laptop is having issues.

I replaced the fan in it about 6 months ago and it's run alright, but now the fan's stopped working completely. I've got voltage at the connector, and the fan's motor has connectivity (checking an electric motor with an ohm meter can tell you if it's good or bad), yet it's not working. The only thing I can think of is that the fan's not getting enough amps to turn, but if that was the case then the laptop would be having other issues, primarily display issues.

I've never run into an issue like this before. Anyone have any suggestions of what I can try to fix it? As most of you know, I REALLY REALLY REALLY do not want to replace this laptop. If there is any way to fix it, I'd prefer to fix it.
If you flick the fan while the laptop is powered up (make sure in the right direction), will it continue spinning? Wondering if the stall/startup current requirements are too high for the ageing components.
DigitalMaestro
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Re: Advice from techs

Post by DigitalMaestro »

…if the worst happens… you can spin up a virtual machine in Hyper V running the older operating system and software that you prefer. It’s generally not recommended to run old OS’s for security reasons, but it would let you use your preferred environment.
konman
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Re: Advice from techs

Post by konman »

Some of the older laptops had a small daughterboard that the power connected to and then sent the power off to the main system board. It is possible that the daughter board is starting to fail and not putting out the required voltage. Or the cable bridging the two had failed on one leg.
Also check without the battery installed a dead short in the battery could be a cause of that as well.
Check the voltage on your AC Adapter to make sure it is putting out the required amount as well.
If all those are OK, then replace the fan. Failing that it will probably be the system board.
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lapland
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Re: Advice from techs

Post by lapland »

Connections are often the problem as machines age. If your getting power to the fan connection, check both volts and amps, then check if the connections are tight. With the six months run time and then failing you may have a weakened connecter, or oxidation at the connections. Use cleaning solution. Rubbing alcohol use to be the thing to use, but may need to upgrade to better solution. clean all the connection parts and carfully examine them for stress, crackes and so on. You may be able to test the fan if you have an old power supply from a PC or other way to generate the correct voltage and amps. You may have to come up with alternative cooling technolgy to extend the life of the laptop. Or you could just do what the rest of us have had to do and update, but customize it to your liking. I hate MS Office ever since they introduced the ribbons and took away the menus. I also don't like the start button, so I use software to mimic the old method of start menu and I use the free office suite, LibreOffice, that is much closer to what I want to use. And I'm not giving MS more money to make worse software. If you really want your old system, make a virtual system on a new machine and copy over your current OS/software and run it that way.
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Fel
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Re: Advice from techs

Post by Fel »

This is getting odder and odder.

I still have the original fan, and I put that in there to make sure that the voltage readings I was getting at the connector were right, and there wasn't a problem with my very old voltmeter...and that fan works.

Put the new fan in, and nothing. Not even an attempt to turn. Not even an attempt to keep turning after I give it a push.

So, I guess a six month old fan died. I'm back to dealing with the grindy fan until I can get another replacement fan, because at least that fan does turn...sometimes. I'll just have to take frequent breaks so the laptop doesn't overheat.

Time to abuse my sister's Amazon Prime account and have her order me a replacement fan. The last time I bought one from Amazon, I had to buy $25 worth of other stuff to have enough of an order for them to ship it, but my sis can just order the fan and have it mailed to my address.

Maybe this time I won't just buy the cheapest available option and invest a little money in the replacement part.
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Grommley
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Re: Advice from techs

Post by Grommley »

With your hardware failing like it is, I would second the idea to migrate this to a VM on a new computer. You can image your old drive to keep your old versions and have everything all set up the way you like it. If you have Windows 10 Pro on the new computer, you can use HyperV for the VM, or if you don't want to use the MS stuff, there are a couple free alternatives. Some are easier to use than others. MS has built in tools to create your virtual drives from physical disks, but it takes a bit of reading to figure out how to use them. I am not sure what other virtualization software uses if you want to image form an existing physical drive, but I am sure there are tools available for them. If it is the physical machine you like the design of and are comfortable with and not just the software, try looking for a used one. People are always recycling older hardware and sometimes you can get a fully working model that is exactly the same. You can then either steal the parts you need from it, or swap your hard drive into it (keep in mind this can break Windows activation from XP on). The VM is probably the better option though since you can just keep moving it forward to new systems, and for security, just don't add a network connection to the VM so it will not have internet and post from your primary machine.

You never know, someone reading on here might even have the parts you would need to fix your laptop. I am sitting beside a stack of about 100 various laptops in a recycle pile in my back tech room right now...
“Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.”

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