Easy access to fans for cleaning on laptops

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2340

Easy access to fans for cleaning on laptops

2340 points posted to Laptops by celticgibson 04/22/07

As we all know, the inspiron laptops get hot once dust builds up on the CPU/GPU grills and it's impossible to clean them without having to resort to taking the latop apart. It would be awesome if you could put blank plates on the bottom of the laptop, where the fans take in air, to allow for easy access for removal of fans and hence the cleaning of the grills. This would save many a problem with overheating hardware and endless tech support problems.

edbocs 04/22/07	It would also be magnificent if the thermal design had been intelligent enough to not put the air intakes on the unside. i would much prefer that the thing ran more slowly and produced less heat than i had an overheated legtoaster.
boskitos 04/23/07	I have open twice my Inspiron 5150 to clean the fans. Doing this, guaranties is out. It would be better if the access more easy without loosing guaranties
sla161 04/23/07	I wish Dell had kept the latitude D800 fan for laptops. The fan is a removable module on the laptop base which, via the removal of two screws, can snap in and out as needed allowing easy access to the fan and 'cooling fins.' It's great and easy to maintain, especially if one went bad. I was disappointed to see this go away on the latitude D610 and D620. Maintenance isn't too bad with compressed air, but removal of a failed fan is a pain and requires the disassembly of half the laptop.
thejedimaster 04/26/07	intakes/output on the underside is purely retarded!!!!! those are the basics of properly cooling the laptops...
valency Jun 8	Merged Idea originally posted 07/27/07 Make it easier for people to clean the internal fan in Laptops As we all know that Dell is moving its focus to laptops now, hence, it is important to know the needs of your customers. Make it easier to clean the internal fan in laptops. I encountered this problem and I had dust stuck at the vent and it looked awfully hard to open it and to clean for beginner users without getting screwed. Try having a separate portion around the fan with 2 screws around it hence making the cleaning much easier. I have yet to see other companies incorporate this so maybe Dell would want to take this advantage and introduce it first? Other innovative ideas are most appreciative.
gerryjoson Jun 8	Merged Comment originally posted 07/27/07 Dell used to have this feature on the inspiron 8600,D800,M60 and it was great,didn't have to disassemble the whole laptop just to clean out fluff and crud
catalyst Jun 8	Merged Comment originally posted 07/28/07 For me the ultimate solution is to use two identical notebooks, one is used as my system, I remove the TFT display, and keyboard from the system notebook, replacing those components, with an external Larger flat screen, and external USB keyboard and mouse, Removing the keyboard from the notebook allows me to mount a Socket 775 heat sink and fan directly on top of the notebook CPU. I have all of this mounted in a wooden serving tray with the Display in front, and what remains of the sys notebook mounted in the rear. It works great! I would always, always have overheating problems running the sys notebook 24/7 365 until I came up with this solution. The twin notebook is used for travel, when needed. The advantages of this should be obvious, you end up with 2 batteries, and you can swap the hard disks between the systems,(For different OS's) as well as the ability to rotate the parts between the systems, for example, determining HW from SW probs with networking etc. Additionally I rotate the two notebooks every 6 month's or so, keeping them good and burned in. I end up with spare Notebook display, Drives, batteries and am even able to swap the dvd drives for region 1 or region 2 since I travel globally. There have been a few ideas similar to this before the GOPC for example, however I thought it worth mentioning my solution since in 30 years I have never had a notebook that did not succomb to overheating. That socket 775 fan keeps my notebook Ice cold!, Perhaps Dell could come up with a "Transformer" product line integrating some of the concepts along these lines. PS both notebooks are outside of wtty.
justanhonestguy Jun 8	Merged Comment originally posted 07/30/07 Try a can of compressed "air." (Turn off the notebook and remove power source to be safe. And only use quick/brief squirts while holding the can upright - this will prevent any moisture from impacting the fan). Cheap, fast, simple - and works great.
valency Jun 8	Merged Comment originally posted 08/01/07 "[quote]"Try a can of compressed "air." (Turn off the notebook and remove power source to be safe. And only use quick/brief squirts while holding the can upright - this will prevent any moisture from impacting the fan). Cheap, fast, simple - and works great. "[/quote]" Imagine if you are able to take out the internal fan and clean it with a piece of damp cloth. Do you need to go to shops and waste money on buying those cans? Furthermore, how long must you in order for you to use that can again? If Dell only decides to consider "short-term" strategy like sleek designs over "long-term" problems like overheating caused by a inefficient internal fan, I believe before we get to enjoy that laptop we just bought, we would be lying in the hospital first.
pancere Jun 8	Merged Comment originally posted 08/02/07 One long term solution would be to have cooler running components (ultra-low heat generating) in the first place; this would eliminate the need for elaborate cooling. What about more passive cooling?
tagno25 Jun 8	Merged Comment originally posted 08/02/07 How about liquid cooling in higher end laptops? or even Liquid Nitrogen
tol1488 Jun 8	Merged Comment originally posted 08/04/07 This is one thing I thought was geat about my D800.
anordal Jun 8	Merged Comment originally posted 08/13/07 Good idea! ;-) I frequently use the vacuum cleaner, but I think the inner dust is hopelessly stuck.
cosh Jun 8	Merged Comment originally posted 08/13/07 I would love it if I could open up little compartments and stuff and pull out the fans for cleaning. People like to look after their computers, Dell.
wing044 Jun 8	Merged Comment originally posted 08/24/07 I notice dust can accumulate in the space between the fan and the metal gill and block it. I tried vaccum clean it but it didn't work, so I ripped the whole thing part to remove the dust.
james_g Jun 8	Merged Comment originally posted 08/30/07 Several systems used to have this, but due to the cost constraints of making an actual openable panel it was decided at some point to stop doing that. Remember, we are trying to make portables as affordable as possible for customers, every feature you request that requires a serous design change makes it cost that much more. James Gray Dell Resolution Expert Center
kwifler Jun 8	Merged Comment originally posted 09/05/07 Clean notebook fan? Oh, that little buzzing thing behind that grate..... it almost looks like jail bars, I'M AFRAAAAAID!! Only joking, although I have been avoiding cleaning my laptop for over 3 months.... How about using a 2part wafer system that snaps apart between the top and bottom, this SHOULD make it cheaper since everything would be accessible from the middle, and fewer parts to glue together. It would also probably give some of them a more sleek design (like my inspiron B120). Of course, make it difficult, like the battery removal safety lock * 4.

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