Help! Fan sounds like its rubbing against the bottom cover!??

Hi there!

For a few months now when I switch my Acer Aspire 5535 on for about 5 mins it sounds like the fan is rubbing against the bottom cover. It does go away when it warms up but its not very good when I have to use it on the train or in the library!!

Is there anything i can do? Can i take the cover off and have a look without damaging anything? The laptop runs fine otherwise.

Many thanks, Karl.

 

If anyone can help with this or point me to somewhere I can get help i'd greatly appreciate it, cheers!

 

Can you post a picture of the bottom cover? It should be safe and easy to open. If you didn't open it before, maybe you should clean the fan. It always helps.

Even better, you could disassemble the fan and clean the bearing. My 7720 uses a fan with magnetic bearing, so the fan axle and bearing do not come into direct contact, but sometimes dust collects there and I can hear the sound you describe.

 

Hi! Thanks for the advice! I'll get a picture up asap. I thought the cover would come off pretty easy and that nothing would be attatched to it.

 

Usually a blocked fan will also be associated with increased temperatures in use (see HWMonitor 1.15 ( http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php) or a similar utility.)

Generally the fan will run slowly if at all when cool then speed up as it heats. So if it vibrates etc at a particular low speed this may only happen once during warm up. Unless it is full of dust you may need a new fan or just to tighten the fan securing screws a little !!


In jumping into this I am assuming that you have localised the sound to the fan area rather than the HDD or a strange speaker noise ?

 

Tightening the screw is a good idea, it helped me once or twice. Just make sure to do it carefully, so the fan doesn't crack.