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    GPU fan won't turn on

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by DaUsedMCR, May 21, 2014.

  1. DaUsedMCR

    DaUsedMCR Notebook Guru

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    I took out the processor, gpu and both fans for cleaning with compressed air, and after I put them all back in, the GPU fan won't start and the laptop overheats.... Is my only choice to buy a used one on ebay? are there any later model/improved fans that will work?
     
    DaUsedMCR, May 21, 2014
    #1
  2. widezu69

    widezu69 Goodbye Alienware

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    Did you plug the cable back into its header? There is no reason a fan would fail from being hit with compressed air.
     
    widezu69, May 21, 2014
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  3. DaUsedMCR

    DaUsedMCR Notebook Guru

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    yes, and I double checked that I did. I ordered a new one from Dell for $15 and they waived the shipping. Hopefully it's just my fan that went bad and not something on the MB. I used a full mechanic style air compressor and i didn't hold the blades still when I blasted it, so I think I might've overspun the fan and broken it. That's all I can think of as to why it's not starting... Could that have been it?
     
    DaUsedMCR, May 21, 2014
    #3
  4. mariussx

    mariussx Notebook Evangelist

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    If the fan is not connected to the mainobard, there is no reason to hold the blades from spinning. It is not possible to overspin a fan with some compressed air. Cable for the fan can be broken inside and not make proper connection. But you will see soon enough if new fan fixes the issue anyway, I hope it does :)
     
    mariussx, May 22, 2014
    #4
  5. namaiki

    namaiki "basically rocks" Super Moderator

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    I have killed a fan in a previous laptop of mine, not with an air compressor but with a vacuum machine.
     
    namaiki, May 22, 2014
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  6. Alienware-L_Porras

    Alienware-L_Porras Company Representative

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    Let us know if the new fan worked. It could be that a cable broke.
     
    Alienware-L_Porras, May 22, 2014
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  7. DaUsedMCR

    DaUsedMCR Notebook Guru

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    The fan is getting here tomorrow, and I should have time on Saturday to throw it in. I'll post the results. I'm really hoping it's that and not something else. I'm using my school pc which is an Acer with an 11.6" screen and the tiniest keyboard ever, its rough coming down from the monster M17. It took me like 5 minutes to type all this because I'm used to the larger keyboard lol
     
    DaUsedMCR, May 22, 2014
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  8. DaUsedMCR

    DaUsedMCR Notebook Guru

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    Fedex came on Friday but wanted a signature and I wasn't home, so it got delivered today. I just put it in and all seems to be fine so far... I've been monitoring my temps with CPUID, While playing warcraft 3 (yeah its old, but I love it), my AMD temps are in the 140's to mid 150's F range, and the CPU Package (which I'm assuming is the average of all cores) is in the 120's F. Are these normal values? This is without a cooling pad/fan I normally have it on and just on a table.
     
    DaUsedMCR, May 27, 2014
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  9. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    Convert them into a sensible measurement like centigrade or kelvin and I can tell you :p
     
    Meaker@Sager, May 27, 2014
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  10. DaUsedMCR

    DaUsedMCR Notebook Guru

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    DaUsedMCR, May 27, 2014
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  11. DaUsedMCR

    DaUsedMCR Notebook Guru

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    No help on the temps? I noticed also that my thermal paste was looking pretty bad, so I ordered some of that to reapply.
     
    DaUsedMCR, Jun 1, 2014
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  12. Meaker@Sager

    Meaker@Sager Company Representative

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    Well what do you think? Have you looked up temperatures in say a review of your machine or even a desktop version of your chip? Or just what temperature silicon tends to run at. It's a learning experience that teaches you what the norms of a system are.
     
    Meaker@Sager, Jun 1, 2014
    #12