Faulty Fan? (not the fan stays full throttle on boot issue)

Hey Guys,

Firstly I just wanted to thank you all for the great contributions to this forum. I picked up my x15 a few months back and after reading the positive reports on this forum I installed a SSD and had a massive performance boost. All the little tweaks and quirks of SSD disks I found on this board. Much appreciated.

Anyway so to my problem. We all know about the issue with the fan staying on full throttle when booting. Lots of people reported it and I have it every 5 or so start ups. Not a problem I'm used to it.

My issue is that every 5 or so boot up just after I have pressed the power button one of the fans spins and gurgles really loud for about 5 seconds then stops. It sounds like a fan clipping paper or the bearings need greesing. My question is which of the fans is the lickly to be? CPU or GPU and has anyone had similar issues and resolved?

I don't want to get Dell involved unless I can't fix it because I can't reproduce this issue everytime I boot up.

Thanks again!

 

Try to reproduce it by plugging the cable in (with the battery already in) and turning the laptop on within like 3 seconds of each other. That's how I can reproduce it. When it happens I just turn the laptop off straight away and on again and it is fixed. It's no biggie. Otherwise, boot into windows and within 3 mins it should be off.

 

Yes, try the "battery drainage".

* Remove battery and AC plug for a few minutes... and press the Alienhead for a while.
* Then plug everything back (power cable and battery)
* ... try again!

Good luck!

More info: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m15x/522159-m15x-issues.html#post6757108

 

Thanks for the input guys. I've noticed this happening more frequently and it's coming from the left side of my x15. Is that the CPU or GPU fan and has anyone had any experience cleaning it/servicing it?

 

if you got the alienware in front of you the left is cpu and the right gpu

 

i have the same exact problem its the cpu

 

Forst cleaning step would be to turn the computer off, and use a can of compressed air to blow the dust out of the heat sinks and fan. If you wanted to do more cleaning, there are instructions on the forum (or, for that matter, in the M15x manual) for disassembling the laptop - you can remove the fan covers and make sure you got all the dust out. I would also get Throttlestop (thanks to Unclewebb) or HWinfo32/64 and check your temperatures. If the CPU is running hot, you might need to repaste. Inap has posted clear instructions on repasting, if you need it.

Joe

 

Or you can call Dell to do it

 

Hey peeps, I've managed to fix the problem. I opened my x15 per the strip down video and used a can of compressed air to blow through the CPU fan from the outside (back) of the laptop (into the heat sink).

This has fixed the issue. I suppose under normal circumstance I would have done this before posting but my x15 is only 8 months old and I keep my environment super clean.. I didn't expect a dust build up so quickly.

If you are experiencing the same issue use a can of compressed air to clear the dust first. But remember don't spin the fans with the compressed air too fast or on an angle! you don't want to do damage to the fan bearings.

 

Im on the phone with dell right now anout the same problem cause my CPU fan makes horrible noise when at low idle but goes away when it cranks up.
Your compressed Air trick might work for the moment. Just call alien/dell and have the part replaced.