P-7811fx Gpu Fan Is Dead!(?) Please help me!

I really hope I can get some help with this one!

I recently updated my BIOS to .12C
I don't know if that has anything to do with my problem, but until then everything was fine.

About 1 week later (I'm a bit busy so no time for games right now), I was playing the Transformers II bluray with powerDVD (that uses the gpu to process the video playback) and suddenly my laptop turned OFF!! I put my hand on the plastic over the gpu exhaust and nearly got a burn!! It was hotter than ever.
I thought it might have been because I wasn't using my zalman base w/fans at that day, but yesterday I tried to play BATMAN A.A. (which I've completed with no issues a month ago) and the same thing happened!

Then it hit me that it must be the gpu fan that's malfunctioning, because I couldn't hear it's usual noise while spinning up during games, neither was much air coming out of the exhaust. I checked and realized the fan was not spinning at all.

I also recently blew out the fans (with my breath) to get rid of dust (there wasn't much of that either) so it can't be stuck because of that.
I am also confident that I have treated my laptop with extreme care so I don't believe the fan connector may have been unplugged in any way.

I have discovered that the fan model is a Sunon Maglev 70mm part#: GB0507PGV1-A
But no retailers have it available, just some ebay sellers but then again their pictures
http://cgi.ebay.com/Acer-Aspire-9300-CPU-Cooling-Fan-GB0507PGV1-A-TESTED_W0QQitemZ370290492366QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item56370883ce
http://global.ebay.com/Dell_1501_1420_1525_1520_CPU_Cooling_Fan_GB0507PGV1-A_/290339699109/item
... are slightly different than the manufacturer's:
http://www.excelcomputerinc.com/partpicture_EX.asp?ref=680&category=fan
http://www.laptoprepairparts.com/html/details.asp?ref=680&category=fan
Another shop that has similar fans is this -> http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.pchub.com/uph/photos/item/6336130189565900001_DQ5D577D115z.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.pchub.com/uph/laptop/88-29866-4530/Forcecon-DFB601005M30T-Cooling-Fan-.html&usg=__Q-rElx-FL_uDNytD5OMQ8Zp89bE=&h=105&w=140&sz=3&hl=el&start=7&um=1&tbnid=HkRFMfqNgjkiwM:&tbnh=70&tbnw=93&prev=/images%3Fq%3DGB0507PGV1-A%26hl%3Del%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:el:IE-SearchBox%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1
Can anyone confirm that any of the above fans is the one I need?

So far I haven't seen anyone experiencing the same problem as me, I will probably update to BIOS .17C to check if it's a bios issue (which I think it's not), and then I'll be either taking my laptop apart, risking everything, or just giving up!


PS. I have tried a couple of monitoring programs, such as fanspeed, but I really can't seem to find any software that detects my fans (never mind their rpm's)!

 

Update:

Just upgraded to BIOS .17 and fan is still dead.

I guess the only way is "surgery" but I would really appreciate any help on this!

I have already seen many disassembly guides so I won't have a problem with that (I hope), however acquiring the proper fan could be an issue!!

Any suggestions? (Perhaps based on my above links)

 

You're going to need to clean it out at the very least. Sometimes just blowing the vents out doesnt work if you've let it go for a very long time.

Best bet is to follow the disassembly guide at the top fo the forum and really get in the fans. Alot of times dust can "wrap" around the fan in these unit and will cause it to slow down or even stop. Usually you can get the dust out and the fan will go back to working again.

 

Hehe!!!

I must have been in your mind because since I last posted here, I have by now fully disassemled the laptop and you are right!!

There 2 GIANT pieces of dust in between 2 pairs of flaps of the fan.

I have removed them and tried to clean the exhausts as carefully as possible.

I will start re-assebling now and I'll get back to you with the results (hope it works!!)

 

Phew!!!

To my greatest relief, after disassebling and re-assebling the laptop (removing all the dust that was "wrapped" in that fan in the midtime) my fan started rolling again!

I did a quick test with BATMAN A.A. and the gpu was even cooler than the last time my fan was working properly (I guess it's spinning a bit faster now)!

I was never before so happy to be able to hear that noisy fan!!

However, if everyone who buys a laptop has to take it all apart once a year to clean it (and I have blown the vents 2-3 times in the past 6 months getting some serious amount of dust out), most people will just assume that their laptop has failed (though most people who buy 7811FX would be gamers so they'd know a few more things than "most people")!!

 

Is there a quick guide to specifically get to the gpu fan? I'm kind of scared to do all of that but there are two GIANT pieces of dust keeping the fan stuck and I can't pick it through the vents on the bottom.

 

Try your best to angle the compressed air towards the exit of the fan so the heatsink might break up the dust under the pressure from the air... if not what laptop do you have?