Notebook GPU fan dead?

When I start my laptop, my gpu fan (On a ZV6000) will start up and then a few seconds later stop and stay off, regardless of the heat output. What could be the source of the problem or a possible solution? The only thing I've done to it was spray some air into the vent to remove some dust, could that have caused the problem? I could really use some help, thanks in advance.

 

Make sure that nothing is stopping the fan from spinning. A large amount of dust can build up within the fan's centre, and cause enough friction to stop it from spinning. If thats not the problem, then it could be that temperature sensor isn't working properly, and the fan can't spin, because its not reading anything from the sensor.

 

Are you sure it does not work normal? It might be not enough heat for it to start. But if it starts during laptop restart - it shows that fan is OK.

 

I don't think there is any particulate matter within the fan, since it initally starts up at full speed when the computer powers up and then stops. If it is the temperature sensor, how could I either check it to see if it's malfunctioning or replace it? Thanks for the help btw, Zero.

 

It stops after the initial boot and does not start again, regardless of the temp.

 

Load some soft to check the operational temps of your components.

 

If it's not running and your computer is still working fine, then it's just not getting hot enough for it to run.

 

You guys don't seem to understand. The issue is not whether it gets hot enough to fun or not. It used to run non-stop, now it STOPS entirely after boot. I'm trying to figure out why it has stopped entirely, when it never stopped before.

 

The fan should kick in when the CPU temp is about 55C. What does Core Temp say your CPU gets up to?

I'd be very surprised if your CPU doesn't get hot enough to trigger the fan so you're right to be concerned.

Assuming it is getting hot enough that it should trigger the fan... all I can think of is to open up the notebook and clean out any dust and debris that are clogging the fan and heatsink. The service guide will tell you how to do that. See the Manuals link on the left-hand side of the downloads page for your notebook. The notebook may be smart enough to shut down the fan if it thinks something is restricting its spinning.

 

It's the GPU fan, not the cpu fan (There are two fans) The CPU fan runs fine, the GPU fan died. I had recently blew a can of air on the grill covering the gpu fan to remove some dust, could that have messed something up? (There is no particulate matter keeping the fan from moving) Since I blew the air in there, it didn't work. In a day or two I'm going to try removing the entire backplating (Have to move the external memory to the internal slot under the keyboard anyway) and see if I can tinker with the fan (X200 gpu). Thanks for the suggestions thus far, keep 'em coming.

 

I'd check the connector fo the fan itself. It may have come loose and while its recieving power, it isn't connected to the temperature sensor. It may have become dislodged when the compressed air was used, although the likelyhood of that is somewhat low.

 

Why don't you tell us if the GPU is even overheating. Check your temps before you take the thing apart.

 

Oh... if it's like the zv5000z, there are two fans right next to each other? The second fan kicks in when the CPU gets really hot, I forget the tripping point but it's very difficult to get to. The GPU has no dedicated fan and the integrated ATI 200M really doesn't need one.

 

Edited due to repost*

 

The ZV6000 has a fan for the CPU and for the X200 chipset. Normally both would run (albeit not at full blast) nonstop, regardless of the temperature. Since I blew a can of air on the vent, The fan that keeps the X200 chip cool starts up at max speed on startup and then dies completely a second later. I didn't realize that this happened until I felt how hot my entire laptop got. I'm going to take it apart in the next day or two anyway, so I'll see if I can make sure everything is plugged in and error-check it when I get inside. (I have to dig deep into the laptop to replace the internal memory stick with my external stick, as I plan on getting a new, larger stick of ram (From 768 to 1.5GB))

Oh, and it shut itself off due to overheating just now. I'd really like to figure this out =/

 

Well, I made a discovery... it turns out that it's the CPU fan that's dead, not the gpu. Doh... but I've made no progress toward a resolution... so right now I'm still boned =/

 

Stop saying it's dead, it's not dead. If it was dead your machine would overheat and shut down.

 

My HP dv2000t reboots unless i use my laptop cooler. The GPU temp goes up to 81C without my laptop cooler and after 10-15 minutes it reboots. I'm thinking about either sending it back for repairs or opening it up on my own to see what's up. Sucks though, i don't want to be out of a laptop for even a couple weeks.

 

IT DID. It's dead. I'm trying to find a way to revive it. It used to run, and now it doesn't, leading to OVERHEATING. Therefore that meets my criteria for calling it "dead."

 

What I would do (if your laptop is not under warranty) is get to that fan, unplug it from mobo, blast again with air. Including power pins and connector, then plug back in. If your fan spins on power up, its not the fan but the temp sensor. that will have to be replaced. You can try to blow air on it as well and check it's connection as well.

 

Tryton's suggetion is a good one. Chack the connector of the fan and make sure that its firmly connected to the motherboard. If the fan still doesn't work, then it could be the temperature sensor that has become faulty, or has lost its connection with the fan.

 

Thanks Tryton, Zero, for the help. (And others who posted helpful things) I'll take a good look at its guts this weekend, as this week is way too busy for me to do it sooner If nothing else, it's an excuse to buy a new one, right? (Although I'd prefer not to spend the money =P)