Compal HEL80 Disassembly guide - anyone?

Hey all - still managing to run my HEL80 after all these years - except that it's been getting notoriously hot (115 degrees Celsius) when just using firefox - I've tried dusting out as much as the vents and panels I can readily access but this isn't helping.

Does anyone have a working link or disassembly manual to this model that they can put up for me somewhere - much appreciated!

 

Check here:

http://www.cizgi-tagem.org/resource/vfiles/tagem/dms_file/408/EL80-Disassembly_Guide.pdf

Assembly video in this thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/compal/120075-compal-hel80-disassembly.html

HEL80/EL80 was also rebranded as Sager NP2080(and other brands like Powerpro 15:2, Envy I:534 etc ), etc so you can find parts, drivers, guides that way.

 

Thanks for finding that Kdawgca That gives me an idea of what I would want to see and secondly, yikes - how far I wouldn't go - yes it's been a while since I tinkered around with this unit - purchased from xotic pc at the time of its inception...

Off hand, where or what could be causing the overheating issues? I don't do any gaming on this machine and have reverted since then the overclocking back to default with fan always on. It overheats well over the 100degree mark within minutes from just using firefox - I'll hear the fan keep kicking in and then the hottest part is always on the front black surface (just below the keyboard area) to the left of the touchpad area.

I did remove the CPU access gate and checked to see if there was any visible dust/blockage but the fan area and its surroundings look visibly "ok". I'm not sure if its a heat pipe or need to apply arctic silver or some similar substance... The guide was just to see what areas other I might be missing...

Even during gaming sessions back then, I'd never see this peak over 70C - usually regular tasks were in the 42-50C range... obviously something is off. When the temps reach over the 115-119C range (noted by the nvidia temperature tab of the Geforce 7600 utility) - my separate CRT monitor attached will blank out - and I'd have to hard reset/reboot.

This thing is plugged in 24/7 pretty much with all usb ports / connections occupied with a few powered usb hubs too - the actual 9 cell battery is dead (noted by flashing middle amber light) - waiting on a new one...

Off hand, were there any other usual suspects to scenarios causing such high heat (without gaming) and air dusting the access vents?

check/disassemble the CPU area is one thing I am considering... not sure what else or how far I would need to go to check for what else could be causing this. Thanks for any other ideas.

*apparently - the CPU is reading around 43-46C (Using HWImonitoor freeware for that) but its the GPU that's even now as I type and edit this post 112C (using Nvidia reading and also Everest freeware) -
(running XP Pro Sp3, 2GB RAM upgrade and Bios 123B)

 

See NBR cooling central.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hardware-components-aftermarket-upgrades/263039-nbr-cooling-central.html

Besides dust, the heatsink could be loose. Also, the vents could be physically blocked..

Open it up(be careful) and double check everything. Also, you can look into thermal paste(in guide above) or look into using a cooling pad(also in guide).

 

Thanks Kdawgca - at this point it might be the heatsink, hehe - I am checking the NBR threads as we speak - looking for the most powerful cooler for this unit at the moment. I don't mind spending the extra $$ for that. Noise is not an issue either...

When you mean "open up" - how far would you be going? Loose heatsink - from the guide you linked me - everything appears to be locked in by screws - my laptop is more of a "desktop" I don't take it or move it for traveling, etc - but maybe as you mentioned when I did unplug and turn things around, I suppose something could have been displaced... thanks for pointing that out.

So far I've been debating between the NZXT 3 120mm fan Cryo LX and then the single Thermaltake 230mm fan - browsing through amazon, these seem unless mistaken, the most "powerful" aluminum heatsink-link coolers ?

* posted on the thread you linked me to, so hopefully other suggestions may surface too

 

Ah - so I did a few things and still not getting good GPU idle temps

1. I ended up purchasing the Cryo LX cooler
2. I took the fan, CPU heat sink out and Air Dusted as much as possible to the vents, wiping the fan clean (it wasn't that bad)
3. I cleaned, reapplied new Arctic Silver 5 (with their solutions 1+2 to the heatsink/CPU as per the instructions stated for mobile Intels from the arcticsilver website

CPU idle temps are still in the mid 40C's like before... it's the GPU that's the problem... idle temp is 70C with the CryoLX

Looks like I will need to go in deeper to get to the GPU and apply some thermal grease and see what is going on in that area. My graphics/video display are fine and have no issues...

Now that I have the CryoLX (powered via the 6V DC wall adapter) - it doesn't seem to be that great of a cooler in terms of fan placement for this laptop... I didn't get any other feedback from posting at the cooler section and I was pretty desperate for something -

Looking at the guide - there's quite a bit of steps in to get to the GPU - were any of the "cables" difficult to put back in or anything off hand I need to be careful of?

* edit - I thought the screw was burred when removing them for the ODD area, but it turns but doesn't come out - what can I exactly purchase from a local store to get this screw out? It's half the length almost of the regular base screws. This is the area I am talking about :




So without fixing that, can't get to the GPU~

I got one of them out - just can't get the darn other one out - "tapping on the screw head" allows me to turn clockwise/counterclockwise - flipped the unit upside down hoping it was going to come out but nope

 

As for cooling pad, search around...HEL80 was a decently popular notebook, so there might have been a discussion about cooling pads. Also you can bump your other post after 24hours so other people may see it or post in the cooling buyers guide(in the accessories forum).

70idle for temp is not bad(better than 100) depending on ambient temperature, design etc...

As for the screw, stores sell screw extracting kits(does require a drill)...other options are trying different screwdrivers(slightly largers ones can help with stripped screw or even using some needle nose pliers or epoxy(you can't use the screw or screwdriver afterwords but it might take it out).

As for the guide, I don't recall any specific concerns...just becareful in general. Don't blindly follow the guide and take your time. Keep track of stuff and you should be fine.