cooling fan- averatec 3150

Hi everyone,

This is the first time I've posted here, I just found this site in a google search. I'm not sure if this is the best place to be posting this question, so be nice!

I have an averatec 3150 (I'm pretty sure it's a 3150HW, but it just says "3150 series" under Computer Properties) and I'm using WinXP. My laptop has a built-in 802.11b wireless card and I connect wirelessly to the internet every day. I've had it for about 15 months so the warranty is expired, and I can't send it in .

My latest concern is the cooling fan. My laptop has always run quite hot, so I usually have to have something under it if I sit it on my lap. However, recently the fan has been going out. I've tried elevating it so that there's more room for air to circulate, but it's begun to make a grinding noise and every time I boot up it says something to the effect of "North FAN error. Please check it. Press F1 to continue". I'm embarrassed to admit that I've let this problem go unfixed for far too long (probably about 5 months), and recently it's been giving me that error message every time I boot up. It sometimes overheats to the point of suddenly shutting off. I can't even burn CDs anymore because it overheats the computer.

My question is, what is the model number for the cooling fan used in this laptop? I am trying to save money, so I'm not sure that I want to take it to be fixed professionally. I have a friend who would be able to replace it for me anyway. I just would like to know the model number, brand name and/or size of the fan.

Please, if anyone can help me find this, let me know! I've tried searching for it on Google but I can't really find any conclusive results. I really, really don't want to screw this up; I love my little computer so much!

Thanks ahead of time for any help, and sorry for the lengthy post!

Hilary R.