12-05-2021, 03:16 PM
Ever wanted to know what 2½ years' worth of dust looks like ? Well, you're in luck - because I've had my laptop for 2½ years now!!!
Recently, I'd noticed that it was becoming increasingly loud, to the point where I couldn't ignore the noise any more. My dad suggested going over the vents wil compressed air... but sadly, this made no difference whatsoever . So, I shut the laptop down, unscrewed the case, and figured out how to lift it off. This revealed a load of dust and filth over the major components... it was particularly bad around the CPU and GPU fans :
(Click to enlarge)
So, after cleaning off the worst of it, I put it all back together and started the machine up again. The good news was that the machine still worked... but the bad news was that the noise hadn't got away. So, I took the case off again, and started looking for problems. It didn't take long before I found the culprit: the GPU fan was struggling to spin:
(Click to enlarge)
As a result, I gave it a more thorough clean... but sadly, this didn't help much . My dad then took a look at the fan - and found there was a bit of play on it, as though it was just worn out. He suggested lubricating it... which helped a bit, but it was still a bit loud.
Unfortunately, when I put the laptop back together, I found there was an even bigger problem: the wi-fi wasn't working! If I plugged in an Ethernet cable, then I could still get internet - but the wi-fi was disabled, and I had no way to enable it. After trying all the basic things (like re-setting the router), I concluded that I'd probably knocked something during my cleaning... and I would have to dismantle the laptop again .
Since I'd never repaired this laptop before (and I had very limited experience of repairing my previous laptop), I didn't know where to look for any kind of switch, or anything else that might have been knocked. So, I went online, and started hunting around... and eventually, I found a review that told me where the wi-fi card was. Of course, it was next to the GPU fan - but it was hidden under something else, so I wouldn't have seen it when I first looked. But, once I found it, I took it out and back in again, and re-assembled the laptop. I then turned it on - and to my relief, the wi-fi was showing up !
But then... I had massive trouble getting connected. It took several minutes to establish a connection at all - and when it did, it dropped almost immediately. My wi-fi signal was very weak, and the only way in which I could maintain a connection was by putting my laptop right next to the router (at which point it was within reach of my Ethernet cable, so this wasn't really progress ). Time to get back into the laptop, and have another look...
At first, I was mystified. The card itself seemed to be connected quite firmly - and I couldn't get it to go in any further. But then, just as I was on the verge of giving up... I spotted something else. The card was connected to two wires, which were simply taped in place - and one of them had come loose. After a bit of fiddling around, I managed to fix that connection, and...
At long last, the wi-fi was working perfectly again .
I suspect that, for someone who's proficient at fixing computer hardware, this wouldn't have been a difficult job. But I'm not proficient at fixing computer hardware: like I said, this was the first time I'd ever taken the case off this laptop, in 2½ years of owning it . As a result, this repair took me over four hours - and it was 1:15am by the time I finished it. Still, it was a valuable learning experience - and it was immensely rewarding when I saw the wi-fi signal came back at full strength, knowing I had fixed it myself !!!!
The fan, by the way, still isn't healthy. It's tolerable, but I decided I should order a replacement anyway. It'll probably be a few days before it arrives... but I'm not complaining, because taking the case off my laptop and fiddling around with it again is the last thing I feel like doing right now. I think I'll enjoy the wait !!!!
Recently, I'd noticed that it was becoming increasingly loud, to the point where I couldn't ignore the noise any more. My dad suggested going over the vents wil compressed air... but sadly, this made no difference whatsoever . So, I shut the laptop down, unscrewed the case, and figured out how to lift it off. This revealed a load of dust and filth over the major components... it was particularly bad around the CPU and GPU fans :
(Click to enlarge)
So, after cleaning off the worst of it, I put it all back together and started the machine up again. The good news was that the machine still worked... but the bad news was that the noise hadn't got away. So, I took the case off again, and started looking for problems. It didn't take long before I found the culprit: the GPU fan was struggling to spin:
(Click to enlarge)
As a result, I gave it a more thorough clean... but sadly, this didn't help much . My dad then took a look at the fan - and found there was a bit of play on it, as though it was just worn out. He suggested lubricating it... which helped a bit, but it was still a bit loud.
Unfortunately, when I put the laptop back together, I found there was an even bigger problem: the wi-fi wasn't working! If I plugged in an Ethernet cable, then I could still get internet - but the wi-fi was disabled, and I had no way to enable it. After trying all the basic things (like re-setting the router), I concluded that I'd probably knocked something during my cleaning... and I would have to dismantle the laptop again .
Since I'd never repaired this laptop before (and I had very limited experience of repairing my previous laptop), I didn't know where to look for any kind of switch, or anything else that might have been knocked. So, I went online, and started hunting around... and eventually, I found a review that told me where the wi-fi card was. Of course, it was next to the GPU fan - but it was hidden under something else, so I wouldn't have seen it when I first looked. But, once I found it, I took it out and back in again, and re-assembled the laptop. I then turned it on - and to my relief, the wi-fi was showing up !
But then... I had massive trouble getting connected. It took several minutes to establish a connection at all - and when it did, it dropped almost immediately. My wi-fi signal was very weak, and the only way in which I could maintain a connection was by putting my laptop right next to the router (at which point it was within reach of my Ethernet cable, so this wasn't really progress ). Time to get back into the laptop, and have another look...
At first, I was mystified. The card itself seemed to be connected quite firmly - and I couldn't get it to go in any further. But then, just as I was on the verge of giving up... I spotted something else. The card was connected to two wires, which were simply taped in place - and one of them had come loose. After a bit of fiddling around, I managed to fix that connection, and...
At long last, the wi-fi was working perfectly again .
I suspect that, for someone who's proficient at fixing computer hardware, this wouldn't have been a difficult job. But I'm not proficient at fixing computer hardware: like I said, this was the first time I'd ever taken the case off this laptop, in 2½ years of owning it . As a result, this repair took me over four hours - and it was 1:15am by the time I finished it. Still, it was a valuable learning experience - and it was immensely rewarding when I saw the wi-fi signal came back at full strength, knowing I had fixed it myself !!!!
The fan, by the way, still isn't healthy. It's tolerable, but I decided I should order a replacement anyway. It'll probably be a few days before it arrives... but I'm not complaining, because taking the case off my laptop and fiddling around with it again is the last thing I feel like doing right now. I think I'll enjoy the wait !!!!
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Moonface (in 'Woman runs 49 red lights in ex's car')' Wrote: If only she had ran another 20 lights.
(Thanks to Nilla for the avatar, and Detective Osprey for the sig!)
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