NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Dell Forums › Dell Notebooks - General › Really annoying fan noise I cant stop
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Really annoying fan noise I cant stop

post #1 of 8
11/13/07 at 4:31am
Thread Starter 
Ok so I have an older (2005) Dell XPS2 laptop. There is a really extremely annoying buzzing coming from my fan (i think) on the right side by the little vent thing on the top of the laptop. When I press down (hard) on the vent directly. I took all the screws i could out of my laptop and couldn't see anything. Tried spraying compressed air through it. God I just want the noise to stop!

Help!!!
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 8
11/13/07 at 1:47pm
Presumably it's your graphics card fan?

If it's clean, and you're sure there's nothing caught in it (cables make a nasty noise if they flap into a fan, and can lead to more serious problems), then it may be that the fan bearings are wearing out, which will mean the fan needs replacement.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 8
11/13/07 at 3:38pm
Hello,

Richard here from Dell's Online Community Outreach group. From what you described I believe you have a XPS M170 system. You are correct the fan on the right side cools the graphics card.


I believe the previous poster may be correct in that the bearings could be going bad. But it could be as simple as the screws that hold the fan in place are loose. Do you know if your computer is still under warranty?

Regards,

Richard B
Dell Online Community Outreach
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 8
11/13/07 at 4:10pm
Thread Starter 
I know that my laptop is no longer under warranty. I only purchased a one year warranty with the computer and that was in the Summer of 2005. Isn't the M170 a newer XPS? I have a 17in XPS2. I really can't see if there might be a cable touching the blades, but the noise does stop when i pull the monitor towards me and keep it in tension, however if I let it fall back to where it normally rests the noise continues.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 8
11/14/07 at 1:55pm
It's hard to tell from that whether it's bad bearings, or simply that the mounting screws need tightening.

Either way, to fix it, you're going to have to take palm rest off the case to see (or get someone else to do it if you're not confident, or think you may cause more harm)

The process is moderately involved (you have to remove almost everything else first, sadly), and you need to make sure that everything fits back together properly afterwards...

The service manual is available here: http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...n/sm/index.htm

While it may not be critical, bad fan noise has a habit of getting worse over time if it's not fixed, and can lead to other problems (especially if there's anything caught in it, or if the fan dies)
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 8
11/14/07 at 2:06pm
Hello,

If your computer is not the M170, here is the link for the XPS2 service manual.

Best regards,

Richard B
Dell Online Community Outreach
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 8
11/16/07 at 3:32pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks guys, guess I will be tearing apart my computer pretty soon. Anybody know where/if I can get another cooling fan? I do have the XPS2 and not the M170
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 8
11/17/07 at 4:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by SyntheticDream
I do have the XPS2 and not the M170
don't worry about it... the only difference between both is the graphics card and the badge... everything else is the same... taking the m170/xps2 apart is really not that hard... i open mine every 2 mos. to clean out both fans... good luck
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Dell Notebooks - General
NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Dell Forums › Dell Notebooks - General › Really annoying fan noise I cant stop