Noisy MSI laptop fan

[DanF]

I've had this laptop with a noisy cooling fan. Usually, although fans get dirty, they don't become THIS noisy, so I had to consult with the net on this one.

I've found that it is a common problem with MSI laptops, and I've even found a video on youtube with the same noise.

I've opened up the laptop to find that the ventilation was totally filled with dust particles, and the fan was full of dust. Obviously, I've cleaned both and switched the system on. Strangely enough, it is still doing this noise, so I've opened the fan and put in some oil. Voila, the fan is running so smooth you won't even recognize it's working. I had to actually close all the doors and put my ears next to the laptop's ventilation. At this point in time I left it running for around 20 minutes, switched it off and took it back to the client in a matter of 2 hours.

The day after she phones back telling me that the noise is now back :/ At this point in time I'm going to use WD-40 instead of oil and see what this results. BUT, and this is why I've posted here , have you ever encountered this problem? What have you done? Also, since I never had to replace laptop's fans, are these standard for all laptops or different brands have different fans? To me, they are different, but I'll wait for your reply on this one as I'm not sure.

Thanks guys/gals!

 

[anonymous Mac Tech]

At this point in time I'm going to use WD-40 instead of oil and see what this results. BUT, and this is why I've posted here , have you ever encountered this problem? What have you done? Also, since I never had to replace laptop's fans, are these standard for all laptops or different brands have different fans?

Fans are usually cheap enough, so just replace it. Also, most of the noisy fan issues I've seen are where the bearings wear and the blades start spinning at angles rubbing against the side of the fan housing since there is such small clearances between the blade and enclosure. Most fans I've seen are not necessarily universal.

 

[DanF]

Thanks for your reply. I've found this type of fan on ebay, can't seem to find any locally. You were right, it's only compatible with 3 models. I'll try using the WD-40 and if it doesn't work I'll get a new one.

 

[itmgr]

This is common with MSI, I have sold and repaired lots of these. remove the fan find the part # something like 6010H05F PF3 find the exact match on ebay. Most of them come from Hong Kong so it takes a week to get.

 

[DanF]

Thanks mate. I have informed the client about this and told her that, although I haven't got any of these for repairs, it's quite common with MSI laptops. She understood.

I told her that it is safe to use the laptop as long as the fan is still doing to noise. I advised her to switch the laptop off if the noise stops, as it means that the fan stopped working. I'll be picking it up on Wednesday. Will let you know about this for sure.

Thanks for your help guys. Really appreciate.

 

[xacked]

Computer Fan

Hi Dan,

I would stay away from WD-40 even as a secondary choice, I had an IBM R40 with a fan that had the same issue as your customers- I went for the replacement. Fortunately for your customer the fan wasn't built into the heatsink, because that increases the parts cost quite a bit.

I don't know about MSI, but some Dell Inspirons make it quite easy with a service door on the bottom of the laptop, undoubtedly yours will be a bit more complicated.

As always, mark where the screws you take out go!

Best of luck with that.

Also I found a pretty informative article on pc fans.
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-5034842.html

 

[DanF]

Nah it's not complicated. I've seen worse, include Macbooks. I had to disassemble the whole heatsink in order to remove the fan, but it's not difficult. They use the same screws for the case, and larger once for the inside. So there's only 2 types of screws.

What's wrong with the WD40? EDIT: am just reading the article you've shared!

 

[wimwauters]

What's wrong with the WD40? EDIT: am just reading the article you've shared!

Oil can't rebuild worn metal. By the time you hear the noise, the oil has long gone and the metal has started to wear away badly.

We need rpm counters on fans so we can apply oil as part of regular maintenance