Laptop fan help

[TopBanana]

Please help!
A mate at work has given me his old laptop saying that if I can fix it then I can have it.
Initially it wouldn't load at all but I found that the problem was one of the RAM sticks needed reseating.
Now comes the real problem (and why my mate doesn't want it). It keeps shutting down after a couple of minutes as it is getting too hot (the graphics chip in particular). The fan doesn't spin at any point, which I think indicates the problem. I've tested the fan with a 5V DC supply and it works, which leads me to the conclusion that it is the control that isn't working. As it boots up it says that the last time it booted there was a fan problem and so the fan system was turned off, I don't know how to reset it though?
Does anyone have any ideas what to try or check next? All help very gratefully received.
Tim

 

[Tringa]

I'm guessing you have checked the connections to see if anything is loose.

In the couple of minutes that it will run for before closing down try to get into the BIOS to see there is a fan control that has been set to off. Seems unlikely, but worth having a look at.

Wonder if the laptop has some fan management software - again unlikely as I can't think of a time I'd want the fans in a laptop turned off.

This could be more of problem given you have little time before it shuts down. You could try stripping it down as far as possible, leaving plenty of air space under it and using a desk fan to provide a bit of cooling.

Dave

 

[GHP]

I had a problem with my laptop, an Acer Aspire 7720Z, where it would shut down due to overheating.
I managed to get to the main cooling fan, and was about to order a replacement, but when I took the case apart to remove it I found there was a load of "fluff" in the intake. Cleaned it out, and voila, works perfectly.
Might be worth a look?

 

[TopBanana]

Thanks for the replies.
I've got the laptop in bits and there is no dust or fluff in there (and I have a new spare fan&heatsink unit which my mate bought for it).

I think Tringa is right in that there is probably a bios setting which has it turned off (the error reports indicate it had a problem last time it tried to boot and so has been shut down). I've tried disconnecting the bios motherboard battery to reset it but that didn't work. There's an option in the bios to 'load default setup' which I think I need to try. I haven't been able to yet as not all the keys on the keyboard work so I need to find a USB keyboard to try it with.
I'm quite enjoying the project!
Any more ideas/suggestions greatly appreciated though.

 

[RobertP]

If you've got a 5V supply that will run the fan, then while it is in bits and assuming nothing could get shorted by having no outer case, run the fan off that supply and start the laptop to see if it still shuts down.

 

[g7swz]

There is a free program called SpeedFan which I used a year or so ago when I had a laptop which kept shutting down due to overheating. It will monitor the CPU temp and speed up the fan as necessary. It might be worth a try.