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Cleaning laptop fans
Posted: 2004-09-17 04:00pm
by Thag
I've been getting a lot of dust and scuzz in the exhaust fans on my laptop, and I was wondering if there's a safe way to clean it out. I swear, this stuff sticks to the sides of the ports, so simply wiping it off doesn't work. I've thought of trying to scrape it off, but that doesn't strike me as wise. What's the best way to do it? For reference, it's a Dell Inspiron 8200.
Posted: 2004-09-17 04:06pm
by General Zod
try a can of compressed air, maybe? or a q-tip? also, the fan typically isn't anywhere near crucial components, so it wouldn't harm it all that much to scrape the stuck stuff off.
Posted: 2004-09-17 05:14pm
by phongn
You could try a vacuum with hose attachment. You should be careful about canned air as it can blow the dust in places it really shouldn't be.
Posted: 2004-09-18 03:42am
by Shadowhawk
If you ever use forced air around fans, hold the fan still with a free hand or jam a pen in there to prevent it from turning. Forced air can make fans spin faster than their design tolerances and could burn them out.
Posted: 2004-09-18 11:13am
by Thag
I don't know if I have a vacuum attachment that'll work to get in there, but I do have an airbrush and compressed air. There's the two fans on the back and a grill on the other side of the corner, so I might be able to angle the air back out through the ports. Thanks!