Windows 7: HP Laptop Fan Not Working

So I posted several weeks ago that my fan was about to go out in my HP DV7 laptop, and it finally stopped working completely. I have a small fan I a using to keep it cool. It appears to be doing the job for the most part. Depending on the time of day I get 32 degrees to a high of about 74 degree's in the hot part of the day.

My question is will this be alright, or is the internal fan being out and not pushing the air out going to be a problem? I will tell you one thing after calling HP and checking with local repair shops I won't be paying anyone to fix it and I am not sure if I can tackle this job myself or not. If I were to fix it myself don't I also have to put the heat sink (processor) stuff on there? (Not sure of the name of the stuff) And were do I get this stuff? So should I just wait and see if this small fan continues to work for me? Or jump in and try to fix it and create more problems! My fear is I will damage the mother board or something else trying to repair the $45.00 fan! Is it worth it? Or rock and roll with the $5.00 external Walmart fan Which could last days or years.

I am bummed as the laptop is only 1 1/2 years old. But I absolutely like all the options and design of my laptop!

Thanks for your help!

Personally I would replace the fan ASAP. I have been inside almost every laptop I've owned and there is not too much to it. If you have a digital camera it may be helpful as many of the screws are a certain length and need to go in the same location. You should also be able to find instructions on the web via a Google search.

I'd have to agree with nitroman. An external fan will certainly provide some cooling but the problem is a heat build up inside the laptop. An external fan probably won't do much to vent the internal heat to the outside. Heat sensitive units like the CPU and GPU could fail.

Another option is a laptop cooling pad (About 20$ US). They usually lower the temp by about 10-15C and give a nice stable platform to work on.

Does the laptop cooling pad pull heat away from the laptop or push air into the laptop like the fan I am using? That for sure would be the best option, although I am having trouble finding them for a 17" model laptop like mine.

If I choose to fix the fan it is the last item in the laptop, after removing hard drive, mother board, etc... I have to remove all other components to get to the fan. I have the complete service guide from HP that show how to remove every component and where every single screw and the size of the screw goes. It even has an inventory of screws and parts.

My main question is do I have to remove the screen, and do I need one of those plastic tools to remove it? I think they call them a case crack tool. Looks like a plastic popsicle stick.

I would realy like to actually fix it in the future to learn how to repair minor items on a laptop. But I might go with the cooling fan option for now, if it will provide enough air flow. I hardly ever take my laptop off my desk. It travels very rarely to another location.

Where do I get the processor stuff for the heat sink? Does EggHead have these items?

Here is a disassembly video that is almost exactly like mine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xFM3pvABbg

Thanks alot for your help!

cooling pads push air into the pc (usually on the bottom.) there are several different varieties.

A laptop cooler with a fan may well postpone the heat build up but without the internal fan to aid the air flow though the CPU and GPU I think you're going to shorten the laptops life substantially.

After further inspection the fan is actually spinning at a really slow rate. I thought it was out completely. Does this mean there is some other kind of issue? Of course it's not spinning fast enough to push air through the laptop, or do any good at all really, but it is spinning. How could this be? My fan was always really loud when it kicked in to cool the laptop temperature down, before this problem occurred!

Thanks!

Tell me do you have pets (dogs/cats) or live in a dusty city environment? I would try to blow out the unit with compressed air while you have taped off the exhaust vent with the vacuum. Blast this air multiple times as directly into the air intake as you can. I you have access to an air compressor even better. Then leave the vacuum to suck for several minutes before and after the air blast. With luck you will free up dust balls and power them out of the fans intake/exhaust and blades. If you can open the unit up to clean it then even better. If the fan still spins slowly then really your only option is to replace the internal fan or somehow force air constantly through the laptop with some creative means. Let us know how the suck and blow works........sorry !