Windows 7: Laptop: Opening The Case ?

Hi,

Have always had a desktop; know nothing re laptops.

Family member (per previous Post) has a 5 yr old Dell Laptop.

Haven't had access to it yet, and when I do will try out the temp. monitoring program that was suggested.

Laptop shuts down every 5 minutes or so of use.
Likely that it is overheating., possibly the fan has given up.



Question: On laptops, in general, is it possible, or practical, to open the case to inspect the fan, clean out grime, etc. Big job ? Caveats ?

Or, are they generally sealed to prevent this ?

Thanks,
Bob

it depends on the laptop, but usually you're allowed.
most laptops have that you unscrew a kazilllion screws on the bottom of it then you can access the internal guts so you can upgrade the RAM, Hard Drive, and other components if you wish.
even my MSI X320, a Atom-based MacBook Air clone, allows you to access the internals by popping out the keyboard and undoing the screws underneath it and on the bottom.

Also, which Dell is it? One of my relatives has big old Dell something that is doing what you described, and looking at the hardware config it doesn't recognize that there is an internal fan.

Hi bob and welcome
Yes its possible, back up first. It depends in your level of expertise and handiness. Get the proper tools (usually either phillips, or torx) mark where the screws came from. take it slow and easy plastic breaks. It is not rocket science. If there are pets in the house chances are you willneed "q" tips, and clean up.

Mine needs the treatment every 3 months ( a cat fan I am) the difference in temp huge (20F). random glitches are usually a sign of heat.

Good Luck

Ken

The power/AC adapter may have gone bad. Mine did on Christmas Day. It was plugged in, and because it was bad, it was trying to run off the battery which wasn't charged enough

yes thats what happens with dell chargers they have a third sensor wire, the slightest irregularity puts them into self preservation mode

Hi Robert11

Try youtube and search for - how to open (or try dismantle) a dell laptop -
There are several video examples there and you may find something for the model you are interested in.

I found a great vid for my daughters Acer Aspire and followed it to replace a small board that contained the power switch.

Without the vid I would never have come up with the sequence of removing the screws and therefore how to dismantle it.

My first reaction to the vid was it all looked very complicated but once I started it was pretty straight forward.

Best wishes

you could also download the service manual from dells website, it will contain step by step instructions with graphics for you to follow

I cleaned mine a few back then reopened it to apply some Artic Silver, and although I was quite confident in my ability, I still did some googling for guides by those that have already opened it up. Do a search of, for example "Inspiron 6400 disassembly", and there should be a couple of guides already out there.