Makerere University

Enter a keyword or two into the search box above and click search..

How to Clean Laptop Cooling Fan and Heat Sink Fins

You are here

If you still remember your first computer lessons regarding safety and maintenance precautions, then the matter of pet hair, smoke and all kinds of dust bunnies come to mind. The buildup of these and other pollutants inside the laptop cooling fan or heat sink fins will cause it to generate heat and progressively lead to one or other component failure.

If your laptop turns off suddenly when you are using it, chances are the processor has triggered a shut-down alert most likely due to excessive heat.

Over the years, gradual accumulation of dust bunnies inside the laptop can lead to clogging of the cooling fan or components on the board surface.

In order to prevent heat buildup, start administering regular maintenance routines. In particular, check and clean your laptop because of these reasons:

  • It has not been cleaned for more than a year
  • There is build up of heat at the base
  • Heat from the processor is not flowing out through the heat sink fins
  • The laptop is acting up by turning itself off
  • The laptop fan is making noise
  • Monitoring utilities warn of alarming temperature

Some users argue that pollutants inside the laptop may not matter a lot as long as the cooling is maintained at a minimum. If a monitoring utility registers 40 degrees and low even after years of use, you could be safe, but again you just want to be sure. Maybe the day of reckoning is just around the corner.

Read more from this link http://hubpages.com/technology/How-to-Clean-Laptop-Cooling-Fan-and-Heat-Sink-Fins