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Not merry-enthusiasts alas  :D but computer fans.  My main pc Doomed has been overheating for some time, which I put down to the hot weather and Farmville  :blush but last night its regular screech for help (cpu reached 70) abruptly shut up before I could get there and close down anything that might be stressing the CPU.

In fact, it had closed itself down entirely, having reached a critical temperature.

I rebooted, normal beep, usual hums and whirs and I just happened to glance in the open case.  I had to double- check when I realised the CPU fan wasn't circulating at all...

It took three more checks before I was absolutely sure but it was right, it was an ex-CPU fan.  Extinct, turned its toes up, fallen off the perch, etc.  I was convinced the pc processor would have died as it must have been running for at least 2 minutes with no fan and I'd always thought they fried in (literally) seconds if the fan packed up.

Now as it happened, I had a fan on order... but only a case fan.  I  really needed to know if the processor was dead and fried, so I found an old motherboard (I have many, they come to me to die) and removed the fan - only to find it was too small.  Another corpse yielded up a fan of the right size so I levered off the broken fan (flat blade of screwdriver between the fan cradle (on top of the heatsink) lip and the fan itself, ease gently and it pops out) and snapped the recovered one and pressed the power button.

Success! the fan began to spin, the MB beeped in a healthy sort of way, and Doomed was saved from my Spare-Part graveyard for another day.

The new case fan also arrived today and I fitted it so it now has two - one blowing air in, one out (tip which Pani gave me:  piece of tissue laid over the fan shows you which way it's blowing.  I had never thought of that and spent ages with my hand hovering over the fan, trying to be sure I could feel a waft of air :lol)

So I feel I've spent far too much time with failing fans today.  But, unusually, this fan-story has a happy ending :thumbs
:clap  :clap
Well done brave Merry.

I am exhausted just reading your posting.

Are you a tiny bit disappointed that Doomed survived and you don't have to get a new PC right away.
Now this is the sort of intrepid computer-rescuer I wish I were - confirming that - as we at HF all know - you have the other kind of fans too!  ;)  :D
Aww , thanks guys!  I'm not due that much praise though really -  I omitted all the parts of the story that went 'and then I called Pani to ask how...'  :wink


Are you a tiny bit disappointed that Doomed survived and you don't have to get a new PC right away.


A little bit - I had already started looking up ne motherboards  :lol  but really, I'm just not ready to build another.  Some parts are so fun and so easy.  And others are - so not  :lol

Temperature in the 40s today and two lovely bright blue fans whirring away :thumbs  (I nearly embarrassed myself by complaining to my ebay seller that he had sent a colourless fan instead of the blue I ordered... and then I switched it on.)  

So I don't get to use this lovely smilie today  :killpc
I was dead impressed. I clean the CPU fan as best I can with a soft brush because I'd never got round to finding out how to get the thing off. Plenty of instructions for removing the whole heat sink, but not just the fan.

I'd never noticed until Merry pointed them out the 4 little tabs that can be pushed aside to release it.

My PCs have been getting hot too and I know I ought to take the fans off to clean the area just behind them which I couldn't normally reach. I said to merry "I don't have your delicate touch. The last time I took a printer apart it started with half a dozen tabs like that and when I put it back it had 3 left"

I did it anyway and was as careful as I could be. It made a significant difference to the temperature so overall I'm pleased.

One tab however appeared to be stuck and it broke off. :(

It's okay because the 3 left are quite strong enough to hold it in place, but merry remains the best person to go to for such jobs. :clap
We really need photos with pointy arrows.

I am leaving the lid firmly on my PC case as I can't cope with any avoidable stress right now.



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