cleaning laptop fan vents

Learn how your Mac monitors internal temperatures and uses fans to cool critical components. Your Mac has sensors that respond when they detect temperature changes inside your computer, turning on fans to bring cooling airflow to critical components. About fan noiseIf your computer's processor is working on intensive tasks—such as compressing HD video or playing a graphics-heavy game—the fans run faster to provide additional airflow. You might hear fan noise when this happens, especially if you're in a quiet environment. This rushing-air sound is a normal part of the cooling process. Ambient temperature, the temperature outside the computer, also plays a role in the fans' responsiveness. If the ambient temperature is high, the fans turn on sooner and run faster. Make sure the vents on your Mac aren't blockedMac computers have vents that let its fans bring in cool air and expel hot air. Make sure that the vents aren't blocked to allow your computer to perform at its best.

On Mac notebooks, the vents are along the side and in the back. iMac computers have vents along the bottom edge and on the back. Mac mini models bring in cool air from beneath the computer and vent hot air from the back. Mac Pro (Late 2013) brings in cool air through vents at the bottom of the computer and sends out hot air from the top. The surface your Mac rests on can block its vents, affecting fan behavior. If you use your computer on a soft surface like a couch, pillow, bed, or your lap, its fans might run more. Using your Mac on a hard, flat surface like a table or desk is best for temperature control. Learn moreIf the fans in your Mac run fast even when the computer isn't experiencing heavy usage and is properly ventilated, you might need to reset the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac. Learn more about the operating temperature of Apple notebook computers. There are times I worry about taking my laptop out in public: it’s just not as clean as the day I got it.

It’s gotten a little beat up over the years and could probably do with a little careful cleaning before it’s next trip to the coffee shop. Cleaning a laptop does take a little extra care — no one wants to get delicate electronics wet — but if you’ve got a little time to devote to the project, you can have a clean machine. Check your user manual. Some laptop models have special considerations to pay heed to when cleaning the computer. The user manual will typically provide suggestions for cleaning and it’s generally best to stick with the instructions written with your laptop in mind.To get your screen clean without endangering your computer, the best option is to start with a microfiber towel. Soft and lint-free towels will work, but microfiber offers the best results. Dampen it and wring out any excess water. Gently wipe the cloth across the screen. You’ll want to follow the damp cloth with a dry cloth, to remove any moisture as well as any leftover dirt. You can also purchase pre-moistened wipes meant specifically for cleaning off computer screens.

If you use an external mouse, wipe that down as well. Get rid of dust. For most keyboards, a damp cloth won’t get all the dust.
dryer vent cleaning business planA can of compressed air will help.
best upholstery steam cleaner rentalYou’ll want to tilt your laptop sideways — blowing dust downwards won’t get it out — and then blow air into the cracks. In most cases, you’ll have a clean keyboard at this point. If not, you can disassemble the keyboard, but keep in mind that many keyboards aren’t meant to be taken apart. You’ll want specific instructions for your model of keyboard in the event you need to give it a try.The fans and vents on each laptop can be problem areas, especially if anything is in them. Just blowing compressed air through the vents often isn’t enough to get them clean.

Instead, disassembly is in order. The exact procedure differs from laptop to laptop, but you’ll probably have to remove the keyboard. Then clean out the accumulated dust and reassemble.Certain laptops, such as the white MacBooks, can get a nasty residue on places where your hands normally rest. Depending on the laptop, a little acetone (nail polish remover) can wipe away the mess. Start with just a dab to be on the safe side. Once the outside of your laptop is clean, you may want the contents of your harddrive to match. Here are a few tips to straighten up your files and software. Share your laptop cleaning tips below. Image by Flickr user radialmonsterWant to enjoy fewer advertisements and more features? Click here to become a Hardware Analysis registered user. >> Re: Laptop fan always on and really loudtemperature sensors cause it to rev up, the fan is always on but spins at slow rate, when stuff gets hot inside it revs up so it can cool, btw who is the laptop maker, Im on a Dell XPS Gen 1 and its fans are always running, but when things heatup the rpms go up so it can push more air over the heated parts like vid card and CPU.

Also another point i have my vid card clocked in this laptop and its stable has hell, course software allows this overclock and restore back to normal when not in 3d intensive programs.AMD Athlon XP-M 2500+ (133x14= 1867MHz) (209x11= 2299MHz) DFI LP NF2 Ultra-B (Hellfire 3EG Rev2) Antec SX800, Neo HE 500, 4 Antec 8CM Fans Thermalright SI-97 1 Antec Tricool 12CM Fan CL SB XFi Xtreme Music 2x Barracuda HDs (250/400) >> Re: Laptop fan always on and really loudI actuall use one of these for the laptop - it has a variable speed to ensure you don't suck up a hard drive aswell as having a long nozzle thingy! _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Private Message - Add to Buddy List Edited: Apr 14, 2009, 09:12pm EDT >> Re: Laptop fan always on and really loudAlso, if it was a used/refurb laptop. I THINK both Dell and HP (and likely others, possibly Sony) had problems with overheating nvidia video chips on the mobo, and the way they "fixed" the problem was to patch the code to make the fan(s) run continuously.

But the 'burnt' smell could be a cooking mobo. It was traced to a defective nvidia video chip design. So if your laptop uses nvidia chipset, you may have this problem. The overheating chip caused the mobo to fail (interestingly near warranty EOL) and by masking the video chip design problem with their code patch for the fan, these two manufacturers took the ultimate failure to well past warranty. It was a sucky way to treat customers. They later integrated new design chips into their manufacturing lines. It took them quite a while to address the problem. Ultimately, I think they started swapping-out mobos but only if the customer knew what was going on. You can probably find out more about it by searching on the net. Lesson: whether you're buying used/refurb/retail, check for recalls and other "known" problems with specific models. Won't catch 'em all, but may help avoid some problems. edit to add: link to more info Also note that some laptops have problems with the power connectors.

This can also cause the 'burnt' smell. Ultimately, the mobo or connector becomes damaged due to overheating. Toshiba had a lot of problems with some of their power connector2mobo designs. Edited: Apr 15, 2009, 02:24am EDT Edited: Apr 15, 2009, 02:00pm EDT >> Re: Laptop fan always on and really loudjohn albrich said: Interesting you state this as I bought a new Acer 8920G (NVIDIA GeForce 9500M GS 512MB ) last year and an update screwed with the Blu-Ray drive - this was sorted by Acer but also they replaced the fan too?? My fan whirs away at boot but slows right down when surfing and the likes - only DVD/Blu-Rays push it to cause a draft! >> Re: Laptop fan always on and really loudmicro said: My Laptop fans are running while booting and they won't stop at all. I think it's a chip problem but which chip it could be? My laptop is D810 Dell. >> Re: Laptop fan always on and really loudI dont know what you mean by "post back" ....... I had multiple Google Chrome's open then closed down to 2 and task manager showed that i had 7 Chrome exe process running, some at 70,000 and 80,000 k .....also a Skype process running at 24,000k and was not even using it.