O.T. Laptop fan is out

Bordello

My Sony Vaio VGN SZ460N cooling fan is out, looks like about $80 on the web, not sure at the local computer repair place but they did tell me depending on if they have to take the keyboard out. around $160 labor + the fan. (Not sure what their price will be)

This seems to be a problem area so I'm wondering if there is a better after market unit for it???

Hoping one of you puter guys might know.

Thanks for any suggestions,

stike

do you travel with it? or does it sit on your desk at home?

they have laptop cooling units that sit under the thing. some are more powerful fans, some circulate coolant (for overclocked gamer-type rigs). the ones with a fan or two are around 40-50 dollars

Bordello

Thanks Stike,
I'm aware of those but I do take it with me to the bar, coffee shop and such. Plus it's pretty warm here in the summer and I keep my place about 90 degree inside (summer only) so figure I had better just get it fixed.

Spent most of the day looking at fans, looking for repair manuals. Found one link showing how to take it apart but the picture were not real good.

Ha, the on thing they show how to get to was the fan.

Grandpas Grub

Probably should fix it yourself or get it fixed. I am not sure if the external cooling units would pull the air through the inside on the notebook well enough not to fry the motherboard or video chip (or both).

Notebook users should use some canned air to blow out the dust. Make sure you don't overspin the fan though.

The repair should not be too hard if you know where the screw holes, internal catches etc. are. The mfg's get pretty creative in hiding those things. I am not sure if the sony needs any special opening tools or not.

Also, if you decide to do it yourself, keep a camera handy and take pictures often, so you remember how to get it back together again.

Kent

Bordello

Hi Kent,
Good advice about the pictures. If I try to do it myself I won't have it to view what pictures I found on the net. Didn't look like any special tools were needed.
I just couldn't find any pictures of how to get to the fan but should not be too hard except for the tiny manual releases that are almost hidden.

I'm still deciding, hate to spend $160 to put in an $80 to maybe $100 part. :(

Thanks,

Grandpas Grub

Not sure how old your model is but there are some great prices on notebook computers (all computers) right now and I am guessing the prices will just get better.

Dell has had some great prices for very good computers. I remember I paid quite a bit for my Vaio and I got a extended warranty which I have never used... go figure.

You should think about getting a new laptop then after you transfer every thing off the the new, put the vaio up as is on the auction boards.

Kent

Bordello

Wish I could, only a little over a year, $2,300 and I'm still paying on it so don't have any choice.

Good thinking.