Computer Problems - advise needed
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slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
You may need to get a set of micro screw and Torx drivers to gain access to the guts. Buy a compressed air duster aerosol from somewhere like Maplin (maybe Screwfix) and give all the fans/heatsinks a blast. It could just be that the fan bearings are on their last legs, in which case you could try and get a replacement fan or generic one. Good luck.
IGIFY ( I googled it for you) Hope that helps.
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
[QUOTE 3644972, member: 9609"]I am sure I can get into it, but there is a hell of a lot of little screws on the back (40+) take them all out and it may just fall into a lot of individual pieces, never to be reassembled. I think some may indicate they release the keyboard? would probably start there.
I'm more worried about damaging stuff with static if I touch them - is that correct? or an old wives tail.[/QUOTE]
I'm pretty cavalier about static but all the pcb assemblers we have dealt with take it very seriously. It's probably a good idea to get an anti-static wriststrap from CPC or Maplin. I just wired mine into a 13 amp socket......the EARTH pin, NOT the Line or Neutral!
http://cpc.farnell.com/duratool/d03000/wrist-strap-6ft-hook-loop/dp/TL01317
I'm more worried about damaging stuff with static if I touch them - is that correct? or an old wives tail.[/QUOTE]
I'm pretty cavalier about static but all the pcb assemblers we have dealt with take it very seriously. It's probably a good idea to get an anti-static wriststrap from CPC or Maplin. I just wired mine into a 13 amp socket......the EARTH pin, NOT the Line or Neutral!
http://cpc.farnell.com/duratool/d03000/wrist-strap-6ft-hook-loop/dp/TL01317
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
At one job, we'd had a very expensive prototype circuit board made up for testing. I think it cost over £4,000 ...
I pointed out to the man walking across a static-prone carpet and rubbing his fingers across the back of the board in an absent-minded way that maybe, just maybe, it might be a better idea to use an anti-static bag when wandering about with such pricey kit in his mitts!
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
BTW, if you do wire the wriststrap into a standard 13 amp plug, please make extra sure that the wire has some really good strain relief. You really don't want it to accidentally come into contact with the Live pin when you yank on it. You can of course get a special plug instead.
swee'pea99
Squire
I've worked on many laptops without ever frying anything. I just touch the tap before I get started. If you enter compaq nx9420 into youtube, you'll get loads of vids showing the disassembly process. Apart from that, it's just about keeping the screws safe - and any different ones separate. A tip I saw once was to put a strip of sellotape on the table sticky-side up, then stick screws to it in order as you remove them. Then for re-assembly, just work your way back up the tape. (Every old laptop I ever took apart had a pad - like felt - of dust packed by the fan. Remove it & things get a lot better. Generally took an hour, give or take.)
Smurfy
Naturist Smurf
- Location
- Smurfette's Kitchen
[QUOTE 3644972, member: 9609"]I'm more worried about damaging stuff with static if I touch them - is that correct? or an old wives tail.[/QUOTE]
Unfortunately it's not a myth. Although some people will say the risk is low, the proper approach is to use an anti-static workstation or wrist band.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Static-repair-build-600mm-490mm/dp/B003ZDXGI2
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/anti-static-computer-wrist-strap-with-grounding-cable-zt91y
If you don't want to buy one, wear clothes that you know won't generate static, take your shoes off and go bare foot to allow good contact with the ground (earth), and touch a tap or other earthed object regularly while working.
If it's a performance issue, consider using an operating system that doesn't waste system resources as badly as Windoze does.
Unfortunately it's not a myth. Although some people will say the risk is low, the proper approach is to use an anti-static workstation or wrist band.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Static-repair-build-600mm-490mm/dp/B003ZDXGI2
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/anti-static-computer-wrist-strap-with-grounding-cable-zt91y
If you don't want to buy one, wear clothes that you know won't generate static, take your shoes off and go bare foot to allow good contact with the ground (earth), and touch a tap or other earthed object regularly while working.
If it's a performance issue, consider using an operating system that doesn't waste system resources as badly as Windoze does.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
Static is only a problem if you and the machine have different charges, the earth strap should be connected to the chassis of the machine and the machine should be unplugged.
the_mikey
Legendary Member
- Location
- South Gloucestershire
At one job, we'd had a very expensive prototype circuit board made up for testing. I think it cost over £4,000 ...
I pointed out to the man walking across a static-prone carpet and rubbing his fingers across the back of the board in an absent-minded way that maybe, just maybe, it might be a better idea to use an anti-static bag when wandering about with such pricey kit in his mitts!
I recall quite mischievously shuffling around on the carpet where I used to work, with a pencil in hand, and casually making contact with a radiator or pipe which would discharge the static and crash all the computers in the office next door
It could be dust, in which case take the advice above but it could also be a fault. I had one that did the same and the motherboard was replaced twice under warranty. There are only a few things you can fix on laptops. It's also worth running dskchk, ccleaner, malware bytes and ensuring all your drivers are up to date, this too can solve high cpu use which will cause it to run hot.
PaulSecteur
No longer a Specialized fanboy
- Location
- Walsall, West Mids.
In older computers the thermal paste between the heatsink and cpu can become ineffective.
No matter how clean the fan, the cpu will still overheat as the heat cant get to the heatsink.
Re-doing it shouldnt be a big job if you reseach it and only a few quid for new paste. Or an hours labour from your local lappy repair man.
No matter how clean the fan, the cpu will still overheat as the heat cant get to the heatsink.
Re-doing it shouldnt be a big job if you reseach it and only a few quid for new paste. Or an hours labour from your local lappy repair man.
slowmotion
Quite dreadful
- Location
- lost somewhere
[QUOTE 3645305, member: 9609"]
If it is full of dust, what is best to clean out with - blast it with compressed air(1) or use a hoover ?
[/QUOTE]
The aerosol duster has a nozzle that will get it into a lot more inaccessible places than a vacuum cleaner but waving a hoover around too won't do any harm either. I wouldn't use a workshop compressed air line. You don't want to blow the chips out of their sockets. Actually, it'll all be SMT so maybe there are no sockets.
BTW, here's a dedicated mains plug for a wrist strap.
If it is full of dust, what is best to clean out with - blast it with compressed air(1) or use a hoover ?
[/QUOTE]
The aerosol duster has a nozzle that will get it into a lot more inaccessible places than a vacuum cleaner but waving a hoover around too won't do any harm either. I wouldn't use a workshop compressed air line. You don't want to blow the chips out of their sockets. Actually, it'll all be SMT so maybe there are no sockets.
BTW, here's a dedicated mains plug for a wrist strap.
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