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Presario 2701US overheating, heatsink and fan problems
I have a year and a half old Presario 2701US laptop running Windows XP Home.
Over the past few weeks the system has been just shutting down (needing a complete reboot) with increasing frequency. It got to the point where I could rarely get it to start up completely, and doing something like inserting a CD or DVD might cause a shutdown. One symptom that preceded this is very erratic operation of the fan -- usually at very high speed (loud fan noise). Thanks to a reply in the Compaq support forums, I found that the Evo N180 is essentially the same unit and I was told the location of a downloadable service manual for the N180. Thus I was able to disassemble the unit. I found a number of surprising problems with the processor heat sink and fan assembly. The processor fan has a cable that connects to a connector on the main board, but the electrical connection between that connector and the board was not soldered -- just "touching" -- and was definitely intermittent. With some delicate soldering, I was able to get a reliable connection. The fan now runs in a way that seems "normal" and the system is running better now. It's too soon to say the problem is fixed, and another problem has me quite worried: the mechanical mounting of the processor heat sink. The heat sink mounts with four screws that go into threaded "nuts" that are soldered to the main board. One by one the threaded "nuts" have become loose from the board -- the solder bond has broken. Is it usual for a massive mechanical assembly to be mounted by solder like this -- especially in a mobile device? Thus, the heat sink is not really fastened to the board right now. I have been afraid to try to solder the "nuts" back to the board, since a lot of heat will be needed -- my pencil soldering iron can't heat them enough (although I have a 100 watt "gun" I could use). I'm afraid this kind of heat will damage the board -- should I fear this? Any suggestions for alternative to soldering? Heat-conductive adhesive? -- Bob Fleischer Groton, MA 01450 |
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