Dell laptop exhaust fan doesn't spin 95% of the time.

G u t h i x

Prominent
Jun 4, 2017
4
0
510
Hi,


I have Dell Inspiron 17R N7110 which had windows 7 but was upgrading to windows 10 during the free upgrade period and its about 6 years old.

Since before the problem started there weren't and changes to hardware or system updates but there has just been one thing I've been kinda ignoring. Occasionally when plugging in laptop to charger I've been getting a message saying that laptop doesn't recognize the AC adapter and that it could be giving the wrong voltage. (Its the charger that came with the laptop when i bought it). Could this possibly mean the laptops not getting enough power so its cutting power to stuff? ( when solely on batteries power fan still doesn't turn on).

Could this possibly be a software issue? If so, how would i check?

Or lastly has the fan gone kaput? ive opened it and cleaned all dust from it ( first time I cleaned it since I've had it, was dense and plenty enough to completely cover the entirety of the cool sinks teeth and the cover the vent.).

P.S. fan does turn on at times but seems lke its just random. Also when it is on it sometimes stops abruptly and starts back up within a second.

Many thanks in advance for even reading this far and any advice you all have to offer =).
 
Solution
power adapter? ... i doubt it because you said the fan doesn't operate even on fully charged battery.

software? ... unlikely but you could check .... boot into the bios - no software will be loaded ... does the fan run continuously at low speed ... if not, the fan has problems (or worse yet ... the motherboard) ... as I said ... fans are cheap, not sure why this is your 'absolute last option'.

G u t h i x

Prominent
Jun 4, 2017
4
0
510


I was hoping to replace as the absolute last option. But yes, its was usually quiet unless i was doing something very taxing in which case the fan would be very audible. Then again, huge difference between quite and not moving at all.
Does this mean there is no possibility of it being the power adapter or a software issue?

thanks for a quick reply btw =o
 

robert600

Distinguished
power adapter? ... i doubt it because you said the fan doesn't operate even on fully charged battery.

software? ... unlikely but you could check .... boot into the bios - no software will be loaded ... does the fan run continuously at low speed ... if not, the fan has problems (or worse yet ... the motherboard) ... as I said ... fans are cheap, not sure why this is your 'absolute last option'.
 
Solution