The fan in my HP Elitebook is no longer working. It’s a work computer with minimal control over administrative functions, so I can’t change any settings or anything.
I don’t mind buying a new fan and making the swap, but I don’t know if the fan itself is broken or if there is some other problem.
What is the chance that an inoperable laptop fan is due to a hardware problem vs a software problem.
If it’s hardware, what’s the likely hood that the problem is the fan itself and not something else on the motherboard?
I’ve already opened the laptop to taken a look at the fan and clean it, but it wasn’t dirty or dusty or anything.
How freely does the fan spin? When off, it should be easy to spin the fan. If there is resistance, then the fan is broken. Spinning a laptop fan can be tricky; you might have to use a small screwdriver or something to get to the blades.
In my experience, if a computer fan isn’t spinning, it’s the fan that is broken.
Is there a BIOS diagnostics that you can run? I know on Dell computers, there is one and one of the tests will spin the fan to high speed and low speed and tell you what RPM results. If the problem occurs during the diagnostics, it’s not an OS issue.
(BTW, don’t you have a corporate IT department for this sort of thing?)
Very easily. Just blowing on it will spin it.
[quote=“Dewey_Finn, post:3, topic:986046”]
Is there a BIOS diagnostics that you can run?[/quote]I don’t think I can enter the BIOS, but its worth a try.
[quote]
(BTW, don’t you have a corporate IT department for this sort of thing?)
[/quote]They don’t fix things. They will just replace the entire laptop. Right now they don’t even have a replacement that’s as good as what I have now. I’d rather have a computer that runs super hot and occasionally thermal-throttles, than one that is constantly slow even at peak performance.
Why are we talking about repairing a laptop where you have minimal admistrive rights?
Did you steal it?
Did you happen to notice that the OP said it was a work computer? Seems unlikely to have been stolen.
Yes, I noticed.
Why would someone who doesn’t have admin rights worry about repairing a laptop.
Bring it in and tell them “it is broken”.
I think I already answered that question, also. I told “them” it was broken. “They” told me they would be happy to replace it with an older, less capable model. This is “Factual Questions” if you hadn’t noticed. The questions is “What is the likelihood of a non-spinng fan to be a hardware problem versus a software bug” with a secondary question of "when it is hardware related, how likely is it to be the fan itself rather than a thermal sensor or some other connection or motherboard component.
If you want to debate “should someone who doesn’t have admin rights worry about repairing a laptop” there are forums for that. If you want to start a thread, I’ll join you there and explain why I upgraded it to 32GB of RAM out of pocket as well.
I gave the fan a spin with my finger while the computer was starting up. It actually started spinning, made a horrible noise like Mel Blanc’s car starting impression https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYiHjuzcEGM and stopped. I think you’re right that it’s the fan. Found one online for $24 bucks. Worth a try.
Thanks all.
The thread title mentioned a “likely hood”, so I figured someone like Tony Soprano was responsible.
Hope the new fan works. Be a shame if something happened to your software. 
Just from the description, I would guess bearing failure. Although a second possibility is blade or casing damage that’s causing blades to impact something while spinning.
I have to admit, I can’t imagine any company IT team preventing administrative access to the software on the laptop but being completely OK with open-case hardware surgery. Unless this is more in the line of “they can’t do anything to prevent it”.
In my company, tampering with the hardware would be a termination offense.
It’s government. They’re more concerned about me plugging my cell phone into it, trying to burn a CD with it, or adding removable storage. I’ve been adding RAM to my work computers since 2007, and nobody has cared. It might be technically against the rules. I’m actually not sure. I don’t know where fixing the fan sits.
With computers or any equipment, really: pretty much if you make something work that didn’t work before, people tend to not ask questions. lol. If you break it, though…
Nenno! Get in here! Did you mess with the fan on your issued machine?
Huh? I didn’t even know my ipad has a fan.