COMPUTER

[TAXMAN]

Not a tax question. I have a compaq presario laptop that the fan died 7 days after warranty expired. Anybody had in luck in finding someone who could put that fan in for less than a legg and a arm? Thanks.

[SunTaxMan]

Where are you?

[MAMalody]

I have a similar issue. I downloaded the instructions off the internet on how to do and it looks like about a one hour procedure. Fan cost me $40+. I went ahead and puchased a computer tool set, although, that is probably overkill. I will let you know how it goes if I can find this thread. I am planning on doing it this Friday. If you farm this out, my guess is you are talking around $175 or so.

[ILLMAS]

Why not just buy a laptop cooling platform like this one:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11471714&whse=BC&Ne=4000000&eCat=BC|84|1333|21392|76167&N=4025518&Mo=7&pos=0&No=7&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&cat=76167&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&ec=BC-EC19722-Cat21392&topnav=

I would remove the battery to get more air into it, also make a backup of all your data.

[TAXMAN]

Reviews on that thing don't look promising. In response to other where am I? about 90 miles due west of Washington DC.

[Eric]

Any reputable repair shop should be able to fix it for the cost of an hour's labor plus parts.

I'd guess that the fan will probably run you about $20-$25. An hour's labor isn't unreasonable, because getting to that stinking fan usually requires removing three dozen tiny screws and disassembling the laptop layer by layer until you get to the bottom where the fan is.

If you're curious about how much the replacement part will cost, Google it. "Compaq Presario [exact model number] Fan"

And you might get lucky and there's no problem with the fan at all. A couple months ago, a friend gave me a laptop to repair, which just happened to be a Compaq Presario F700. The problem was that it'd shut itself down after being on for half an hour. Turns out a clump of pet hair was keeping the fan from turning and the laptop was overheating, but I still had to tear it all the way down to find the problem.

[kcjenkins]

I agree, it makes good business sense to pay a professional. It's not just knowing where the fan is and how to unplug the old and plug in the new, it's having the right tools, knowing what other problems to look for, knowing whether the fan is the problem, of is simply reacting to the real problem.

It's a lot like taxes, you can get free Turbotax offers, but what you don't get is the knowledge to understand the what and when of the options within the code, plus the peace of mind of knowing that the questions were answered correctly.

[Pacun]

http://www.flixxy.com/laptop-fan-repair.htm

This might help you make up your mind.

[TAXBILLY]

Very entertaining!

taxbilly

[Lion EA]

My Dell was brand new and under warranty, but they wouldn't replace the fan for a month even though I had paid for next-day/on-site service. They kept telling me it was a software problem. Ultimately they had to replace two fans, the power supply, and motherboard. Seeing it laid out across my floor like a operating room, I was very glad I was not the surgeon. And mine was a huge desktop with lots of room to work in. Hope my laptop fan lasts longer!

Loved the video and sent it to my twenty-something kids who love their laptops because they're small.