I have an Acer 7520 laptop not quite 2 years old. First symptom of trouble was when you switchedit on there was power and it started to boot but switched off before it had completed the boot. We cleaned out the fan filter which was pretty dusty and it occasionally booted up but the longest it went without switching off (without warning) was 40 minutes. Now when you switch on the power switch HDD light flash but the screen is black. The fan doesn't appear to be working. Is this just a question of replacing the fan or could there be another issue?
Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
Thanks
1 suggestion.
Inside your laptop is a processor. The Cooling Fan, and Air Intake Duct you mentioned, are part of the cooling system. The main job for the cooling system, is to keep the processor at a reasonable operating temperature.
When a processor becomes too hot it turns off. (Actually BIOS turns it off)
With the amount of foreign debris you mentioned, (Dust/Dirt/Hair/Carpet Deodorizer/Food Crumbs/Lint, are a few examples of foreign debris), the Cooling Tube may be clogged.
Just using a can of compressed air for computers, in the Air Intake Duct, (DO NOT blow into the Exhaust Duct!), may not be enough.
Generally the Cooling Tube is about the width of your finger, and the height is half the thickness of a finger. Pretty small tube, and easily clogged. Also the Heatsink at the end of the cooling tube, can become clogged.
Laptops have a poor cooling design anyway. Everything is crammed into one tiny box. They use a small fan to cool them, and the Air Intake Duct is typically located on the bottom. (Some are on the side) This is a good (?) area to inhale readily available foreign debris.
On the link below the last photo on the page, shows an average Cooling Tube that is attached to a Heatsink.
http://www.insidemylaptop.com/clean-cooling-module-acer-aspire-3620/
This requires opening the laptop, and physically removing the foreign debris. Typical method is a combination of Q-tips, and Isopropyl Alcohol, plus a can of compressed air.
(AC adapter {Charger} removed, battery removed. Use an ESD wrist strap, and connect it's alligator clip to a good ground)
By the way. You DID have the AC adapter, (Charger), disconnected, and battery out, when you used the can of compressed air, right?
Do you have the Cooling Tube/Heatsink combo in your hand? (ElectroStatic Discharge wrist ********?)
The stars at the end of my recent comment, represent S-T-R-A-P, and the word ON. Somehow, they were seen as words that shouldn't be put in a public forum.
Static electricity will fry out delicate computer hardware components, in a New York minute. Your body carries static.
Should have added, "Yes, your first diagnoses was correct also. The fan should definitely be replaced."
The fan has a Life Cycle. So many hours of usage. Apparently this fan was/is defective from the factory. However, if you used a can of compressed air for computers, and sprayed air directly into the Air Intake Duct using a solid continuous blast, this could shorten the 'life expectancy of the fan's bearings. The fan is only designed to spin so fast. Spin at so many RPM's. (Revolutions per Minute) It is for this reason, that only Short Bursts of air should be used. Squeeze the trigger in all the way, but let go quick.
Start at a distance of about a finger length away, going across the top of the Air Intake Duct grille. Start from the Left side, (Or right to left), and go across. Squeeze the trigger in all the way, and when you reach the end of the right side, let go of the trigger. Go down a row, and repeat. The distance you drop down, is up to you. You will know you are providing good coverage, by the dust that is sprayed off.
Keep going down in rows until you reach the bottom. Now go back up to the top, and bring the plastic straw right up against the Air Intake Duct grille. This time use Short Bursts, as you go across, and drop down in rows.
With your model the tube isn't open. I don't have a Service Manual on this laptop, (Acer isn't too 'keen' about giving out service information)
The tubes are an extension of the heatsink, and use Conduction as a method of heat transfer,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_transf...
Since you're in there, it would be a good idea to clean the thermal paste from the top of the processor's case, and reapply fresh thermal paste. I would use some Artic Silver 5. Apply SPARINGLY!
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/2...
I would also advise using a laptop cooler. These can range from inexpensive to very expensive. An inexpensive model can do the job.
http://www.xoxide.com/noco.html
What are you using for power? The battery, or the AC adapter, (Charger), or do you have both plugged in? It could be,
1.With just using a fully charged battery, see if you get the same symptoms, or the laptop works as it should.
Problem? If the laptop functions as it should, with just a fully charged battery, and no charger plugged in, it could be the DC Power Jack that the AC adapter plugs into, is the problem.
Solder joints that connect the jack to the motherboard, may have become cracked, making an intermittent contact.
Granted if this is the case, you'll need to find someone with the same laptop, or some other way to charge the battery for this test.
It could also be a bad motherboard design, specific to where that DC Power Jack mounts to the motherboard. The small area of motherboard where this jack is mounted to, could have cracked away from the main area of motherboard.
This is what the jack looks like not mounted in an Acer Aspire 7520 laptop,
http://www.megaemarket.com/pj1ladcpojac1...
Solution? Re-solder the solder joints, or worse case scenario, replace the DC Power Jack.
It could also be the motherboard itself, in that the circuit that determines if the battery needs a charge, plus determines if the laptop is to run off of the charger, or battery, may be bad.
Solution?
Requires replacing the motherboard. The circuitry is TOO intricate to repair, and you need equipment, and tools that would cost Way too much.
Check Ebay -> Desktop and Laptop Parts, and also Laptops for parts.
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Symptoms of a broken power jack
1. If you wiggle the power cord or the AC Adapter connector on the back of the laptop, the power LED and battery charge LED start to flicker.
2. Battery will not charge in the laptop.
3. Laptop runs fine off a charged battery.
4. With the AC Adapter connected the laptop appears to be dead.
No power LED or battery charge LED activity.
5. Laptop randomly powers off without any warning.
If your laptop is out of warranty, then you can fix the problem by re-soldering DC-IN jack on the system board. If it
I’m happy to assist further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/joe_8b8c2cd6ce148309
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Thanks for your detailed response. I'll give that a go and report back.
The heat sink is what I called the filter and that is clear. I am confused about the cooling pipe - can't see any way of getting compressed air into it. Where are the holes? I appreciate your help with this.
thanks.
Thanks for the response. The problem is still there but I have noticed that when you swith on the laptop the fan does briefly come on before cutting out - screen still blank and power light flashing.
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