Repair: Fixing a noisy fan in a Toshiba A15

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The patient: a Toshiba A15 with a noisy, bad fan.

I have a great Toshiba A15 that just keeps on humming along. Actually, humming and buzzing. It makes an awful racket, and so I decided to replace the aging internal fan.

Here's what I did to replace the fan. I suspect this basic technique will work with other similar Toshiba laptops.

Tools and Parts required

• A small phillips head screwdriver
• A replacement fan, such as this one
• Some "canned air", to remove dust
  

Procedure

1. Shut Down the Laptop, unplug it, and remove the battery

2. Remove the fan cover

I flipped the laptop on its back. In the corner there is a covering with two bulges. I removed this cover by removing the three screws. I then gently unsnapped the cover to expose the fan.
The fan cover


With the cover removed, the fan is exposed

3. Remove Fan

Next, I removed the two screws holding the fan in place. Then I gently pulled off the tiny power cable.

The power cable connection



The fan

4. Clean the heat sink

I then cleaned off the very dusty and dirty heat sink. Evidently, the fan draws in a lot of dust over time. I removed this dust with some "canned air".

The dust-filled heat sink, ready for some de-dusting

5. Reassemble in reverse

• Slip new fan in place
• Screw in fan with two screws
• Attach fan power connector, as shown
• Snap on fan covering, making sure wires are not pinched under it
• Screw on fan cover with three screws (long screw goes in the "middle")

6. Test

I started up the laptop, and it has been working wonderfully ever since. It is as quiet as new!