Samsung X20: Cleaning cooler / fan

[martinx20]

Hi everyone,

I've had my Samsung X20 for just over two years now, and lately, the fan has been coming on more and more. At the same time, there's hardly any airflow coming out of the vent, even with the fan going at full speed (when I run games, for example). I know this was different when I got my laptop -- there would be masses of hot air coming out the side...

I suspect it's the typical problem of the cooler becoming clogged with dust, so I've tried opening the case (warranty has run out anyway), but I can't seem to get it open... I've been able to get the keyboard off, and I've removed every single screw I could find, but no luck... I can bend the case apart slightly in some places, but other places are still held firmly together, particularly near the display hinges and near the audio connectors at the front. I suspect there are plastic tabs inside the case holding it together, but I can't see anything from the outside, and I'm obviously reluctant to use force...

Can anyone give me a hint as to how I can get the case open? I noticed this thread by Brigand21 ("I may be of use"):

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=38097

Brigand21, are you still around?

I'm getting worried that I'll fry my laptop eventually if I can't get it cleaned up, so any advice would be much appreciated...

Cheers,

Martin

[John Ratsey]

Your diagnosis sounds reasonable. If the X20 has any air vents on the bottom then this increases the probability of sucking in dust.

Do you have access to a household vacuum cleaner with a nozzle? If so, put it close to the fan exhaust and give a good suck (the keyboard may also benefit from similar treatment). This might help clear some dust from the fan. Another useful cleaning accessory is a can of compressed air with a extension pipe. Something like this: http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/prod...ducts_id=61024 . You may be able to get in through the RAM or HDD covers and give a good blast of air towards the fan and heatsink.

I haven't tried dismantling the case on a Samsung notebook but most likely there are some small teeth and grooves where parts of the plastic overlap. I would try around the front with a small (2-3mm blade width) and see if you can separate the two parts along the joint.

Perhaps Brigand21 can provide more information on dismantling?

Hope this helps a little,

John

[martinx20]

John,

thanks for your suggestions!

Yes, I do have a vacuum cleaner with a nozzle... so I'll probably try that. I had read about this and about using compressed air elsewhere, but I was a bit hesitant to try this on my machine... my thinking was that I would probably spin the fan, and some electric motors can act as generators when you spin them, so who knows what resulting current will do to the electronics that drive the fan...? But I'm probably overly cautious here... have you tried these methods yourself?

If you've done this without ill effect, I'll give it a go, but I have the feeling the dust may already be so thick that I won't be able to dislodge it in this way... so I may have to open the case after all. A friend of mine had a similar problem on his Sony laptop... fortunately, he found some instructions on the net on how to take it apart, and the layer of dust that had built up was impressive... it was a single, thick, almost felt-like piece that covered the whole front of the cooler...

Originally Posted by John Ratsey

I haven't tried dismantling the case on a Samsung notebook but most likely there are some small teeth and grooves where parts of the plastic overlap. I would try around the front with a small (2-3mm blade width) and see if you can separate the two parts along the joint.

That was my thinking too... that there are "teeth" somewhere that snap into the other side. Problem is, I can't really see where those teeth might be, and simply trying to force the case apart will probably just break them...

Perhaps Brigand21 can provide more information on dismantling?

I hope so, too... I've searched the net high and low for any information on dismantling X20s, but to no avail...

Anyway, thanks for your help!

Martin

[John Ratsey]

I've blasted fans with compressed air enough to make them whine and they have still worked afterwards. However, I agree that in theory they become generators although the power would be quite low.

I would recommend that you cautiously explore prising the casing apart along the joint around the edge. My guess is that the bottom slots over the top so it might be easiest to have the computer the right way up after you have removed the screws. Then push the screwdriver blade downwards into the joint. If you can get the blade in a few mm then pull outwards with the handle so that you are trying to lever the computer out of the base. The teeth are only around 0.5mm so you don't have to lever much. Start at the middle front where it should be easy to deflect the plastic without too much force. Their real function is for clipping the plastic together before the screws go in. If the screwdriver won't go into the joint, turn the computer over and try again. Once you have got one or two teeth unlatched then the rest should be easy although leave areas around sockets until last.

John

[martinx20]

Originally Posted by John Ratsey

I've blasted fans with compressed air enough to make them whine and they have still worked afterwards. However, I agree that in theory they become generators although the power would be quite low.

OK, that sounds reassuring... so I guess I'll just go ahead and try that.

Thanks for your description of how these "teeth" work... that's given me a better idea of where I should press and lever... I'll try that out, and if I manage to get the case open, I'll post my findings here so others can make use of them...

Cheers,

Martin

[John Ratsey]

Good luck. Getting the casings open is always difficult the first time. The challenge is to know where to start and what to do. I expect the repair people are allowed about 10 minutes to open up, change something and reassemble.

If you do crack a bit of plastic then some superglue will fix it. A crack is better than the melt-down alternative.

John

[martinx20]

John,

last night, I managed to get the case open and clean the cooler! Didn't break anything, and I'm now getting good airflow through the cooler again.

So thanks for all your advice and for giving me the confidence to just probe away carefully until I found the place that was holding the case together. The key in this case were the covers for the laptop hinges. These are separate from the rest of the case and are simply clipped in place. On the side facing the battery, there are small slots, just big enough to insert the blade of a screwdriver into, and the hinge covers can be levered out in this way. That exposes more screws, and those were the ones that were still holding the case together.

I'll give a short description of the complete process for anyone who has the same problem -- I hope to put up some photos over the weekend. Of course, I cannot assume any responsibility for any damages that may result from using these instructions. This description is from memory, but I hope it's accurate.

So here's how to open the case:

1. Remove the battery and the power supply plug (goes without saying, I suppose).

2. Remove all screws visible on the bottom of the notebook, expect for the screws holding the memory and HDD covers in place. The screws you should remove are: Three screws marked "KBD", a further 11 screws of the same size, and two slightly larger screws under the display hinges. These last two screws serve to hold the display hinges in place, but don't worry, the display won't come off yet -- there are more screws inside the case that are still holding the display in place.

3. Remove the keyboard. There are three plastic tabs along the bottom row of the keyboard. Use a screwdriver to press these tabs into the case (towards the front of the notebook), and you should be able to lift the keyboard out. There's a ribbon cable that attaches the keyboard to the motherboard. Slide the connector open, and you should be able to remove the cable.

4. Remove the display hinges. As described above, the display hinges are covered with separate pieces of plastic. As described above, there's a small slot on each hinge cover, on the side facing the battery. Use a screwdriver in this slot to pry the hinge cover open, then lever carefully around the edge of the hinge cover to get it out.

5. Removing the hinge covers has exposed three cables, two for the wireless antenna and one for the actual display, which feed through a cable guide under the left hinge cover. The two wireless cables are connected to the WLAN card, which is covered by a metal cover. Remove the metal cover and unplug the wireless cables from the card. Unplug the display cable from the connector. Remove the cables from the cable guide.

6. There are a number of screws in the areas that were previously covered by the hinge covers. Remove all of these screws, making sure to keep a note of where they came from -- the screws are different sizes. You should now be able to remove the display from the rest of the notebook.

7. In the keyboard recess, there is one remaining screw holding the top of the case in place; this screw is marked with an arrow. Remove this screw.

8. There are two cables that connect the top of the case to the mainboard: One for the buttons and LEDs, and the other for the touchpad. You should be able to see these cables in the keyboard recess. Unplug both of these cables, if possible. In my case, I wasn't able to get the touchpad plug out of its connector, but that doesn't matter -- with only the touchpad connector remaining, you can turn the top of the case by 90 degrees to give you access to the fan and cooler.

9. There is now a single plastic tab remaining that is holding the case in place -- this is near the audio connectors at the front of the case. Lever carefully with a screwdriver to unhook this tab from its connector. You can now lift off the top of the case. If, like me, you weren't able to unplug the touchpad cable, you can still lift the top off enough to allow you to rotate it, giving you access to the fan.

10. The fan is held in place by four black screws. Remove these screws, and you can lift the fan out of its recess.

11. You're now ready to clean the cooler! I found that a vaccuum cleaner works well for this. Of course, don't touch the cooler with the nozzle... just bring the nozzle close to the cooler, and it should suck off most of the dust. The remaining dust still clinging to the cooler can be removed using a soft brush, such as those used to clean electric shavers.

And that's it!

Martin

[John Ratsey]

Excellent feedback and I pleased to hear that the outcome was successful I'm sure that some of the other Samsung notebooks will be similar.

I remember that on my old Fujitsu the hinge covers held the keyboard in place, but so far I've not got beyond removing the standard covers and the keyboard on my Samsung notebooks.

John

[martinx20]

Here finally are the pictures I promised.

The initial state after removing the keyboard and all the screws from the bottom of the notebook:



After removing the hinge covers:



After removing the WLAN module cover:



After removing the WLAN antenna and display cables:



After removing the display:



Cooler with screws to remove:



Dirty cooler:



Cooler after cleaning:



Martin

[John Ratsey]

Thanks. You will be able to get a job repairing computers!

I like the dirty cooler picture - it clearly shows how blocked these can get after a year or two. Is the main air inlet on the bottom of the computer? This arrangement helps to suck the dust off the table and into the computer.

John