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More economic bad luck; My computer is gonna blow.
Topic Started: Jan 13 2010, 07:05 AM (225 Views)
Free Rider
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Fulla-Carp
Some of you may remember me smugly saying how I bought the cheapest computer I could find at Staples last Christmas. It ended up being a HP Pavillion with a 19" flat screen, printer and all kinds of goodies...all for the low low price of $599.00.

A couple of weeks ago I heard a whirring sound..like a electric motor struggling. A few days ago I started my computer and the black screen comes on and it says "CPU Fan had FAILED. Service immediately" or something like that.

So I say, "****!" and call up Staples. They do not repair broken fans...and the machine had a 12 month warranty. Now it is 13 months. SOL there. I call up HP tech support. The woman says they'll fix it for me for $276.00 plus S&H. It would take 3 to 4 weeks.

So I just started my computer up, backed up all of my music, pics, and videos, and now I'm just gonna use it until it fries.

I guess I'm in the market for a new one....although I hate this consumer crap I'm doing.
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Mikhailoh
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If you want trouble, find yourself a redhead
Go to a local company that builds and replaces them. I'm sure you have one. You can likely get it fixed a lot cheaper. Actually, if it is just the fan and/or heat sink, you can likely do it yourself. You can start here.

fhttp://www.partstore.com/Search/Model/Hewlett+Packard/Hewlett+Packard.aspx
Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead - Lucille Ball
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
Careful. A faulty fan can lead to a mobo failure. Just like running out of coolant for your car and overheating the engine.

FWIW that's why I'd never buy a computer from HP (or Dell, or Gateway, etc.) They skimp on the important stuff like fans, heat sinks, etc.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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JBryan
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I am the grey one
A CPU fan is an easy fix. You may have to remove the heat sink depending on CPU type but the hardest thing about that is you will have to make sure you put thermal grease down before reinstalling heat sink. However, in many cases the fan just snaps onto the heat sink and plugs into the mother board.
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John D'Oh
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MAMIL
A broken fan should be fairly easy to fix - even if you torch the PC trying to do it, you haven't really lost anything, so I'd definitely give it a go, or have a local chop-shop take a look for you.

Don't lose a PC for the cost of a fan, even if it is just a sh!t-box HP.
What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket?
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
JBryan
Jan 13 2010, 07:25 AM
A CPU fan is an easy fix. You may have to remove the heat sink depending on CPU type but the hardest thing about that is you will have to make sure you put thermal grease down before reinstalling heat sink. However, in many cases the fan just snaps onto the heat sink and plugs into the mother board.
+1.

This is where a lot of companies short change you. They apply this kind of thermal "pad" to divert the heat but those pads suck. A good thermal grease has saved my computer many times over from overheating. (I had a fan outright fail on me and I kept my computer on nonstop for over a year before more serious problems came up.)
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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Copper
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Shortstop

It's better to run without electricity than without the fan.

Take a shot at fixing it yourself.
The Confederate soldier was peculiar in that he was ever ready to fight, but never ready to submit to the routine duty and discipline of the camp or the march. The soldiers were determined to be soldiers after their own notions, and do their duty, for the love of it, as they thought best. Carlton McCarthy
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1hp
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Fulla-Carp

JBryan and Mr. D'Oh got it right. Fans are easy to replace. Heatsink a little harder (clips can be a pain) but still fairly easy. Just don'tforget the heat sink compound (the white stuff that will appear on everything in the room 5 minutes after you thought you were finished with it).

Alternatively, you can drop the motherboard in liquid nitrogen and throttle all the clock settings to maximum, and to hell with any fans. :sombrero:
Edited by 1hp, Jan 13 2010, 08:40 AM.
There are 10 kinds of people in this world, those that understand binary and................
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
1hp
Jan 13 2010, 08:39 AM
Alternatively, you can drop the motherboard in liquid nitrogen and throttle all the clock settings to maximum, and to hell with any fans. :sombrero:
:lol: :thumb:

Posted Image
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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1hp
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Fulla-Carp

Must be from Alienware - except I think they were bought by Dell a while back which probably ruined them.
There are 10 kinds of people in this world, those that understand binary and................
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Aqua Letifer
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ZOOOOOM!
1hp
Jan 13 2010, 08:54 AM
Must be from Alienware - except I think they were bought by Dell a while back which probably ruined them.
They sure were. :lol: And they sure did.
I cite irreconcilable differences.
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