Toshiba Satellite A15 has a loud fan. Can I tighten the fan?
I own a Toshiba A15 Satellite laptop, and I have owned it for about two years. For the past couple of months every time the laptop is on the fan becomes annoyingly loud like it is loose or something, I was curious on how do I tighten the fan; I use this computer everyday, and it is painstakingly annoying. Any help would be appreciated.
If the cooling fan starts making a grinding sound, then it’s time to replace it. You cannot fix it just by tightening the fan. With Toshiba Satellite A15 it’s very easy to replace the fan yourself. You can replace it in 5 minutes. You can easily access and replace the CPU fan from the bottom of your laptop, here are some pictures. You can find a new fan of ebay for $40-$45. Search for “Toshiba Satellite A15 fan”.
Do you need spare parts for your laptop? Search here by the laptop model and part description.
February 16th, 2010 at 1:51 am
Hi, I have a Toshiba a25-s207 and the fan is VERY LOUD! I don’t think the fan is bad because it doesn’t sound bad. It seems to turn on fairly often, though. It’s not grinding or making any rattling noises. It’s just loud! Sounds like a wind machine from a movie set. Are these things just loud even when they’re not bad?
November 2nd, 2008 at 2:59 pm
I’ve cleaned the lint out of my Satellite A15-S127 before (maybe two years ago)and had good results. This morning I heard loud grinding whirring noise, intermittent, and started taking parts off the bottom of my laptop. Eventually after blowing out a small amount of lint I restarted the laptop with the fan cover OFF and that makes it clear that the noise is coming from the fan, not the hdd. But the laptop is still very sluggish to run any program after a fairly normal bootup. If I replace the fan only is it possible or likely that my hdd will function better? Or is it more likely that the hdd is on its way out. If I need to replace the hdd can I use a 7200 RPM drive to boost performance?
Thanks for a great site. Love the pull apart diagrams.
August 14th, 2008 at 2:18 pm
mann this thread helped me a lot..owe it to you guys major time..yeh..saved me almost 65 bucks…i removed the fans cover…removed the axle off the assemble..cleaned it with adidas body spray…used vaseline and coconut oil on the windings…,,used some body spray on the lil circuit board too..be easy on the lil wires..if it comes off ull have to solder em..so easy on the wires..
but man its recommended to stick with regular..isoprpanol..and good hi grade oil ..graphite or other micromotor rated,,
another thing,,be easy on the windings..each one is linked by a fine thred..so dont break em..the first two arnt connected so dont worry abt that(basic motor machine design..simple chasis)
gtg..bye..tk cr luv u guys a million
August 7th, 2008 at 9:13 am
I have a Toshiba Satellite A25-S207. There must be a secondary cooling fan near the hard drive because it is making a bunch of noise. The main cooling fan works fine. (The noise is not coming from the HD). Can you give me the part numbers for both fans (if I am taking it apart why not?). Thanks ‘Laptop Freak’ you are the best!
August 3rd, 2008 at 3:52 am
Hey all.
I’ve got a Toshiba A10. During cleaning, when disconnecting the 3 pin plug joining the fan wires to the motherboard I accidentally dislodged the connector as well, breaking the solder and completely separating it from the board.
I needed to use my pc for work but also knew that using it without a fan probably wouldn’t end well.
I dont have soldering equiptment or skills either so resoldering it wasn’t an option.
I attempted to connect the existing fan directly to the dc jack which resulted in erratic, short bursts of power to the fan, which I assume was due to the voltage difference (?)
I then connected a CPU fan from an old desktop system which ran quite well, though very fast and quite noisy. Connecting the fan in this way also meant it was powered whenever the ac adapter was connected, regardless of the laptop’s status. This at least temporarily enabled me to get some work done without cooking my machine though.
I imagine the cost to replace the mainboard would be jaw dropping so my questions for you are these:
Is resoldering the 3 pin connector back onto the motherboard a viable option?
Is there another (stable) way of connecting the original 5v fan?
If I opted to continue using a 12v fan instead, is it possible to connect it so it starts and stops with the pc and operates at a reasonable speed?
Your advice is very much appreciated.
June 11th, 2008 at 6:53 am
I have a Toshiba Satellite A10. For the past 2-3 years, the fan has been VERY noisy when it comes on. The exhaust grill (left side, near the rear) had VERY warm air coming out…and overall CPU performance seemed much slower than it used to have…especially running FLASH games.
Then I found this thread…I then went to ebay, searched for the make/model + the word “fan”, clicked ‘buy it now’ (BIN) and within TWO DAYS (!!) I had the fan at my house. Then…within 5 minutes I had removed the bottom panel near the exhaust grill, took the old fan out, vacuumed the CPU/cooling hatch…especially the overly dusty exhaust grill, and installed the new fan.
Super easy, folks. My 6 year old could have done this…you can too. Do it now….before your CPU overheats and possibly dies.
February 17th, 2008 at 2:42 pm
I have a Toshiba A15-S127 that had a noisy fan. I found an inexpensive replacement and swapped it out. Fan still made the same noise, like something was rubbing against the blades. That’s because there was. The wires that connect fan to the motherboard run across the top (bottom) of the blades. They would loosen and start rubbing against the blades. A little crazy glue fixed the problem.
February 4th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Emily,
There are two fans in this laptop.
Big fan (CPU fan) – part number P000392060.
Small fan (secondary fan) – part number P000392080.
Yes, if this noise is coming from the hard drive, you have to back up all your data ASAP, because the hard drive can fail any moment.
In order to find out if the noise is coming from the hard drive or from the fan you can try this. Start the laptop without the hard drive installed and listen for the fan noise. If it’s noisy, replace the fan.
You can run the memory test (Memtest86+) in order to load the CPU and make it run hotter so the fan runs faster. You can run this test from a CD or from a floppy drive. This test doesn’t require the hard drive to be installed into the laptop. If you still hear the same noise even with the hard drive removed, apparently it comes from one of the fans.
February 3rd, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Hi LTF,
I can’t say it enough, it’s good to know there are other Toshiba loud fan sufferers out there!
I just had a few questions… I have a Toshiba A45 s150, which I bought in 2004. For the past year, my laptop was overheating and shutting down spontaneously, which was a real headache. My cousin is a computer genius and knew just what to do when I told him what’d been happening…We took the base off and he showed me the area around the heatsink, which looked like 4 layers of dryer lint had been sitting against it for the past 2 years! Ha! After we cleaned that mess, and put it back together (and cleared out my hard drive and put the computer back to factory settings, just for good measure), it was sounding a lot quieter.
HOWEVER – My laptop STILL makes noise! It starts quiet, deceiving you into thinking your experience will be relatively noiseless, but THEN usually something like burning a CD, watching a youtube video online, or doing something that requires more “work” for the CPU starts this loud, whirring, grinding noise from the base of the computer.
I’m HOPING it’s just the fan and not the hard drive… but are there any tips for determining this? If it’s the hard drive, should I back up all my stuff ASAP? Also, do you by any chance know the A45 S150 part # for a new fan?
Thanks so much.
Emily
December 15th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Just wanted to make a comment about the lap top freak. I think this is a wonderful service that you are offering I was simply looking for a lap top fan and ran into your site. Very, Very helpful and interesting. Thanks Lap Top Freak
December 15th, 2007 at 5:33 pm
Looks like i am not the only unlucky person with a loud cooling fan
I have a Toshiba Satellite R15-S822 tablet PC . For the last few months the cooling fan has started to make a loud annoying noise. I have tried taking off the fan and cleaning it with a brush and on a latter occasion even lubricating it with a silicone grease but with very slight improvement if at all anything . Pls suggest me the part number for the fan.
December 2nd, 2007 at 8:28 am
I have an IBM thinkpad (ThinkPad T42 2378-DUU) and last night it started making noise. It is 3 years old and I haven’t had any trouble with it. How do I tell if it is the fan or the hard drive? If it is the fan, how do I access it? Thanks. Anita
November 26th, 2007 at 1:08 am
Hey Rohan,
Thank you for sharing your experience. I’ve published your comment as a post, so more people can see it. It’s here: Fan started making a lot of noise.
November 25th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Quick Software solution to the original problem, for Dell notebooks.
Hit “Fn+z”
This will slow down the fan!!!!
October 4th, 2007 at 12:06 am
My notebook is a A15-s1292. I had the same problem for a few months. But just 2 days ago the fan got so loud that I could no longer use the notebook in my office. So I rushed to the local computer repair shops (Wanchai, Hong Kong) and tried to get a replacement fan. But I had no luck. They told me that I had to special order the fan, which would cost me HK$680 (USD $80) and the new fan wouldn’t come until two to three days. I called Toshiba’s official support agent in Hong Kong and they told me they didn’t sell replacement parts except batteries.
Because I needed my computer badly, so after I went home I removed the fan from the notebook. I took the fan apart, and it was very easy. The metal plate on one side of the fan is secured by three metal tabs. I used a small screw driver to slightly loosen 2 metal tabs, and the metal plate fell off easily. The fan blade was attached by magnet, so just with a very slight pull I detached the fan blade from the motor. Then I used a cotton swap dipped with WD40 to clean the shaft/axle of the blade, and removed some dust. After that I put the fan together and connected it back to the computer. It took about 30mins and it’s working quietly now.
September 18th, 2007 at 12:41 am
Sir,
I have almost same problem. My fan is making sound from past 4 months and I am not finding any satisfactory advice on that. It was ok, then I go for a journey in a bus with my laptop for 3-4 hours and whene I turn it on after journey fan was making almost grinding sound.It seems it is touching something inside laptop.1 more problem , Recently I observed that whenever I push my ac adapter cable in to my power port of laptop, Laptop starts making sound( beeping kind of sound). When my laptop is off or in stand by mode then it does,not make soung while charging by ac adapter. some day I also got some blue screen errors saying “beggining dump of physical memory” kind of message. It was just a blinking of message ,then it restarts and gave message and over and over again untill I recover my windows. Please any soution that can solve my any problem upto some extent
September 15th, 2007 at 10:48 am
I have a westinghouse laptop and it will power down on its own. The fan seems to not work properly to cool it. How do I find a replacement fan?
July 23rd, 2007 at 7:58 pm
Silvia,
Here’s the part number for a Toshiba Satellite A70/A75 notebook: K000016310.
You’ll find the laptop disassembly guide at http://www.irisvista.com
July 23rd, 2007 at 5:56 pm
I have a Toshiba satelite A70/A75 series, the fan is making noices and after 30 minutes or less it shut downs because is overheating; where can I buy the fan to replace it?, could it be also the battery?, I noticed when I plug the battery charger it overheats more. I purchased the latop less than 2 years ago.
Thank you so much for your answer
March 6th, 2007 at 10:17 am
I have a Westinghouse laptop. This giant electronics company only makes one laptop. I am having problems with the cooling fan. The fan “roars” when it cools. This is very distracting when using the laptop in a classroom or business meeting setting. The company says that the fan is designed to work that way. I have tried Speedfan but the program does not work with this laptop. Is there anything I can do to change the way the fan runs. It would be just fine if it ran m,ore often but without “roaring.” Thanks for your help.
March 5th, 2007 at 1:23 am
Hi I am using an acer travelmate 2200 series to be specific a travelMate 2201LCi. As of recent my fan has gotten alot louder, this has been since ive started using two moniters (one attached and built in). But evn if I only run one monitor the Fan persists to be loud. I have been told my my tech suport gu to look in process’ (Im inside of a server) but its only system idle process running at a high rate 95-98 so i really don’t know my problem.
February 14th, 2007 at 10:38 am
I see some ppl have had some success with the lubrication. I wanted to follow up because the noise came back about a day after I initially lubricated the fan with graphite.
So this time I used two drops of sewing machine oil. It’s been running quietly for weeks now.
February 12th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
I found this page on February 1, got really brave, printed the disassembly instructions, found an online supplier that ordered the part direct from Toshiba, and waited for the part to come. It sat in my kitchen for about a week before I worked up the nerve, today, to actually try this. I’ve been working on a cold lately and the noise was so bad coming from the grinding fan, every time it clicked on it was making my headache so much worse.
I followed the disassembly instructions just at the beginning, took out the battery, unscrewed the cover over the fan, was very careful with the little bitty screws, used two tiny little screwdrivers that I already had, and literally five minutes after I started, I was done. Turned the laptop back on, and WOW. No more headache, no more vibrating, no more sounding like I’m working in a sawmill. Just a nice gentle whoooooooosh when it’s working. Just like it’s supposed to!
THANK YOU SO MUCH for making this so easy — for someone who’s definitely not a techie! — just an average 49-year-old woman from the midwest. Without reading this thread, I never would have had the knowledge, or confidence, to “try this at home.”
February 7th, 2007 at 11:39 pm
Nic,
Probably it’s just a bad fan and you should replace it, it’s not expensive and takes only 2 minutes. I don’t know how it can hit the heat sink; I don’t think it’s possible.
February 7th, 2007 at 10:27 am
hi,
my Toshiba A10 makes REALLY REALLY loud noises and i can feel the vibrations when i place my hand on the keyboard. I’m pretty sure it’s coming from the fan since the noise starts when the fan goes on. It sounds as if the fan is violently hitting another part of the laptop. When i removed the cover and looked at the fan, i couldn’t tell if there was something wrong with the fan. I actually think it is one side of the heatsink (the gold thing) hitting the side of my laptop….since it looks like the only part that can move (besides the blades of the fan)…should i buy a new fan?
thanks so much!
January 27th, 2007 at 10:35 pm
JB,
Toshiba doesn’t sell this kind of replacement parts directly. Search on the internet by the part number P000377310 and you’ll find a better deal.
January 27th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
I followed the instructions Todd recommended for cleaning and lubricating the fan axle and bearings. At first, I noticed that the fan was much more quiet. However, after a few hours, the horrible noise came back. I do not really want to spend $50+ on a new fan. As a matter of fact, who knows if the fan to be purchased from the internet is not used? Shouldn’t Toshiba sell replacement parts? I looked at a website, but shipping is $10 for that little fan. They say that shipping is based on 3.3 lbs. However, that little fan weighs less than 1 lb. I know the packaging should not weigh 2.5 lbs. Is there anything else that anyone recommends?
January 25th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
IT WORKS! My fan was making a horrible noise, sounded like it was on its last legs. Then I found this site, and the posting of Todd on
Todd Says:
January 20th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
I see he got it from someone else though.
But thanks for the step by step instructions.
This was extremely easy to do. I tried it once, and it didn’t work until I removed it again and cleaned the brush area with electronics solvent. That worked like a charm, the fan sounds brand new, and I just saved 45 bucks and wait time for the part to get here.
So I would suggest to anyone who feels good about pulling the back panel off of their laptop to simply give it a try to clean it before going any further!
Thanks!