Repair: Fixing a noisy fan in a Toshiba A15

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!

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