Just used this video to replace the fans in my husband's laptop. To my surprise, when I got to the battery I discovered it was swollen and needs replacing too! I can't thank you enough for having the patience to carefully film and explain this.
Legend. Last time I got dell to replace my fans they tore the display cable and messed up the motherboard somehow, then it was 6 months of going back and forth trying to get a repair. Needless to say when my fans broke again I decided I'll do it myself. First time repairing a PC but video was super informative and easy to follow, and PC booted up good as new. Much thanks!
I can't thank you enough for this! I followed this guide to the letter to replace the fans on my girlfriend's laptop she uses for work as a 3D artist. This was my first major laptop teardown, previously the most difficult repair I had done was replacing the sticks on my Joy-Cons, so this was a huge step up.
Very thorough video, can definitely appreciate someone who knows what they are doing on here. It’s slower paced but that’s totally fine, because I actually can do the things with you without having a pause or skip much. Amazing job
Thanks so much for this tutorial. I am not super experienced with computer repairs but your guide made replacing my fans a breeze. My trusty laptop lives on another day!
Thorough and easy to follow, and professional. Great fan repair guide! Got everything put back together, but I couldn't get my R4 running. I was able to troubleshoot the problem with this video. Fantastic!
Thanks for sharing. I'm just an amateur PC enthusiast that builds/repairs PCs for family, friends and neighbors since 2005. Never had very much experience repairing laptops except RAM, SSD upgrades and installing Linux; always found disassembly of laptops difficult and nerve racking. Your videos make it less painful.
Documenting the process is key in my opinion. Especially with more complicated repairs. That way during assembly you have something to look back on. Thanks for commenting.
I just installed the new fans now no clanking noise!!!! Wow was it bad!!!! I cannot thank you enough for your help doing this. If it were not for the video I could not have done it. Thanks so much for all your help!
Just got one of these for free from a friend, right fan is broke and off balance so it makes a horrendous noise , definitely gonna be replacing it with the help of this video
Thanks so much, I was able to change them and give it a serious cleaning cause boy were those vents gross! Cut my cpu and gpu temps in half idle was about 65 Celsius for both no they’re sitting idle at 35-40. Thanks again!
It's still a giant pain in the ass compared to the older ones. My old model you just took the back panel off and then 3 screws to undo the fan and pull it out. This is much more annoying.
Helpful video! The white plug on the fans: Do you know what type/ model they are? I'd like to order the plugs separately and need to know what to search for.
Awesome video. My laptop was sounding like a bag of cats getting shook every time I started it. Now thanks to your video it is as noiseless as the day I bought it. Just the slight noise of cool clean air getting pushed around.
After sucessfully reinstalling the fan when I power on my computer it runs the bios and then says the oc image is corrupt is there anything I can do to fix that?
Cool guide... also any idea how to fix the AlienFX lights? mine completely stopped working... and its not a alienware command center issue, i think the actual hardware is bricked or something..
Appreciate the video. This is one of the worst designs I have run into. The fans are a wear component. Needing to remove the MB to replace the fans was overly complicated. I replaced these for a friend (I am in the trade) and it took a solid 2 hours to do it.
I gotta ask....where does the spare part go? (42:18) That little plastic piece you drop down with the wireless card was also sitting on my table when i got done, but i didn't notice you put it in anywhere...it's still on my table, but the computer seems to be running, so i'm just wondering what it is and where it came from/ supposed to go? i don't like extra pieces left over...messes with my sense of completion.
@@TimsComputerRepair thx for the reply...i had rewatched before i commented, but missed it cause your fingers were blocking the shot and i didn't see you put it in place (a missed step...lol), so i had just screwed the card in. After you mentioned it, i noticed it in place when you pulled your fingers away so can go back and put it in place now, thx. Overall a good video, and helped me get in there for a cleaning (not replacing yet as cleaning worked). The only other constructive/helpful thing i would add (for all tutorial makers) is to have an opening list of tools needed for the task at hand. My situation is unique in that i live on an island and supplies are not always easily acquired, so finding out near the end you are going to need tape or paste or a type of tool can leave one is a tizzy...haha. thx again for a helpful video and an equally helpful reply.
My gpu temperature was 90 degrees Celsius before I disassembled and cleaned it, now its around 70 degrees, much better performance. Appreciate the full tutorial mate :)
Love the video! It seems like I'm having issues with getting the backlight to work. Which ribbon cable should I check/reseat? I feel like I connected everything exactly like yours. The keyboard and mouse works properly so I don't have a problem there.
First off Awesome Video helped me fix my dad's fans. However I'm not sure where i went wrong or if perhaps i damaged something. But when i plug in his or my mums power adapter, they have the same laptop. it seems to be shorting out and turning off the adapter. the adapter still works fine on my mums computer. But every time i try and plug in his it seems to short out. Any help would be great, thanks.
Tried to do this myself and whole thing ended up not working. O well, barely used it anymore so it's going to recycling. Appreciate the effort in your video.
Hey Tim just followed your vid step by step and everything is working however I get boot failure on start up and I have ran a diagnostics scan and everything seems to be fine... Any idea what is wrong?
Hey Tim I followed every step in this video I even ordered the fans from the link you provided but fans won’t run or my computer won’t detect them. You got any tips what I must missed ? And yes I doubled check every cable was out back to it’s placed, thank you
@@TimsComputerRepair Quick question, the plug 🔌 from the fans do the metal teeth go facing up or facing down ? It’s really hard to see you plugging them in with your hands in the way. Thanks for the reply Tim !
Awesome! Many thanks for the detailed video. It got a little hairy at times, especially when the, “Oh Oh! This doesn’t look good” comments appeared 😱😂, but hey, this video got me through AND everything is back up and running with whisper quiet fans again, so thank you very much 👍🏼🙏🏼
Thank you so much for the video!! Ive been having a problem with my laptop for months!! Finaly a video to help me! I just have one question though. Where can I go to get a new battery? I found out it exploded in my laptop. Not sure how my laptop still works and charges but any ideas? Or even price wise?
did this and my fans are back to how they used to be! it's great! except now it's saying there's nothing to boot, and i've double and triple checked all of my connections, and i'm a little lost on what to do from here
So, this is a long shot because I know it’s an old video, but my fan did the same thing as the one on this laptop. I’ve replaced the fan fully but the new one isn’t recognizing or spinning up. Any advice?
@@TimsComputerRepair The old fan recognized and had intermittent spin up but it was making that odd grinding noise. My first guess is that the new fan that I got is bad?
Thanks for the video! Would love to have a few closer camera angles for certain things though as i'm not always sure what you are pulling on to release something xxxxx but thanks for all your hard work, this is still a good video
Replaced the fans and put everything back together. The laptop now turns on but nothing happens after it turns on. The screen back light is on but just a blank black screen. Any suggestions?
What if you do all this then you turn it on and your moniter doesn’t work.. It beeps 3×2 times then one time.. I messed up that again put it back together now it just turns on color changes then find the color that I had had it set to the fans turn off and it’s black screen
What would have caused the fan to go bad in such a new laptop and I'm guessing the SSD holds Windows 10 and whatever software Dell/Alienware installed from the factory and the games and save data go on the mechanical hard drive?
my alienware 15r4 doesnt light up anymore. all of them. FX tab is there in the command centre but nothing happen when i toggle on/off. done uninstall reinstall everything. still nothing. cmos reset also doesnt work. i know the cables are good bcos the power button flashes blue n red light when i do cmos reset. tried googling and trying every recommendation. except nvram reset and reflashing the onboard chip that stored awcc firmware which require special kmowledge n equiptments. does anyone have any idea how to fix this?
@@MegaReinart Sorry so late. I think it was $80 total. They sent me a pre postage paid box. Just laid it in the box they sent me, taped it up and dropped it off at UPS. Really good experiance.
I did this to my 17 or five today took it apart put it back together the CPU fan work but the graphics fan didn’t work took it apart again reversed the connector on theGraphics card fan put it back together neither one of them work took it apart put it back together neither one works took it apart put it back together neither one works now computer with neither fan working.
All this work just to replace 2 fan!! I rather just chuck it in trash can! btw, seem to me most of the ribbon cable is on same edge, why can't one just undo the screw and gently flip it over instead of undo/install all those ribbon cable?
Thanks for the detailed video! My computer started to make this noise. It is just amazing how stupid this laptop is designed that replacing a fan requires so much taking-apart! I have an older Dell 17R and the fan readily comes out with 2 screws... Never alienware again.
that was the charge port cable and not the battery that you unplugged at first.... and it looks like you left the battery plugged in while taking some of this apart...
Seems like too many fan repairs on these 17 R5. Mine went after 18 months (other things went before it too but after the 1 year warranty was up) Expen$ive POS.
Just used this video to replace the fans in my husband's laptop. To my surprise, when I got to the battery I discovered it was swollen and needs replacing too! I can't thank you enough for having the patience to carefully film and explain this.
Great!
Legend. Last time I got dell to replace my fans they tore the display cable and messed up the motherboard somehow, then it was 6 months of going back and forth trying to get a repair. Needless to say when my fans broke again I decided I'll do it myself. First time repairing a PC but video was super informative and easy to follow, and PC booted up good as new.
Much thanks!
Glad the video helped.
I can't thank you enough for this! I followed this guide to the letter to replace the fans on my girlfriend's laptop she uses for work as a 3D artist. This was my first major laptop teardown, previously the most difficult repair I had done was replacing the sticks on my Joy-Cons, so this was a huge step up.
Glad it helped!
Very thorough video, can definitely appreciate someone who knows what they are doing on here. It’s slower paced but that’s totally fine, because I actually can do the things with you without having a pause or skip much. Amazing job
Glad the video helped. Thanks for commenting.
Thanks so much for this tutorial. I am not super experienced with computer repairs but your guide made replacing my fans a breeze. My trusty laptop lives on another day!
Glad it helped
Awesome. This helped me out so much. Thanks! You've put extra life on my 5 year old laptop.
Great to hear!
Thorough and easy to follow, and professional. Great fan repair guide! Got everything put back together, but I couldn't get my R4 running. I was able to troubleshoot the problem with this video. Fantastic!
Glad it helped
Thanks for sharing. I'm just an amateur PC enthusiast that builds/repairs PCs for family, friends and neighbors since 2005. Never had very much experience repairing laptops except RAM, SSD upgrades and installing Linux; always found disassembly of laptops difficult and nerve racking. Your videos make it less painful.
Documenting the process is key in my opinion. Especially with more complicated repairs. That way during assembly you have something to look back on. Thanks for commenting.
Another job well done. You have the patients of a doctor dealing with all the tiny things.
Thanks for the comment Tony. Hope all is well.
I just installed the new fans now no clanking noise!!!! Wow was it bad!!!! I cannot thank you enough for your help doing this. If it were not for the video I could not have done it. Thanks so much for all your help!
Great to hear!
Great video! Just what I needed to get to work on my R5 fans. Thanks especially for the parts links!
Glad the video helped.
Just got one of these for free from a friend, right fan is broke and off balance so it makes a horrendous noise , definitely gonna be replacing it with the help of this video
Hope it goes well.
Thnks I like your video, what if your, what if yurr CPU or Gpu is not working? Do you need to heat it Cpu or just clean it with tht achol solation??
Thanks so much, I was able to change them and give it a serious cleaning cause boy were those vents gross! Cut my cpu and gpu temps in half idle was about 65 Celsius for both no they’re sitting idle at 35-40. Thanks again!
Great to hear!
Thanks man. My laptop started making the same noise with the fan, glad the fix isn't too complicated or expensive. Your video was very clear.
Glad it helped
It's still a giant pain in the ass compared to the older ones. My old model you just took the back panel off and then 3 screws to undo the fan and pull it out. This is much more annoying.
Helpful video! The white plug on the fans: Do you know what type/ model they are? I'd like to order the plugs separately and need to know what to search for.
Awesome video. My laptop was sounding like a bag of cats getting shook every time I started it. Now thanks to your video it is as noiseless as the day I bought it. Just the slight noise of cool clean air getting pushed around.
what did u do? did u change the whole fan to a new one or just cleaning helped?
After sucessfully reinstalling the fan when I power on my computer it runs the bios and then says the oc image is corrupt is there anything I can do to fix that?
Cool guide... also any idea how to fix the AlienFX lights? mine completely stopped working... and its not a alienware command center issue, i think the actual hardware is bricked or something..
Hard to see how all lights would stop working everywhere, probably a cable/connector issue.
Appreciate the video. This is one of the worst designs I have run into. The fans are a wear component. Needing to remove the MB to replace the fans was overly complicated. I replaced these for a friend (I am in the trade) and it took a solid 2 hours to do it.
Thanks for watching and thanks for commenting.
Thanks for your HowTo on this. Did the replacement this week and all went fine.
Glad it helped
Hey man, so much love from Guatemala. You saved me so much money hahahahah
Great to hear!
Thank u so much for the video. My fan was so bad it was blue screening my computer on start up. This got me back to working order =)
Great to hear!
I gotta ask....where does the spare part go? (42:18) That little plastic piece you drop down with the wireless card was also sitting on my table when i got done, but i didn't notice you put it in anywhere...it's still on my table, but the computer seems to be running, so i'm just wondering what it is and where it came from/ supposed to go?
i don't like extra pieces left over...messes with my sense of completion.
That goes on top of the wireless card connectors. It helps to keep them in place.
@@TimsComputerRepair thx for the reply...i had rewatched before i commented, but missed it cause your fingers were blocking the shot and i didn't see you put it in place (a missed step...lol), so i had just screwed the card in. After you mentioned it, i noticed it in place when you pulled your fingers away so can go back and put it in place now, thx.
Overall a good video, and helped me get in there for a cleaning (not replacing yet as cleaning worked).
The only other constructive/helpful thing i would add (for all tutorial makers) is to have an opening list of tools needed for the task at hand. My situation is unique in that i live on an island and supplies are not always easily acquired, so finding out near the end you are going to need tape or paste or a type of tool can leave one is a tizzy...haha.
thx again for a helpful video and an equally helpful reply.
My gpu temperature was 90 degrees Celsius before I disassembled and cleaned it, now its around 70 degrees, much better performance. Appreciate the full tutorial mate :)
No problem. Glad the video helped.
Thank you sir, followed step by step and everything was a success!!!
Great to hear!
Hello im searching for fan replacement for alienware m17r3 can u pls guide me to a link or somewhere sell those fans ?
You are my hero. Where do you get the fans if the ones you’ve got go out? Are they a standard part? I have to think not?
ebay or Amazon.
Thank you so much for this in depth tutorial ❤ Keep up the good work 👍
You're welcome 😊
Love the video! It seems like I'm having issues with getting the backlight to work. Which ribbon cable should I check/reseat? I feel like I connected everything exactly like yours. The keyboard and mouse works properly so I don't have a problem there.
This video really help when i needed to replace fan. As it was the first time for me to unassemble my alienware 17 r 5 .... so thanks again
Glad the video helped.
First off Awesome Video helped me fix my dad's fans. However I'm not sure where i went wrong or if perhaps i damaged something. But when i plug in his or my mums power adapter, they have the same laptop. it seems to be shorting out and turning off the adapter. the adapter still works fine on my mums computer. But every time i try and plug in his it seems to short out. Any help would be great, thanks.
Tear it back down as if you are starting over then reassemble. Perhaps you will find the issue.
Tried to do this myself and whole thing ended up not working. O well, barely used it anymore so it's going to recycling. Appreciate the effort in your video.
Thanks for commenting.
Thanks Tim, Just swapped my Screeching CPU fan. So quite now!
Great to hear!
Thanks for taking the time to share. Was very helpful!!
Glad it was helpful!
Hey Tim just followed your vid step by step and everything is working however I get boot failure on start up and I have ran a diagnostics scan and everything seems to be fine... Any idea what is wrong?
Double check all connections.
I forgot to buy the heat tape and just screwed the fans in. Will my fans be okay or just last longer if I would have put tape on?
The tape seals the gaps between the vent fins and the duct
@@TimsComputerRepair Thank you! i made sure to buy it now, I'll fix it up in a few days
Will these fans fit the 15 model, I have a 15 model and they look they same and i need new fans
You need to remove those fans and get the numbers off of the fan and match it up to what you are replacing them with to be sure.
Awesome Educational video. Please can you share a link on details of how or where I can get the replacement fans for my Alienware 17 R5 too
Hey Tim I followed every step in this video I even ordered the fans from the link you provided but fans won’t run or my computer won’t detect them. You got any tips what I must missed ? And yes I doubled check every cable was out back to it’s placed, thank you
Sounds like a bad motherboard.
@@TimsComputerRepair yeah idk Tim, computer works fine just has no fans 🤣 im going to replace those fans maybe they are defective
@@TimsComputerRepair Quick question, the plug 🔌 from the fans do the metal teeth go facing up or facing down ? It’s really hard to see you plugging them in with your hands in the way. Thanks for the reply Tim !
Awesome! Many thanks for the detailed video. It got a little hairy at times, especially when the, “Oh Oh! This doesn’t look good” comments appeared 😱😂, but hey, this video got me through AND everything is back up and running with whisper quiet fans again, so thank you very much 👍🏼🙏🏼
Glad it was helpful!
How much should a job like this average in the market? Trying to way out if I want to attempt repair myself to save money
Awesome! *EXACTLY* what I was looking for! Only had 1 extra screw at the end… LOL
Ah that happens. Thanks for commenting.
Thank you so much for the video!! Ive been having a problem with my laptop for months!! Finaly a video to help me! I just have one question though. Where can I go to get a new battery? I found out it exploded in my laptop. Not sure how my laptop still works and charges but any ideas? Or even price wise?
did this and my fans are back to how they used to be! it's great! except now it's saying there's nothing to boot, and i've double and triple checked all of my connections, and i'm a little lost on what to do from here
Check your drives.
@@TimsComputerRepair got it fixed! the new parts just sent my laptop into a bit of shock so to speak, but i've got it all up and running now! :)
So, this is a long shot because I know it’s an old video, but my fan did the same thing as the one on this laptop. I’ve replaced the fan fully but the new one isn’t recognizing or spinning up. Any advice?
If the old fan was not spinning or recognized it's most likely the fan controller on the motherboard.
@@TimsComputerRepair The old fan recognized and had intermittent spin up but it was making that odd grinding noise. My first guess is that the new fan that I got is bad?
@@phaton89 Sounds like it.
How much did this cost. I have the exact problem
Hey, what was the main issue with the fan?
not sure if this will still be helpful but my fan was having the same issue; it was just loose and struggling to spin as a result
Thank you so much for this video, I replaced my R4 fan. However, I ended up with 4 spare screws,and didnt find the hole to drew it in........
Thanks for the video! Would love to have a few closer camera angles for certain things though as i'm not always sure what you are pulling on to release something xxxxx but thanks for all your hard work, this is still a good video
Glad it was helpful!
do the wireless card wires not pop onto the card itself I can't get it back on
Great video. What's the cost for a job like this?
For this particular job I would charge NO LESS than $200
Replaced the fans and put everything back together. The laptop now turns on but nothing happens after it turns on. The screen back light is on but just a blank black screen. Any suggestions?
Work backwards and check all connections.
What if you do all this then you turn it on and your moniter doesn’t work.. It beeps 3×2 times then one time.. I messed up that again put it back together now it just turns on color changes then find the color that I had had it set to the fans turn off and it’s black screen
What would have caused the fan to go bad in such a new laptop and I'm guessing the SSD holds Windows 10 and whatever software Dell/Alienware installed from the factory and the games and save data go on the mechanical hard drive?
The fans are simply poor design. You are correct about the ssd holding the OS and hd holding the data. Thanks for commenting.
@@TimsComputerRepair Agreed. They were much better on the older version of the laptop.
Great video Tim
Thanks 👍
Awesome repair video Tim... You are a Pro. Stay Safe.
Thanks for commenting. There is always things to learn in this industry that's for sure.
perfect video thaks from Ecuador
thanks for commenting
Awesome as always Timster.
Thanks for commenting I appreciate the support.
You have to take all that apart just to get to the fans? D:
Yep.
So what was the problem with this fan? Why does it tilt, and can it be fixed without replacing the entire fan?
Bad bearings or bushings. No it cannot be fixed, just replaced.
Enjoy your work, sir.Thank you for sharing.
You bet
Thank you very much! Worked perfectly
Glad it helped
after the tutorial my laptop says checking media presence what do i do
my alienware 15r4 doesnt light up anymore. all of them. FX tab is there in the command centre but nothing happen when i toggle on/off. done uninstall reinstall everything. still nothing. cmos reset also doesnt work. i know the cables are good bcos the power button flashes blue n red light when i do cmos reset. tried googling and trying every recommendation. except nvram reset and reflashing the onboard chip that stored awcc firmware which require special kmowledge n equiptments. does anyone have any idea how to fix this?
thank you well done!!!
Thanks!
thankyou so much dudeeee
No problem!
Thanks great video tims
Hey thanks for watching and thanks for commenting.
I'm your biggest fan ! Posted on Facebook, bye for now
Lol thanks for commenting.
Nice video but if you tear it down that far might as well repaste it since dell thermal paste is straight trash
The first cable you took off is not battery cable
Thx you so much!!
No problem!
I hate this piece of shit laptop. Problem after problem with my Alienware and now I end up HERE, with this very VERY helpful VIDEO!!👍🏽
Hey I'm so sorry. Thanks for watching and commenting.
Welp.
That fixed the fans but when I try to boot up it beeps at me. I am so discouraged.
Thanks a lot for the vieo.
You are welcome
Nope. Going to send mine to Dell. Good video, just dont want to mess with all those small parts
Curious as to what they will charge you for doing that job?
How much was it, if you don't mind me asking?
Yeah how much are you paying dell?
chris, how much did it cost for u?
@@MegaReinart Sorry so late. I think it was $80 total. They sent me a pre postage paid box. Just laid it in the box they sent me, taped it up and dropped it off at UPS. Really good experiance.
I did this to my 17 or five today took it apart put it back together the CPU fan work but the graphics fan didn’t work took it apart again reversed the connector on theGraphics card fan put it back together neither one of them work took it apart put it back together neither one works took it apart put it back together neither one works now computer with neither fan working.
Keep in mind the fans won't kick on until the cpu/gpu reaches a certain temp.
nice stream Tim ,there is too much covers on that laptop .
Yep had to dig a bit to get to it but got it done. Thanks for commenting.
All this work just to replace 2 fan!! I rather just chuck it in trash can! btw, seem to me most of the ribbon cable is on same edge, why can't one just undo the screw and gently flip it over instead of undo/install all those ribbon cable?
ur fucking awesome dude. tysm for the tutorial.
Thanks for commenting.
Great video Tim. Ravens vs Bills. Go Ravens.
Well looks like Bills took it! Thanks for commenting Mitch
Thanks for the detailed video! My computer started to make this noise. It is just amazing how stupid this laptop is designed that replacing a fan requires so much taking-apart! I have an older Dell 17R and the fan readily comes out with 2 screws... Never alienware again.
Thanks for commenting.
First time tho??
I don't like peeling off any wires held by adhesive unless ABSOLUTELY necessary.
that was the charge port cable and not the battery that you unplugged at first.... and it looks like you left the battery plugged in while taking some of this apart...
I would have done a repaste aswell sering it was apart anyway
Not even a year old.
@@TimsComputerRepair Stil stock paste is crap still would replace it for beter stuff
Seems like too many fan repairs on these 17 R5. Mine went after 18 months (other things went before it too but after the 1 year warranty was up) Expen$ive POS.
That's usually how it goes.
This is exactly what’s happening with my laptop fan
While you had everything off you could have repasted the CPU.
Yep, this is what happen to my Alienware, not gonna buy anything from them again
this is a horrible design. I had to stop at the motherboard. I can't risk messing this up. such a dogshit design. thanks for the help!!!
You got that far might as well finish the job.
Maybe use your technical skills, and edit out or add a note to avoid the mistakes you did
This is terrible. Forgets to unplug battery. Inserts wires without saying how .
Hello im searching for fan replacement for alienware m17r3 can u pls guide me to a link or somewhere sell those fans ?