Thinkpads Forum

Hi!

I need to know how to clean my Thinkpad. It's an X31. If this thread is more appropriate for the X-series section, then move it there.

So far there is no problems at all, although maybe the CPU/hard drive whirring sound has altered a tad, just barely, but I think it's as good as I bought it a year ago... nonetheless, my last computer died because I didn't go in and clean the fans. The fan on top of the Pentium IV had accumulated a lot of dust. This was a desktop PC. Now this one, I don't know if laptops in general, or if Thinkpads in general, or if X31s in general actually have dust problems, but since they're computers I'm assuming they do.

And I'm assuming there's already been good write-ups and tutorials on this matter, out there -- if you could just quickly point me to one...

ughh.

stalepie wrote:ughh.

Well I wasn't interested in cleaning my screen, I was interested in opening this thing up and cleaning the fans, the CPU fan, for all the dust it's accumulating. I don't want it to get clogged, because then when the CPU gets hot it cannot cool down fast enough.

When I clean out A2x or T2x fans (for example), I generally use a small cotton-tipped swab or toothpick wrapped with no-lint cloth, which is dipped in isopropyl alcohol to gently clean each fan blade. Resist the urge to use a high pressure air supply, like a 100psi compressor, as that can cause broken blades or overspinning of the fan motor. A can of compressed air (such as used for cleaning camera lenses) should be okay, as long as the airflow can be throttled/controlled.

For chassis dust bunniesand if the motherboard is still in the base, I turn the system upside down and blow some air onto the board.

thank you