HELP! My case fan stopped spinning!

[Gusty987]

Sometime as I was playing Desert Combat, my case fan stopped.

I exited the game and attempted to start Firefox to do some browsing, but the computer was unresponsive. I attempted to start other programs, but the computer was completely "not responding".

I tried to restart the computer through Windows, but that wouldn't work so I had to press the "reset" button on my Antec Sonata case. When the computer was starting, I heard "cpu overheating" from the little voice in the motherboard. I took off the side panel and lo and behold, the case fan was stopped dead. I tried spinning it but it was hard to spin, like it was clogged or something. I checked and made sure it was still connected to the PSU, which it was.

The PC turned back on normally, but nothing worked and Windows was unresponsive.

That computer is now sitting on my desk with the side panel off with a house fan blowing full blast at it's innards.

What could be wrong with my case fan? Do I need a new case fan? Is my CPU cooked?

Help me!


AMD Athlon 64 3000+
Asus K8V SE Deluxe mobo
Antec Sonata case

 

[Gusty987]

Well I disassembled the fan, and oiled it with WD-40. Now the fan is spinning perfectly, but since I destroyed all of the little washers when I was removing the blades, it is loose on the bearing. Oh well, I hope the blades don't come flying off into my computer!

 

[DetroitSportsFan]

I'd consider replacing the fan and heatsink. In comparison to the cost of replacing other components, the cost is rather negligable. Just be sure to CAREFULLY clean all the old thermal grease off your processor. Remove it from its socket and clean it with some alcohol on a q-tip or something else suitable. Place a THIN layer or thermal grease on the cpu die and place it back in its socket. Put the new heatsink and fan on top and fasten the clips .... you're done. There's a guy in here who has some nice links that will walk you through it. Hopefully he'll see this post and post the links so you can see.

 

[helpmeout]

I bought an Antec 120mm case fan fo $10.99 a few days ago. Since your computer restarts, can you get into your BIOS to see if it tells you anything about the CPU? If your CPU is dead, sorry, but blowing cold air on it now isn't going to help.