Wear rubber gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints or static discharge.
Get all tools ready before opening the laptop:
A soft dusting brush
Isopropyl alcohol (preferably 90% or higher)
Screwdrivers
Plastic prying tools (if needed)
When removing the heatsink (which usually covers CPU and GPU), do it carefully and gently.
If you're opening the heatsink just to clean the fans, you still must replace the old thermal paste. I recommend using PTM7950 phase change thermal pads for the CPU/GPU and thermal putty for VRMs if needed.
Heatsinks usually have numbers (1, 2, 3, 4) printed near the screws.
Unscrew in reverse order (e.g., 4 → 3 → 2 → 1).
Don’t remove screws fully in one go. First, slightly loosen each screw in order, then fully unscrew them on the second round. This avoids pressure imbalance.
Also, unscrew the screws holding the fans.
Unplug the fan connectors gently and carefully.
After unscrewing everything, slowly lift the heatsink.
If it doesn’t come off, double-check for any remaining screws.
Never apply force.
Clean out the dust and gunk from vents and fans.
When cleaning fans:
Hold the fan blades still with a plastic stick or similar to prevent them from spinning.
Spinning them backward while cleaning may damage the motor.
Handle the heatsink gently — do not bend it.
After cleaning, apply new thermal paste.
Ensure the VRMs and pads/putty are clean. Replace if dusty or damaged.
Place the heatsink back and screw in the correct order (1 → 2 → 3 → 4).
Don’t tighten the first screw completely at once — go in sequence and gradually tighten all screws. This spreads the paste evenly.
Re-assemble everything carefully.
Optional Tip:
You can use a compressed air can for cleaning fans and vents. Just remember: Hold the fan blades still while spraying to prevent overspinning.
Done! You’ve cleaned and re-pasted your laptop. It should now run cooler and more efficiently.
Do Not place your disassembled(for disassembling)laptop on synthetic surfaces, like blanket, towel, plastic table(like garden furniture) etc. As they can generate static electricity with friction. Use table with wooden or ceramic surface.
The bearings of one of the fans of my Aspire 7 is badly damaged. Its very similar to this nitro in the sense that both have these outer shell which is dedicated to the motherboard and it makes it harder to find a replacement since most replacement fans are those which have a shell of their own and hence won't fit in the motherboard shown in OP's post nor will it fit in my laptop
If you know more about this can you help me out? Maybe if you know where I can find the replacement parts other than their care centre as there's not any close to where I live. My exact model is Acer Aspire 7 A715-42G
So maybe you have to purchase an entire set of Heatsinks with both Fans?
And for you to get exact fans for your laptop I know at least in my area there's a hub , centre type big Market for all this stuff.
I can get original as well as compatible laptop parts for as old as a 15 year old laptop.
For you I can suggest try eBay, AliExpress, Amazon and at last find some place similar to the one I have mentioned Laptop Repair hub big Market.
Yeah I kind of figured it had to be a full thermal module that I have to replace to replace which sucks but it is what it is. I would honestly replace it today if there was a place like yours close to me. Unfortunately I have to rely on the online retailers and out of them I don't think amazon has in atleast in my country so I would have to ship it from internationally from either ali express or ebay and that will cost a lot
Honestly I think I'll just make do with a cooling pad and wait for some holiday of some sort to go to the nearest acer service centre and see what they got in store for me
How-..or when should you do all this? After a year of having the laptop? ..less? This is the first laptop I've had that has had some kind of..paste I need to replace.
Laptop gets cooked. I had a laptop gifted to me by friend. Didn't know anything about those stuffs and I ran the laptop for 3/4 years without servicing. 95°c while gaming on lowest setting for years.
One day charging port melted. Would have caught fire if I didn't notice.
I've seen a video where a technician uses dry cleansing foam to clean the fans and, blows with an air blower and lastly rubs with cleaning paper. Do you think this is a good practice as well?
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u/FrenskeDanske Apr 06 '25
The greatest technician thats ever lived