Laptops Does Laptop fan not working cause it to not boot ?

[raksrules]

I have a Sony Vaio laptop bought back in 2012. The laptop doesn't have much of an issue apart from battery which as per sony's software is "Poor". I did change the HDD to SSD like 2.5 years or so back. Now something happened like 2-3 months back when I started laptop, i heard some "tak tak" sound but the laptop was booting. I wasn't sure what it is but I just turned it off and then restarted it and no sound came. Had been working fine ever since.

Now today I again started laptop and for once I got that "tak" sound and this time the laptop won't fully boot. Like it would start and loading windows would come and immediate shut off, tried safe mode (with networking too) and still same result. Sometimes It would boot all the way to desktop but then again dead. So I disconnected the SSD and RAM and connected back still not success, removed battery and tried to power using wall and still the same results.

As a last resort, I opened the entire chassis and it was little dusty but it appeared that the fan was cause of the "tak tak" sound. I used a pen and tried to move the fan it would make noise. With lack of compressed air, I just used my mouth to blow hard into the fan until It was rotating freely (by me blowing into it). I did that and put everything back and the laptop started fine and is working fine as well now.


So is the fan reason for my laptop not working initially ? I checked SSD health and there seems no issue.
Do I need to do anything else to ensure everything is alright ?

 

[vivek.krishnan]

Most likely reason was thermal shutdown due to CPU overheating. Would advise to check the paste as well.

 

[Crapmypants]

So is the fan reason for my laptop not working initially ? I checked SSD health and there seems no issue.
Do I need to do anything else to ensure everything is alright ?

Yes. If the cpu is not cooled properly then safety measures kick in to keep components from overheating.
The ssd won't make any noise even when failing since it has no moving parts. It was only the older HDDs that would make a clicking sound before dying.
Just clean the laptop every now and then.

 

[raksrules]

But I hadn’t used laptop since last 24 hours so I don’t think there was any overheating. This happened as soon as I started it.

 

[kuduku]

But I hadn’t used laptop since last 24 hours so I don’t think there was any overheating. This happened as soon as I started it.

No
i had used a laptop without a cooling fan for a month till received the new fan . It did overheat and shutdown but was fine most of time . No issues about not switching on without fan .
had put spacers below to lift it and improve air flow

 

[raksrules]

So if I don't suspect Overheating and after the fan started again, it seems to be working fine, what may be other issues to look out for. I don't really intend to replace laptop since I don't do anything productive anyways on the home laptop so don't see a point in putting money for new one.
The immediate shut down after boot was caused after computer wasn't used for like 24 Hours so I don't think it was thermal issue (may be I am wrong).

 

[rdst_1]

My laptop's fan has been making the same noise and not functioning for more than a year now. Thanks to me living in a colder area of India, I haven't faced any issues till now. I have just been lazy as the part is easily available online and easily replaceable as well.

 

[Crapmypants]

So if I don't suspect Overheating and after the fan started again, it seems to be working fine, what may be other issues to look out for. I don't really intend to replace laptop since I don't do anything productive anyways on the home laptop so don't see a point in putting money for new one.
The immediate shut down after boot was caused after computer wasn't used for like 24 Hours so I don't think it was thermal issue (may be I am wrong).

You're right - overheating usually doesn't cause an immediate shutdown. The other causes could be a failing hard drive or corrupted memory. The clicking sound is the only clue but it couldn't have come from an SSD. So that only leaves the fan or memory. Was there a dvd in the drive? that could also be a source of the clicking sound.

 

[raksrules]

You're right - overheating usually doesn't cause an immediate shutdown. The other causes could be a failing hard drive or corrupted memory. The clicking sound is the only clue but it couldn't have come from an SSD. So that only leaves the fan or memory. Was there a dvd in the drive? that could also be a source of the clicking sound.

I thought about DVD and no the drive doesn't have DVD inside it. I actually had thought that a DVD probably cracked inside.

 

[manju_rn]

install various monitoring softwares like HW Monitor, CAM, CrystalDisk etc. Run this for sometime and check on the temps, FAN speed etc. This will point you to the right direction. If the laptop is that old, it might be worth to change the CPU FAN, or the entire CPU heatsink. Trust me in the long run, it will be helpful.