From: carkenord on
Warm weather is here, and I want to clean the fan or fans inside my
Dell Inspiron 530S

This Dell has 1 cd/dvd drive, and 1 floppy drive. A basic bare bones
version PC, really.

Is there 1 fan inside there, or are there 2 fans? My "guru" sez
"probably 2".........but when I took off the lid, I could only see 1.
And that 1 fan was right out in the open, and it was very very dusty.
This was the first cleaning ever for this 2 yr. old PC.

But should I be looking for a second fan? If yes, in simple terms,
where would I find it and how do I access it?
From: Charles on
carkenord(a)juno.com wrote:
> Warm weather is here, and I want to clean the fan or fans inside my
> Dell Inspiron 530S
>
> This Dell has 1 cd/dvd drive, and 1 floppy drive. A basic bare bones
> version PC, really.
>
> Is there 1 fan inside there, or are there 2 fans? My "guru" sez
> "probably 2".........but when I took off the lid, I could only see 1.
> And that 1 fan was right out in the open, and it was very very dusty.
> This was the first cleaning ever for this 2 yr. old PC.
>
> But should I be looking for a second fan? If yes, in simple terms,
> where would I find it and how do I access it?
Best guess without looking up your system specs is that "MOST" Dell
desktops have one main fan in the rear of the case,which you seem to
have found, and another inside the power supply which is the silver box
usually located at the top rear of the case. To clean the power supply
without removing it's cover use a can of air and spray into the vents at
different angles inside the computer case to blow the dust out the rear.
Probably best to carry the unit outdoors to keep the dusty mess out of
the house. Best way (which will void the power supply warranty if it
still has one) is to remove the power supply noting where all the
connections go and removing the casing to expose the fan AND also the
electronics which may still have a shocking charge left in them. Clean
fan as before and reassemble.
Charles
From: carkenord on

> > But should I be looking for a second fan?  If yes, in simple terms,
> > where would I find it and how do I access it?
>
> Best guess without looking up your system specs is that "MOST" Dell
> desktops have one main fan in the rear of the case,which you seem to
> have found, and another inside the power supply which is the silver box
> usually located at the top rear of the case. > Charles


Thank you......Indeed, there is a fan on the PS.....visible once I
cleared a couple of sheet metal panels out of the way.

I loosened the PS, and pulled it part way out, and went to work with Q-
tips, a piece of vinyl hose, a can of air, and a small bristle-
brush. I think I did ok..

Thank you again........now for the "smoke test"......

Lee

From: Ben Myers on
On 6/21/2010 5:00 PM, carkenord(a)juno.com wrote:
> Warm weather is here, and I want to clean the fan or fans inside my
> Dell Inspiron 530S
>
> This Dell has 1 cd/dvd drive, and 1 floppy drive. A basic bare bones
> version PC, really.
>
> Is there 1 fan inside there, or are there 2 fans? My "guru" sez
> "probably 2".........but when I took off the lid, I could only see 1.
> And that 1 fan was right out in the open, and it was very very dusty.
> This was the first cleaning ever for this 2 yr. old PC.
>
> But should I be looking for a second fan? If yes, in simple terms,
> where would I find it and how do I access it?

Well, do not forget the fan inside the power supply. If that one clogs
up, or if some of the power supply vent holes get blocked, the power
supply can overheat. You don't take part a power supply to clean the
fan inside. Just strong blasts of compressed air... Ben Myers