dv7-3188cl Fan Problem Solved (no thanks to HP)

[pharmdavid]

I have never posted before, but I wanted to tell my story in hopes that it helps someone else.  My 3 month old Pavillion dv7-3188cl would not boot, giving me a 902 fan cooling error.  I could not access the BIOS or get into Windows 7, only being given the option to shutdown.

I called HP support and spoke with someone (in India I presume), who walked me through some steps to try to fix it, to no avail.  She said my only option was to ship it to them.  I would have to back up my data before shipping as they would wipe my drives.  They charge about $50 for this and I could not back up myself for obvious reasons.

Unhappy with this option, I tried online chat support, with the same result.  They had me try to get to the BIOS and disconnect my hard drives, but no change at all.

I went to a local computer technician and paid him to back up my drives so I could ship the laptop off to HP for 2 weeks to be repaired.  In doing one last google search for a solution, I found one that suggested blowing into the vents on the bottom of the computer.  I had nothing to lose, so I tried it.  Low and behold, the computer is fixed!

After hours of frustration and paying someone for help, the laptop was fixed by blowing into it.  I did flash the BIOS once it was working again as this was a known issue that could only be fixed once I could boot again.  I hope I can help just one person avoid the nightmare of dealing with HP support.  They throw pleasantries at you constantly tell me that I am their friend and they love me and how great my company is to them, then they are unable to help.

[Mick_]

Mate,

Great post, you saved me dealing with these HP idiots.

Kudos to you!

I will never buy HP products ever again.

[Ldonbeatz]

WOW! this worked! at first when i blowed into it (no homo) it didnt work...then I tried again and then the fan started coming back on im so excited!

[Annissa]

You are awesome! It worked!

---

[Knute]

You should have come here first!

Many times a laptop overheating is directly related to the cooling of the processor. The main culprit is the fan. The fan sucks in air from the bottom and blows it out the side. It will also suck in hair, dust, and other debris. That stuff often gets trapped by the heat sink and over time builds up in a layer which chokes off the cool air going to the processor making the fan work harder.



Check this out:

http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c01657439



What I recommend is getting some canned air and blowing out the vents in the side and bottom of the laptop. If after doing this you still have problems with over-heating, and your laptop is in warranty, you can take your laptop to a HP Authorized Service Center and ask them to clean the fan and heatsink. You can check your warranty here:

http://www13.itrc.hp.com/service/ewarranty/warrantyResults.do?admit=109447627+1286541891570+28353475



If it is out of warranty, consider searching for the maintenance manual for your specific model, in the manual there are schematics for taking apart the laptop. Cleaning the fan is much easier that removing a motherboard, so don't feel to intimidated by the idea. Also you can remove the heatsink and then remove the thermal grease and apply a new layer which also helps alleviate heat related issues.

[catinam0805]

OMG!!! I was just about to take my stupid HP computer to a repair shop and pay like $150.00 go get the fan replaced. I tried the compressed air and it did not work. However based on your recommendation, I could tell that the fan needed to be jump started. I used a very long straight sewing needle with tape on the end so that just in case I dropped it I wouldn't have a bigger problem. It worked. I used the pin to spin the fan and WOW, when I turned it on, it worked. Thanks so much for posting what worked your you. I had the same crappy experience with HP. They first  tried to tell me that hardware was not covered, only software. I found my manual and told them that was not true. They then told me that my PC was two weeks past warranty, and when I said that too was incorrect they told me to find my receipt and fax it in before they would do anything. I will NEVER buy another HP in my life!!!! They made every excuse NOT to help me.

[skooter9999]

dude, like everyone else, this worked!  nice!

what the F

can't HP fix their problems, sounds like everyone has the same issue

[wlira3]

Thanks so much, I was about to have a heart attack!

I have the dv6-3080br model and had the same problem... Solved blowing the fans too!

I just bought a HP Notebook but i know how crappy ANY user support is, so I tried to solve this on my own first. I'm glad it worked! =D

[trparky]

You're lucky, I have the 902 code and I did everything I could to fix it.  Used a can of compressed air and blew out the fan and all of the various vents.  No luck.  Crap, I have to send it back to HP to fix it.

Luckily I know how to do backups of my own data and I have other computers to work with.  I was able to take the drives out and make an Acronis Disk Image of the hard drives so that when it comes back reloaded with the stock OS, I can take the drive images and restore them onto the drives as if nothing ever happened.

[tearsnroses]

i am having the same problem with my dv7. Error cooling dan 902 error appears and i have even tried blowing air into the vents to no vail. Altough there is HP service station nearby my house so i went there to see if they can fix it up. Here i want to mention that i am from Pakistan so there are not many certified engineers avaiable. Well anyway we tried to reach bios screen but it is almost imposible to bypass the 902 error screen. The fan is also working but it is slow and when you put you ear to listen to it closely it gives a racing up sound and slows again. its like its speed its slower and variable not constant. Furthermore one of the engineer told me that IT could be problem with the fan cable or maybe with the bord that is causing this issue because even if fan has slower speed the error message should not pop up. Altough they have asked me to take my harddrives and give them the laptop so that they can figureout something for it. They told me that they will contact some one in singapore HP center in order to take a hint whats going on. Important point to note is that if all of the blowing compressed air and failed attempts to reach bios screen is present and still 902 error message comes up than there could be a problem with the circut of the fan i.e it could have damaged overtime due to overheating and thus needs a change. I will keep u all updated what will happen next as they have asked for a week to repair the problem.