I’m writing this email on my purring ThinkPad T42p with its new fan. Yes!
I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to dismantle my precious ThinkPad T42p laptop, and extract the “fan error”.
Each screw slot is labeled with what it secures and what size of screw it needs. The sizes are listed and the real size of the screws shown. This is a DIY repair friendly design.
The fan had an odor of burnt electronics. I think the whole room stunk of it, but it might of been the smell of my despair.
There is a part number of 13R2656 and FRU # 13R2657 which matches what I expected from the schematic.
I looked up IBM worldwide purchase links for accessories, upgrades, and replacement parts and called IBM Canada maintenance parts retail.
They only speak in FRU, and let me know the part is $65.00 + tax + $10 shipping. That part number has been replaced by 42W5240, FRU 41W5204.
Searching I found a couple of ebay sellers with a bit cheaper parts, but not enough of a saving to offset the risk and likely long shipping time.
I called back IBM and ordered it Tuesday.
It arrived today, Thursday addressed by Purolator to Llord Budd:
It looks identical to the old one. It looks more like a car part than a computer part:
And smells about the same — maybe that wasn’t a burnt electronics smell, but I think the odor was a clue. I remember the odor being much stronger
The fan comes with the tiny drops of CPU paste already applied in the right place.
Assembling back the lappy was easy and when I started it up again, it was the best rendition of the Ubuntu startup sound I have ever heard.
I have left the bay empty for now. Previously, I always had the spare battery in there.
I will be careful to hibernate the laptop all the time. Previously, I didn’t think it mattered and also didn’t want to miss any of the discussions on the IRC channels I’m on, particularly the WordPress related ones. I will have to come up with a new solution there.
The laptop pretty much sits flush with my desk, which isn’t the best.
I now understand why I sometimes see people flip their laptops sideways when they aren’t using them:
But that seems awkward. I now appreciated the simple brilliance of Andy’s modification, the “Bigfoot MacBook Pro”:
If you have a real working place (err, a desk I mean), you can get a dock — the experience is noticeably elevated
In addition a dock lowers the chances of hanging with your cables.
Nikolay, I’ve never been able to justify a dock. I tried one while at IBM and it was really nice, but too expensive for the benefit.
Got a T41, I’ve not had to dismantle it (yet) but it’s good to know it’s not going to be too complex when it comes to it.
I find the Thinkpad’s very rugged & reliable laptops!
Hi Lloyd,
My T42 just gave me the “fan error” msg today but happy to find there is information on this issue! I am still pretty worried that it is more than just a fan problem though. But I’m just wondering, could any computer store that fixes comptuers replace the fan for me, or do I HAVE to order it from IBM (assuming the fan is specific to the laptop)?
thanks
Hi Jane, for a T42, based on my research, it is very likely that the issue is that the fan needs replacing. I found no solid reports of this issue with a T42 being caused by another problem.
You definitely don’t have to do it yourself. If you read my original post “Fan error”, I provide links to looking up a local service provider.
Any store could fix it for you, and they should charge less than $200 including parts.
Thanks for the reply!
I will be heading to a service provider on Monday. One more thing, do you know if I should order the part myself to quicken the process, or would they order it themselves/have one on hand? I am pretty dependent on my laptop so I’m hoping to get this resolved as quickly as possible.
Jane, sorry for the delayed response. I’ve been traveling.
How is it going now?
I wouldn’t have ordered the part yourself unless you were going to do the job yourself. And the first step would be to remove the part to make sure you have the right FRU — the same model is actually a few different models depending on monitor size and video card, and that might affect the fan size.
As you have probably found out, they tend not to have the parts in stock, but order them from IBM to be delivered by air within a few days.
just want to say that i had the same problem with my t42p–loud sounds from the fan and periodic fan errors at boot. i followed your steps and everything worked out great. i got the replacement fan (the same model you ordered) from IBM Canada in 2 days (prices are now at $71–with shipping and tax it was $93–a bit steep, but my computer is my livelihood so it’s all worth it). taking off the keyboard and replacing the old fan was really quite simple, even for a total amateur like me. (the only thing that i found tricky was disconnecting the 2 keyboard wires.) now my computer purrs as quietly as it did when i bought it.
thanks again for your help!
Thanks for the response
My computer is fixed! But it took almost 8 business days…it took IBM longer than expected to send the service provider the part. The part they ordered from IBM for my T42 was the long fan, FRU# 13R2657. I ended up having to pay $180 for the part + labour. I could’ve saved 75 for the labour if I was confident that I could do it myself but I am just relieved the problem is resolved and it was only just a fan problem and not a hard disk problem!
I have the same fan error on a T42. I can find the part on ebay for $10-20 qwhich is a lot cheaper than getting it from lenovo. I think I’ll try that…
zaj, thanks for the comment. Let me know how it works out. Be sure to have correct part #, different T42s need different parts. Some questions to consider:
* How reputable is the seller?
* Is that part new? If not how much wear does this mechanical part already have.
* How much is shipping? For me in Canada, duty is another big chunk when the part comes from USA.
* What is the return policy if DOA?
Hi. How did you remove the fan? I removed the keyboard and the palm rest, but can’t remove the old fan. How did you do it?
David, those screw holes visible are the only ones securing it and they are removed at this stage in the instructions. It can be seated really well against the CPU. If I remember, the instructions suggest gentle prying it up. It shouldn’t take too much force. Also try gently wiggling the fan in a few places to see where there is tension.
Lloyd. Thank you. All the tension seems to be at the little square where the glue is. I tried wiggling it, and I am using a little more force than I really care to. I already bent the fan a little. Do you have any suggestions on loosening the glue? (Short of taking out a blow torch.) Thanks a million.
That isn’t glue, it is CPU Thermal Paste. I can see how that could create a lot of surface tension. How to separate a stuck CPU/heatsink suggests that it can become bonded and suggests heating it with a hair dryer. I’m sorry, I don’t have any experience with that.
Thanks. The hairdryer worked. It took a while to get the hairdryer (I’m bald). I hope I didn’t destroy the parts before trying this idea. “Gently” is not the word I would use to describe my attempts to pry the fan off.
Lloyd — I’m a novice when it comes to computers and I had the same “fan error” problem with my T42 that you had. I followed your advice and repaired the laptop quickly and inexpensively. Thanks very much!
I had the same problem with the fan. I followed the instructions on this page and now my T42 is back to life. I took the fan out as suggested (at some point I had to use a hair dryer — thanks for the advice). Then I order de new fan; They told me that my model was not available any more and that I had to order the new one (42W5240, FRU 41W5204). Got it in two days at home in NYC and installed it. Very easy and quick.
Thanks guys for having this website.
– advice: you only need to take out the screws with numbers 1-4. forget about all the others
Raul
I ordered the 41w5204 for the t42 and changed it but still get the fan error msg. Did i get a dud fan or did something else blow?
lecs, when I was experiencing the fan error, I was able to use compressed air to cause it to spin and boot up successfully, so it gave me additional confidence into the nature of the problem. Older models of ThinkPad’s often gave fan errors for other problems, and it isn’t unheard of with the t42, but I have no experience with that scenario. At that point, it sounds like it is time to take it in to a shop — let us know the source of the problem was!
Lecs,
I have the same issue. Replaced the fan with a new one, but I still get the error at start-up. If I manually spin the fan with my finger while booting (or use compressed air through the vent), the computer boots fine. Once running, the fan kicks on occasionally as it always has. Not sure what the issue is…
Chris,
I have seen where the fan power logic on the systemboard itself has failed(it’ll read the tach signal, but not supply DC to the fan motor). It doesn’t happen that often, but it does. Or you may have gotten a DOA fan. One question though. Did you reference the Hardware Maint Manual for the correct part? IIRC there are several different fans for the T40/41/42 series (the T43 is a different animal in itself with a dedicated HMM). If not post your 4 digit type, and 3 character model.
Greg,
Thanks for the great info, I appreciate it. The replacement fan I ordered is the same part I had in the machine (T42, FRU 13R2657). The two fans are identical down to the location of the ID stickers. When I power-up with the keyboard out of the way, I can see the fan attempt to rotate, but it only gets 2-3 jerks before the fan error message appears and the unit shuts down. Now, if I give it a manual spin when I turn on the power, the fan spins fine, no error, and Windows boots. The fan part itself seems to be fine…once the computer is running, the fan occasionally kicks in like it always has. Is there anything that can be done if this is a system board failure short of replacing the entire board? I suppose I can keep up the compressed air trick for a while… Thanks again for your input.
Chris
t42p fan error, cannot get by the boot screen. i called ibm with my fru p/n13r2971 same as the above screen shot. why can i not find a fan that matches the fru? can anyone point me in the right direction. its the 15″ screen. im headed to radio shack to get a 10mm phillips to get the screws off, then i may try the compressed air just to be sure it boots.
this is my wifes machine, it died last night, she expects it fixed by today, i laughed to myself, your going to be down for a few days honey! thanks in advance.
i read in a playboy that 78% of people would rather help someone move than fix a computer problem. it sure is getting that way.
-g
hey folks,
thanks for all the great info. i answered the fru question after pulling the lappy apart. ordered the fan from ebay, $20 bucks plus 11 shipping. took a little coaxing pulling, prying and the wifes hair dryer on high to get the fan off, it was stuck to the graphics card i think.
received the replacement, NIB it took approx 6 minutes to put it back together, i type from the same machine that was a brick on monday, cant thank the forum enough
-gmurphy
Hi,
i have the “fan error” with my T42 (3 year-old machine). The problem is, when i boot the computer, it makes 2 short beeps and when i force it to shut down, it makes one long beep… apparently it’s a system board failure.
Somehow, i don’t know if it’s only the fan that needs to be replaced or if it’s the whole mother board (which would be costly).
Does anyone know what those beeps mean? how can i know if the problem is the mother board or only the fan?
(i have already replace the mother board more than a year ago… and now i am out of warranty :-S )
Thank you!
Hi Lyod! This is a great entry. I also received the “Fan error” in my computer this morning. The computer is old. So, I don’t really want to spent more money on it since I want to buy a new one. I am not very good at computer. Can someone tell me if it is possible for me to somehow get access to the documents that I saved on the computer without having to replace the part? Thanks!
Ash, sometimes you can get past this by forcing the fan to spin using compressed air on boot. Having it run this way for extended periods isn’t recommended, because excessive heat can damage the laptop.
Otherwise, the hard drive is relatively easy to take out, but unless you have another laptop of the same model to put it into, then you will be stuck being an adapter to put it in a desktop computer or enclosure to read off of it using USB. When last I looked this sort of thing will cost about $50-100.
Thanks so much for the info here! I just got the fan error this afternoon and have already removed it and ordered a new one. (It was very tough to get off the processor!) As of 4/15/08 there’s an ebay seller selling FRU # 13R2657 for $14.95 and $5 shipping. He says he’s got 66 of them. For $20 I’m willing to take a chance on used.
Caroline E Rubin asked by email:
Recently my thinkpad t42 started refusing to start up with a few beeps and a \\\”fan error,\\\” and some googling led me to your super-helpful entry on that topic (\\\”Fan error blown away\\\”). I got a shiny new fan in the mail by following your instructions, but I have a question about the replacement process: how did you pry off the part of the old fan that is adhered to the laptop\\\’s insides (where the new fan has a peel-off sticky square thing)? I\\\’ve made a few unsuccessful
attempts with an exacto knife and a flathead, but it doesn\\\’t seem to be budging. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
I responded:
Please post any questions as comments on the blog, so others can try to answer and benefit from the answers as well.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/foolswisdom/1339286082/
I don\\\’t remember the pink square having to be pealed off. I think it is necessary padding. Is it that you can\\\’t get the old fan out?
What happens is where you see that square of little white dots (CPU paste), it can become very sealed over time. Some people have found that heating it with a hair dryer will help and that some wiggle and quite a bit of force will break the seal.
Caroline replied:
I got it with the hairdryer and now it works fine – thanks for the help and I\\\’ll be sure to post questions in the comments in the future!
First thank you for your page, it helped me to decide to do the repair myself.
I have a T42 with the same error, and a few days before the fan was very noisy.
After finding your page, I ordered a new fan and got it yesterday. Unfortunately, with the new fan it is the same, I have the same error and the fan doesn’t spin.
How can I check if the fan power logic is the problem?
Thanks!
I recently had my T42p “Fan Error” experience. I was also able to resolve it by replacing the fan (same part, as in the post). However, I had the following experience:
1. When I used compressed air to blow the fan before/during power on, I still could not get it to start.
2. However, I also noticed that when I pressed escape key, I could continue with the boot process even though the fan was not working. Clearly, this is not advisable due to heat issues. But this convinced me that only the fan was the problem.
Now all is well…
Wes
This post is just great! I had my T42 “fan error” last Friday. When I was waiting for my new fan to come, I read the post again and happily saw the last comment with the “escape key” trick. It worked!
Now I have put on the new fan and everything works well. The only minor concern is the pink square (as mentioned before in other comment). First I peeled it off as the manual says. Then I noticed that my old fan still has it. People here mentioned before that the fan was stuck to the graphics card and they had to use hairdryer to remove it. So I guess leaving the pink sheet on might be able to avoid this issue, since I had no problem in removing my old fan. After quite a debate with myself, I dismantled my laptop again and put the little pink thing back, even though I am not expecting having to replace my fan again in the near future…
Thank you for posting your directions above.
I took a leap of faith and followed your directions!
Computer works again!
Sorry, another question…
Any ideas how to get my touchpad to work again? Seems after I assembled back the keyboard, my touchpad got disconnected… Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dennis
What a phenomenal post. I was very angry and worried when I read the “Fan Error” message on boot up, shutting my only link to the world (aka my computer) down just days before moving up to the North West Territories. Although my laptop is an R51, these instructions worked to a tee, and as an added bonus, IBM only charged me $48 for a new fan with shipping included. I was even more surprised when I got home today to find the fan waiting for me, delivered exactly 20 hours after ordering it over the phone (and I live in the maritimes!!) Am I ever glad I didn’t go the “used on Ebay” route! Anyhow, the installation went flawlessly (apart from forgetting to plug the touch pad back in before closing the first time around) even though I thought my clumsy hands would screw up more than they’d fix. Thanks so much for your helpful advice, you saved me big time.
what about if you ran a program called speed fan and for some reason it disabled the fan. i get the fan error message at start up and the computer just switches itself off, i cant even get to the BIOS. if i replace what i assume is a non-faulty fan will that even help?
Got the same error last night and this morning came across this post. I can’t get to Lenovo download page – Get HTTP 404-page not found. Can anyone can post a link or point me to the right direction for:
1. How disassemble my T42 and get to the fan?
2. Lenovo can’t find my part# 13R2971 – is there replacement number?
Thank you
I find answer to my first question:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/mobiles_pdf/39t6192_01.pdf
I have the same “fan error” and I just ordered a new fan. Hopefully I can fix this myself.
But I’m not sure if the problem is really the fan. Because my wife told me when I got home from work that my daughter (4 yrs old) was playing with the laptop and that error came up.
Similar experience except with a T41p, and the fan was simply making a lot of noise instead of outright failing. The lenovo support website shows only the old FRU numbers and I had to call tech support to get the right part number. Unfortunately I called on a weekend, and there is a $299 surcharge for parts orders placed outside normal business hours!
I went back to the Lenovo website and found an online ordering page that lets you enter FRU numbers. The original discontinued FRU couldn’t be found but the new FRU number worked. $32 (USD) plus $13 overnight shipping.
To verify that I really did have the right part number, I did a quick google search and found a bunch of retailers selling these fans that were removed from non-serviceable laptops, and they referenced both the old and new FRU numbers so I was sure this was the right part. Interestingly, although it was $32 at the lenovo parts ordering page, the online retailers wanted anywhere from $50 to $122! I didn’t check ebay, but I wasn’t planning on ordering something like this from ebay anyhow. I guess the retailers can get away with charging several times the price because determining the actual FRU from the lenovo support site is impossible – they don’t list the new FRU anywhere so you have to call tech support to get the part number. Dumb.
I had the same issue with t-42 ( 2379-DXU) .. I ordered the Fan but i couldnt remove the old fan. 1. I stippeed the 3 screws and i donno how to remove them now. 2. Black sticky paste on Video Card and fan are making my life difficult. Please advise.
I removed the screws and replaced with new fan , but it is still giving me the same error
… what could be the reason?
Just ordered a new fan from IBM.com and part was $32 plus tax and shipping, bringing it to almost $50. FYI.
from IBMFRU@us.ibm.com
to
date Mon, Sep 15, 2008 at 5:57 PM
subject ibm.com Your order # xxxxxxx is being processed
mailed-by us.ibm.com
Reply
Dear Jeffrey
Thank you for purchasing from ibm.com. Your order information is included below for your reference.
To get order status, call 1-800-765-5944.
ibm.com confirmation number: CNxxxxxxx
Order date: 09/15/2008 11:53:01 AM GMT
Your payment method: American Express Credit Card
Cart items
Qty. Description Item Price Line Total
________________________________________________________________________________
1 FRU FAN $32.94 $32.94
Product: 41W5204
________________________________________________________________________________
Shipping $13.50
Tax $2.90
Total* $49.34
Btw, ibm.com was cheaper than ebay, which is full of used fan parts (prolly from ones that have already failed!!!)
Another success story here — thanks for sharing.
Without exaggerating, my fan assembly has died about 5 times in the life of my T42p (originally acquired in April 2004). This, however, was the first time it died out of warranty. Despite assurances from the IBM service technician last time, saying that IBM would look at the service history and see that it’s been a problem from the beginning, they wouldn’t have anything to do with my out-of-warranty unit.
I’ve had my system board replaced before (under warranty) so this time I was skeptical but thought it was worth a try. Before I pulled everything apart, I plugged the new fan unit in and started the old girl up — thankfully the new unit whirred where the old unit did zip.
I routinely leave my notebook running 24/7, which the fan unit is clearly not cut out for.
The FRU (41W5204) was delivered to me for CAD $65.80 including tax.
Just thought I would add a note thanking you for your details of this procedure. I replaced my T42 fan yesterday, and it is now humming along niclely again.
While waiting for a chance to order the fan, I used the notebook without the fan, on ‘slow’ speed, with a notebook cooling pad (and hitting ‘escape’ when booting up), and keeping an eye on the temperature with ‘tpfan’.
IBM Canada delivered a new fan via Purlolator about sixteen hours after I called. The fan popped off after a little twist (no prying required), and was easily replaced. I cleaned the CPU and GPU with alcohol, and left the pink pad on the new fan in place (the old one had it as well). Started everything up, and I was away to the races.
Only odd thing I noticed was a little strip of five 3M adhesive pads about 5mm X 7mm each. I couldn’t find anywhere to put them, so I left them out (I figure whenever I take something apart and have parts left over after I’m done, that I’m ahead of the game
)
The new fan seems very quiet (it is the new FRU you note above), 66.39 (Canadian) delivered, except when it kicks into wind tunnel mode.
Thanks again.
Regards,
Rob
Top instructions thanks!
Another success, like many others above. I ordered the fan directly from IBM (using the new part number) – cheap and came in a few days. The IBM manual + hairdryer tip did just the trick.
One small query – the new fan came with a 3M backing tape with 5 stiff black peel off sticky tabs. Can’t work out what these are for, nor find any reference to them in the manual, nor in any of the posts above.
Anyone know what they are for??
FYI this link shows a list of the part numbers for the part numbers for the various T42 models.
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-46474.html#18
Having said that, mine (2378-RDU) is not there. So I managed to get the cover off and the part number is 13R2657. Icalled Lenovo and they said the alternate part number for that is 41W5204.
this is a historical thread
I have a t42p from 2004
A month ago, it started to have a redish color at boot time, and then recover normal brightness.
Yesterday, it starts having some impressive screen bugs – ascii art -
see it : http://www.yanatchkov.com/ibm
The machine starts and after a few moment, becomes buggy and then : black screen.
I have opened the beast, and notice that after few seconds the fan stops spinning
do you think it’s the infamous fan bug ?
the centrino cpu should runs always right ?
thanks,
cheers,
milovann