Noisy Laptop Fan?

This blog post is about how to fix a noisy laptop fan. It fulfills the requirements for Hands-on Task 2 –Chapter 4, Problem Solving @ Work: Item 4: Noisy Fan (page 251).

I found the answer to the following question.

After moving to a new office, you turn on your computer for the first time and hear a buzzing sound inside the case. You turn off your computer, the noise winds down, and you wait several minutes before turning the computer back on. When you turn on your computer again, however, the noise resumes. What could be causing this?

I used this website 5 Things You Can Do To Silence a Noisy Laptop Fan and completed the tasks on my laptop that were easy enough to do without installing new software nor buying something new. I think that for my laptop, the two main reasons for all the noise were a dirty computer with dust inside and too many programs beginning at startup. My first line of action is to decrease the number of programs that begin at startup. I clicked my Start button and typed msconfig in the “Search programs and files” box and then clicked the magnifying glass. The msconfig file came up and I clicked on it. I clicked the “Startup” tab and unchecked the programs that I don’t need to begin at startup.  There were a lot of things I don’t need “right away”. I reduced my starting programs to 7 from nearly 20 and my fan got quieter right away.  Now I needed to restart my computer. Next I am going to go about blowing out the fan to get dust out of my computer so the fan can run with the least amount of resistance. I used the forced air can to blow out the little fins where heat is dissipated. This seemed to help quiet my laptop down as well.

I learned how important it is to be aware of the Microsoft Configuration (msconfig) that your computer has so as to optimize your computer’s performance. I also learned how easy it was to quiet a computer down just by being aware of the items that are part of the computer startup and paring down these to the absolute necessary items for startup. I became aware of how easy it is to clean the fan and fins on the computer. It has become obvious just how much dust can accumulate in my laptop even when it is on a hard surface. As I help co-workers trouble shoot their computers, these two actions will be very helpful as a first line of defense against a noisy fan.

Installation Media Required

This blog posts deals with the Hands-on Task 1 – Chapter 3, Problem Solving @ Work: Item 7: Installation Media Required (page 187).

I found the answer to the following question: Each time you start Microsoft Excel and attempt to use one of its advanced features, a dialog box appears asking you to insert the installation disc. You are unable to locate the installation disc. What are your next steps so that you can use the advanced features of Microsoft Excel?

At my previous job, the person to contact would have been our information technology consultant. I would send an email to him letting him know that I needed a particular feature installed on my computer. Generally he would remotely take control my my computer and install the required component or would give me access to the network drive that contained the necessary software. As the Microsoft article on  Advanced Excel features discusses, since the initial install of the software was done as a network administration, I would have to create an alternate network installation of the Microsoft Excel Software. However, if I did not have access to the network location where this software is stored, I would need to get access from the Microsoft Site for Office with my Product key. On this site, I can either download and re-install Microsoft Office or I can order or burn backup copies of Microsoft Office.

By completing this task, I am reminded just how much business computers are locked down from installing anything that may negatively impact a business computer. I am also reminded that most enterprise versions of Microsoft Office and other software is often loaded onto a desktop workstation from a network location. I have to keep track of where those locations are if I need to access something, but usually those areas are close guarded with passwords that are not given to the common worker. I am also reminded not to procrastinate on a project because the feature I might need may need to be installed when the information technology professional has time in his or her schedule. I have always worked close with the information technology personnel at work and intend to do the same in the future.