Lenovo ThinkPad W520 Disassembly, Fan Cleaning and Thermal Paste Replacement

[@howfixit]

***ENG: Links to screwdrivers and parts in the description under the video* ***RUS: Ссылки на отвертки и заменяемые детали в описании под видео*

[@zetamale]

Thanks, just got home from work and took my w520 apart. I couldnt have done it safely without you! I managed to take everything apart as you did... I was a bit dissappointed with the lack of dust around the fan, but there was some cleaning required and replacing the thermal paste must have helped on such an old device. Now my temps are about 10 degrees lower, both idle and under load, which I'm pleased with. Good work! Let's hope it continues to work now :)

[@pete999tete]

Great stuff, thanks. My W520 had started crashing a lot, it got to the point where it would boot into Win10 and whatever you chose would result in a BSOD. HWMonitor was clocking temps at 70C+ (158F) on a regular basis, more if one of the kids tried to play Minecraft. I followed all the instructions, got the heatsync/fan out, it was covered in dust. Cleaned it all up, removed the old thermal paste, and applied silicone grease. Got it all back together, HWMonitor is now showing 39C at idle, 45-50 under load. It hasn't crashed since the operation was completed. There are only 2 difficult parts, both involve getting the ribbon cables reseated properly. The one connecting the touchpad was very frustrating, it is as thin as paper and was very difficult to get back in place. The keyboard ribbon connector is also challenging as it is difficult to see if you have it properly centered. My first attempt was off, some keys (like the B key) did not work. Second attempt worked.

[@WanJae42]

This helped a lot. After a good cleaning and new thermal paste, the fan runs a lot less, and not as fast, and it doesn't feel like I have a frying pan on my lap anymore! Woot!

[@TotalFitnessCP]

This just fixed my laptop! It was incredibly dirty and kept freezing. Then it would not boot up. I almost gave up TODAY! My fan was dusty and there was so much dirt on the board. You're a lifesaver! THANK YOU!

[@johnhunter8959]

Good clean video, was stuck getting my heatsink out and just had to watch your video and realize it was just a matter of jockeying it out of the tight spot. Thank you!

[@rondoborino1278]

My W520 would boot up and then immediately crash with FAN Error... follow the video, cleaned, put it back and sure enough it is working again. Awesome stuff. Thanks. By the way... the magnet stuck to the screwdriver idea is brilliant.

[@poldergeest0297]

Fixing my buddy's W520. Thank you for this excellent no-nonsense video.

[@noahpaulette1490]

I still use a w520 every day. It's from 2012 and it's still a good laptop. Do you happen to remember what broke your friends laptop?

[@poldergeest0297]

@@noahpaulette1490 Doritos dust and wine.

[@noahpaulette1490]

@@poldergeest0297 that sounds like it was a nightmare to clean. Thankfully the keyboard is waterproof so it should all have been in the parts that are easy to clean.

[@poldergeest0297]

@@noahpaulette1490 there was no rescuing the keyboard so I replaced it, which was so easy to do. The rest of the machine still worked of course. It still does.

[@untokyo]

Thanks! Super helpful. Just cleaned the fan of my W530. So much dust was inside can't believe it. Much appreciated !!!

[@AustinWLee]

Thanks to you, now my W520 is free from high heat. appreciate!

[@chaoticrealm777]

Awesome video. Greatly appreciate the time you took to document this.

[@arsmeh07]

Amazing video, I had a issue with my lenova w520 and this helped me. After cleaning the fan I am having an issue of my mouse pad not working, I checked the cable, its been connected but try couple of time but no luck. Any suggestion ?

[@khooverct]

This is great - nice clear video. As another commenter noted, showing reassembly (including thermal paste) would be a nice improvement.

[@howfixit]

Thank you. Actually usually I include thermal paste to videos. Assembling you can find in my videos or using abstract.

[@Makinja]

This is really quiet work.

[@kauskommentator4145]

This is an excellent video tutorial for a thorough cleaning of the cooling system. BUT! Try a simpler approach first, it may work: Disassemble (following the video) to the point where you lift the keyboard out - but don't disconnect the flexible PC circuitry connecting it to the motherboard, just set the keyboard down. You can see 1/2 of the fan at the upper left of the case. Using a can of compressed air blow on the fan until it spins and throws out dust bunnies like crazy. Keep going until it is spinning freely. Then direct the compressed air in from the side vent until, again, the fan is spinning freely and the dust bunnies are blasted out. Then do the fan from the top again, and then the entire laptop frame to make sure it's clean (don't forget the keyboard). This may be all you need. It's all I needed. P.S. Once you've zipped everything back up use a utility like Open Hardware Monitor to monitor CPU core speeds and temps while doing something extremely CPU intensive, like running WinRAR on a humongous video file (WinRAR uses multiple cores by default). You should hear the fan spinning up (but not too loudly) and the temps going to 85-88C. If you see the core temps going to 90C or above and then the CPUs throttling to a fraction of their typical speed for several minutes: You didn't fix it yet. You probably need to do the whole procedure.

[@kaethe__kerosin]

+Kaus Kommentator I am afraid I could damage something, isn't compressed air a little too strong?

[@kauskommentator4145]

+Kaethe Kerosin No - I'm talking about those little cans you get not some kind of industrial compressor :-) Anyway, I've done this for years and no problems. In fact, if we're talking about a W520 or similar Lenovo workstation - they're built like tanks. With the exception of the flexible connector between the keyboard and mainboard, and a couple of things like small antenna wires, I don't think you can hurt anything except by dropping it or dropping something on it. Spraying air (via the little tiny plastic tubes off of the can so you can really direct it) won't hurt the fan or the keyboard (give it a good going over to get the crud out from underneath the keys) or anything else. (You can hurt things by static electricity, though, so use reasonable precautions when inserting/removing parts like the SODIMMs or mSATA drives.)

[@brianmurrell6943]

Yeah, that's the approach I would use. Removing the heat-sink from the processors seems a bit over-kill. I would add though, that you should hold the fan still with your finger while you blow air through it and just rotate it with your finger a bit every second or two to get all of the dust off of it. The bearings in those small fans frequently cannot handle the RPMs that blowing air onto them will result in.

[@Schule04]

Please DO NOT rotate the fan with your fingers or with cans of air!

[@BushidoBrownSama]

what's wrong with having it rotate through the use of compressed air?

[@ronchinoy]

Im doing this. Where can I find info on CPU upgrades ?. Somebody mentioned we can upgrade the CPU.

[@mendoncaangelo]

what thermal do u recommend to use new ?

[@cc1nodens]

Thank you for this Video. This helped a lot

[@mliutikas]

Can i use this guide for W530 & W540?

[@hygorr.machado1829]

yes, you can. it works to me (W 530)

[@AndeyKurniawan]

download the hardware maintainece a ual

[@amolkolte4016]

i want to buy new cpu fan onlline for my lenovo w520 pls give me link where to buy ?

[@sergejspleiko-iziks9965]

Благодарю. Видео было полезным.

[@duyanh1978]

mình muốn mua quạt tản nhiệt máy Lenovo W530, bạn có không ?

[@heinblod4238]

Thank you very much. Worked for me *****

[@mauropitmau]

Hi guys my Lenovo w520 dont receive charge. What i can do

[@time-alinge]

My w530 also hase some problem with charging

[@skulls2k170]

for me the screws for the heat sink wont come loose there stuck

[@miloflores1622]

Pls lenovo w530

[@jarodvaldivia]

Nice video ❗❗

[@Nevrost]

Its work on T520??

[@howfixit]

I think yes

[@Nevrost]

How-FixIT How-FixIT oh i have t520 but im scary to clean it can you upload wideo with disassembly and again install everything pls

[@racsomtz9546]

I can upgrate the cpu?

[@howfixit]

Yes, it possible on this laptop

[@racsomtz9546]

Its Sata 3. ( 6gb /s )???

[@racsomtz9546]

I want to put the ssd

[@elizabethlovett4318]

I need the video for how to open and clean a lenovo fan for the ALL IN ONE DESKTOP not a laptop. Why can't I find that anywhere?

[@davereddon4090]

Hey, great video but one problem. I followed the entire process, cleaned out the fan, applied the proper amount of thermal paste and reassembled. Problem is, that my laptop doesn't seem to be running. The power comes on with the bluetooth icon and the fan is running but the screen is blank. If you might know where I went wrong, I'd appreciate the insight! Thanks :) (Never liked messing about with laptops)

[@beickus]

heatsink is huge !

[@Basexperience]

Useful video, but if you're going to wear gloves, then FGS please use a plastic spudger tool to release circuit board connectors - I grated my teeth every time you dug into connectors with a pair of metal needle tweezers!!! Otherwise - thanks for a great little instructional which brings the service manual to life a little.

[@3DMechxprt]

Thanks Man

[@tuannguyenn2508]

thanks

[@KJ-tq3sm]

no audio??? why so shy?

[@archygrey9093]

I thought i accidentally muted my volume

[@googledollars]

Or you could have removed 2 screws for the keyboard - used compressed air and done.