OptiPlex GX270 SMT Heatsink Fan/Blower

Instructions to remove the shroud and heat sink start on page 151 here, as part of the instructions to remove the processor.

Why do you think the fan needs to be replaced? Did you run the fan diagnostics from the Utilities partition on the hard drive? (Reboot and press F12, go to Utilities...)

A one time thermal event might be caused by high room temps, something blocking air flow, a lot of  demanding apps all running at the same time, etc.

Also possible you only need to clean off the old thermal paste from the heat sink and CPU, and apply a fresh coat of paste (eg, Arctic Silver) without needing to replace the fan.

If you replace the fan, you'll probably need a Dell replacement fan because other brands won't have the sensor that BIOS reads so you'll get a "fan failure" message on every reboot with a non-Dell fan.

Thanks for the reply and for the advice about the brand of fan.

The reference to the 'microprocessor removal' section of the manual doesn't really help as it was the fan that I wanted to remove.

The GX270 powered off when I wasn't present and when I tried to restart it, it came up with the 'thermal event' message. I tried again with the same result. I then tried to clean the fan as best I could, but it still powered off and subsequently gave the thermal event message. Compressed air didn't shift all the dust, so I used a cotton bud, but still couldn't get it fully clean. As you will know, the fan is difficult to access and I tried to remove it to get better access and do a better cleaning job. The fan appears to be inside some sort of housing, which is itself clpped to the case of the PC.

I tried to unclip the housing but it appears to be stuck fast and I didn't want to force it too much in case I did some damage. I then tried to remove the fan unit from the housing (pulling it inside towards the  heatsink), but couldn't see if it was screwed in or not, so that failed too.

Researching on the net gave lots of references to the heat sink and thermal paste, so I made a gentle attempt to see if the heat sink would come off. It also appeared to be stuck fast, and so I stopped trying again because I didn't want to do any damage.

The fan appears to be very weak, with hardly any airflow resulting from it and I wondered if it was working properly. I was unable to run the fan diagnostics as the PC wouldn't stay powered on for long enough.

My intention was to have a more determined go at removing the fan [whether or not someone could tell me how], so that I could give it a thorough clean and try again. If I damaged it during removal, or it didn't solve the problem when cleaned, I then intended to try with a refurbished fan, as it seems I can get a refrubished one quite cheaply [hence my original question].

I planned to try this as it is a less costly job than possibly having to buy a new processor if I damaged it during the removal of the heatsink. However, if the cleaned or refurbished fan doesn't  solve the problem, I will have to try the heatsink/thermal paste solution.

As I read the manual for the Small Minitower, you have to disconnect 2 wires from fan to motherboard and then swivel the green shroud upwards so it clears the fan/heat sink. I don't believe the shroud needs to be detached from the case.

Then to remove the heat sink:

a. Press the tab on the green securing clip to remove it from the retention base.

b. Remove the heat-sink by pressing on the retention base tab while lifting one end of the heat sink.

I see refurbished fan/heat sink for Dell OptiPlex GX270 Minitower (doesn't say Small Minitower)  here for $19. You'd need to confirm that this is for the Small Minitower. There are probably other sources for OEM Dell parts too, or you can always call Dell Spare Parts.

Maybe you need to take it to a reliable PC shop for repair if you can't do it yourself?  :emotion-5:

Here in the UK, I can get a refubished fan [correct brand, model, etc.] for around £6, so it wouldn't be a major [financial] risk to try that.

I've got family visiting me today, but will probably have a go at the heatsink tomorrow (Sunday 29th). I'll let you know how I get on.

Thanks again for your interest and advice.

I still haven't fathomed out how to remove the fan and/or its housing, so I tried the heatsink.

The first frustrattion was that I couldn't get hold of any isopropyl alcohol to clean off the old paste, but pressed on with the removal of the heatsink, which actually proved quite easy in the end.

Without alcohol, I decided to try my wife's nail varnish remover [found a suggestion on the net] and it appeared to work very well.

There were no directions with the thermal paste and I found various conflicting 'guides' on the net. I went for a thin spread all over and did this as best I could. Sadly, when I powered on, the GX270 behaved exactly as it had before:

I get the usual messages about previous shutdown and if I select 'Start Windows Normally', and press 'Enter' immediately, it lasts just a few seconds before powering off. If I allow the countdown to expire [30 seconds in theory], it lasts that out, but then powers down as soon as it starts trying to load Windows.

If I am quick enough and press F2 to get into Setup, the power remains on, but as soon as I exit and try to start Windows, the power goes off whether I try 'Normal' or 'Safe'.

I don't know whether to have another go with the thermal paste or try to get a refurbished fan; I can't think of anything else to try.

Odd that it stays on in BIOS setup but crashes when you try to boot into Windows.

What happens if you boot from a bootable optical disk such as your Dell Windows Reinstallation disk or Dell  Resources disk?

Can you tell if the fan in the power supply is spinning?

In a thread about a different OptiPlex, thermal event issues were traced back to the chassis intrusion switch. Since  you can open BIOS setup, set the Chassis Intrusion option to Disabled and save the change before exiting setup. In that other thread, one user taped the chassis intrusion switch down and solved the problem.

And while you're inside the case, carefully examine the capacitors on the motherboard. They look like small cans. This model had serious problems with failing capacitors that caused thermal event warnings.

Capacitors should all be perfectly round with perfectly flat tops. If any are bulging or leaking, you would have to replace the motherboard or put the PC in the dust bin...

Ron,

Before telling you of my latest "adventures", let me say a big "thank you" to you for your continued efforts to help me solve my problems; I really do appreciate it.

The PSU is a refurbished one I purchased recently, has a guarantee, and seems to be working well.

Both the PSU fan and the heatsink fan are spinning.

I disabled Chassis Intrusion in BIOS but still get the problem.

I'd seen comments about the capacitors in my net searches. Mine look OK but I have to confess that in the photography I found in one search, the difference between 'normal' and 'blown' didin't seem that great. I have inspected mine and can't see any signs of damage or leakage. Perhaps the next bit confirms that they are OK:

I tried booting from the Recource CD, which loaded Windows 98. It loaded OK, so I ran the 'Quick Test', which completed without reporting any errors. I didn't actually time it, but I think it ran for about 15 mins and remained powered on!

I think I'll run the 'Extended Test', which supposedly takes an hour. I'll probably leave that running 'overnight' [as I need my beauty sleep!].

If that runs OK, I might try running the Windows XP Reinstallation CD, which I think [vague memory from last time I ran it ages ago] has a 'Repair' option, but I'll have a good think before I do that.

The Cage is attached to the rear of the case.  You press a tab and slide it up and it will come out.  Its not a standard fan and without the proprietary sensor it will shut down due to thermal event.  Or the heatsink is loose.

Dell Fan Assembly, Fan and Shroud. DP/N: 02X585 2X585 for Dimension 4300, 4400, 4550, 8300, OptiPlex GX60, and GX260 can also replace Dell P/N: 00P020 0P020, NMB-MAT Model # 3612KL-04W-B66, 9232-12HBTL-2, EFC0912BF. 

ALSO COMPATIBLE WITH FOLLOWING MODELS:

• OptiPlex GX240 
• OptiPlex GX260 
• Dimension 8200 
• Dimension 8250 
• Dimension 4300 
• Dimension 4400 
• Dimension 4500 
• Precision Workstation 340 
• Precision Workstation 350 
• Precision Workstation 360

Look for bulging tops on the capacitors. They should be perfectly flat and not the slightest dome-shaped...

Did the diagnostics include a fan test? That would be important to run. If the fan sensor failed you might get a thermal event error. If you have a Win XP Resources CD, use that for the diagnostics.

If it stays on during these tests, that might suggest a problem with the hard drive...

Hi SpeedStep,

Thanks for the post; it confers what I thought. Perhaps I wasn't firm enough when I tried to prise up the lugs.

As you can see from my previous post today, I've moved in a slightly different direction now, but if I try to get the GX270 going again, replacing the fan will be the first thing I try so your post will be very useful then.

All the capacitor tops seem pretty flat. I used the Resources CD for the diagnostics but don't know if it included a fan test.

I've spent many hours over the last two days researching and trying everything I could think of. I downloaded a Win XP SP3 .iso file from the MS site and created a DVD and a CD version. I tried booting from these but without success, so even created another under XP [previous ones done under Win7] but still no success.

It seemed to read the CD but then not load from it, no matter what I tried. During one attempt, it even loaded my 'lost' system from the HD and my desktop appeared. To celebrate, I went to make a cup of tea, but by the time I got back, it had powered off!

Eventually, I decided to go with the pre-recorded Reinstallation CD [and would then do the SP3 upgrade]. That CD was recognised and I went for 'repair' once it found my existing XP installation. It got to the reboot stage but then powered off whilst "Installing Devices". After several failed attempts, I opened up the case and found that the heatsink was barely warm, which suggested to me that either the 'thermal event' was false, or the processor wasn't properly trsansferring heat to the heartsink.

I therefore removed the heatsink and found that the thermal paste was patchy all over and looked thinner than had the original paste when I first removed the heatsink. I therefore cleaned it off and applied more paste - putting more on this time - and tried again. It still didn't work - if anything it lasted even less time than previously.

I think my HD system may now be compromised because of the several attempts to repair XP. I'e therefore removed the two HDs for the moment and put them in USB cases. As the first step I'm copying them [I already had back up copies of the more important data files]. I also have an 'image' back up of what was the "C" drive but that is nearly a year old.

Once I've copied everything I can, I'm going to attempt to boot from the former "C" drive connected to another PC via USB; I think I read somewhere that this is possible.

I'll let you know how I get on.

I'm going to attempt to boot from the former "C" drive connected to another PC via USB

Probably not gonna work because the HD will have the drivers used by the OptiPlex, and the other PC probably won't have the same hardware, eg CPU, chipsets etc...

Do you have an add-in video card in the OptiPlex?

When it shuts off unexpectedly, do all lights go off, including power button on the front and "flea power" LED on motherboard?  In that case, you may be looking at a power supply problem.

Ron,

Firstly, my apologies for having "disappeared" for the last couple of weeks or so: I have a problem with my back (waiting for an operation) and that severely restricts my movements at times, so I haven't been able to do much.

I haven't tried the USB boot yet; I've been concentrating on getting as much data as possible transferred to another PC to get key things up and running again.

There is a video card on the Optiplex - it's an NVidia I think [I'll get the details when I next manage to get upstairs to my office].

When the power goes off, everything goes at once but I think the motherboard light remains on, but I haven't actually checkd that; I'll do so next time I try.

BTW, the power supply is a professionally refurbished one I bought a month ago as I suspected the existing PSU might not be functioning correctly. This one seems to be OK.

Refresh my memory...

After you replaced the thermal paste between heat sink and CPU, did you clear BIOS by pulling the motherboard battery and pressing/holding the power button for ~30 sec to get rid of the thermal event error and then reinstalling the battery?

And if that still hasn't helped, I guess the next step is to replace that CPU fan.

Hope the back gets better...

I didn't know about the 'clearing BIOS' bit, but I'll give it a try.

I'm scheduled to have my back operation on 5th August and have a lot of things to do before that, but I'll try to give it a gto before then.