So, the fan on my laptop stopped working, making the computer really hot. The problem is, I searched all over Gateway's website and couldn't find any fans, the only thing they had were those cooling pads that have a fan in it. If I were to buy a cooling pad would it basically workt the same way as a fan? Or would I ultimately need to replace the fan? Just wondering if anybody else has had the same problem.

So, the fan on my laptop stopped working, making the computer really hot. The problem is, I searched all over Gateway's website and couldn't find any fans, the only thing they had were those cooling pads that have a fan in it. If I were to buy a cooling pad would it basically workt the same way as a fan? Or would I ultimately need to replace the fan? Just wondering if anybody else has had the same problem.

I seriously doubt that buying a cooling pad would be adequate for most laptops, simply because of the positioning of everything.

 

Also, take a moment and weight the cost/benefit of each step. If you purchase a cooling pad and it doesn't work...the sign that it doesn't work is going to be your computer burning out completely, because it'll keep any hot spot from showing up on the outside. Or maybe an exploding battery.

You should definitely be able to purchase this 2nd hand. Search online for it.

You should definitely be able to purchase this 2nd hand. Search online for it.

Hardest part will be actually replacing the fan. Depending on the make/model it can be a real struggle. I had a friend who had an older HP laptop and the fan was making a bad noise so he opened up his laptop, following directions from an HP site to clean it out. He basically had to disassemble his whole laptop just to get to the fan.

 

If youre not comfortable with computers, I would definitely look up directions online to do it and/or find a friend who knows it more.