MSI Laptop with big fan issue!

Blinkz · 24 Apr 2017 at 15:01

Hey folks,

I've had my MSI GS40 for just over a year and its been awesome! Sadly out of the blue today the fan has just started screaming at me! Whenever Fan 1 kicks in it screeches and generally sounds very unhealthy! Its not the whole time, only when Fan 1 kicks in, which is a lot! Assume its the CPU fan?

Anyone had this? Any suggestions on what to do? Not keen to use it too much as worried it will cause damage to the insides! Its barely usable at the moment its so loud!

Thanks,

Blinkz

a66as · 25 Apr 2017 at 02:14

Hi

I had the same problem with an MSI laptop i had last year, one of the fans ball bearings must have worn out and you will probably have to get it RMA'd to get the fan replaced.

your components should be fine i'd presume but looks like the fans on its way out and it could overheat things so best to open up an rma.

Blinkz · 25 Apr 2017 at 15:37

Hi, thanks for the reply. Hmm not ideal having to rma it. I've done some research and it seems fairly common. Its possible it is a small foam spacer that is clipping the fan and making the noise. Some people have opened it up and fixed it. Not sure how confident I am at opening up a laptop! Its a warranty sticker to break as well but I think its out of warranty anyway!

On Holiday · 25 Apr 2017 at 15:41

2 years warranty thanks to the EU.

a66as · 25 Apr 2017 at 20:20

Blinkz said:
Hi, thanks for the reply. Hmm not ideal having to rma it. I've done some research and it seems fairly common. Its possible it is a small foam spacer that is clipping the fan and making the noise. Some people have opened it up and fixed it. Not sure how confident I am at opening up a laptop! Its a warranty sticker to break as well but I think its out of warranty anyway!

I think that warranty sticker doesn't actually void your warranty, they told me that i could replace my hard drives and etc without voiding the warranty but tinkering with the fan might void your warranty so its best to RMA if you can. I recommend contacting Loki (MSI rep) on these forums who might be able to help you. he helped me last time.

Blinkz · 26 Apr 2017 at 16:41

Hmm interesting options! Good news about a 2 year warranty! Is Loki about to confirm whether I should try and open up the laptop to see if it is just a simple foam spacer issue? Anyone have a contact email for him? Thanks!

Voicon · 27 Apr 2017 at 08:56

Blinkz said:
Hmm interesting options! Good news about a 2 year warranty! Is Loki about to confirm whether I should try and open up the laptop to see if it is just a simple foam spacer issue? Anyone have a contact email for him? Thanks!

Can you just trust him, use one of his posts here?

https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/msi-dragon-center-and-fans-issue.18774792/#post-30666625

Loki · 28 Apr 2017 at 12:31

Hi Blinkz, I got your message through trust and thanks for reaching out. I will contact you back this afternoon once I am back to office

DJShades · 14 Jul 2017 at 10:40

My GS40 is just over a year old (but still within the warranty + 3 months period) and I had this exact problem start today. I love the machine, its performance is fantastic for its size, but still I'm not particularly happy it. The quality of the build and components leave a lot to be desired.

Just a month after purchasing the machine from OC, and typically while I was working away from home in Monaco, the HDD decided to catastrophically die. And when I say catastrophically I mean catastrophically; No early indicators (like clicking or other noises HDDs make in their death throes) just instant, terminal death. As I was working away from home, and needed the machine, I couldn't RMA it and had to replace the HDD with another 1tb drive myself (thank goodness it also has the SSD so I didn't have to start faffing around re-installing everything!). Then it started with the well known "sliding fan spacer" problem. Incredibly annoying but not really a big deal as its possible to slide the spacer back into place while the glue is still warm. Then I noticed white patches on the screen. Not dead pixels, but noticeable white patches, weirdly, when the screen is predominantly white. Now it seems like the CPU fan bearings have gone (the fan spacers are still where they should be and the fan itself is detritus free, so there's not much else it could be on a fan).

Its not as though I'm rough with the machine either, I treat it with kid gloves. I only took the protective film off the lid 1 month ago! If I have to take it anywhere it even gets put in the clear plastic bag it came in (just to give it a bit of extra protection from liquids/moisture) before going into a padded bag.

Like I said, I'm more than happy with the performance of the machine - I mainly use it for graphics/3D/video and it easily handles anything I throw at it - but I expected more in terms of build and component quality given the cost of the machine. I'm actually using the machine now, to type this, but in low power mode so the fans don't kick in... not great for CPU/GPU intensive programs.

Hopefully Loki will see this and advise me what I can do?

Loki · 14 Jul 2017 at 17:44

Hi Shades, got your message via trust and will reply. Probably the best thing would be to send to our repair centre for repair. If you want to reply once you have raised the RMA then I will speak to them and ask them to treat it as a priority for you.

MiSJAH · 14 Jul 2017 at 22:38

DJShades said:
Like I said, I'm more than happy with the performance of the machine - I mainly use it for graphics/3D/video and it easily handles anything I throw at it - but I expected more in terms of build and component quality given the cost of the machine. I'm actually using the machine now, to type this, but in low power mode so the fans don't kick in... not great for CPU/GPU intensive programs.

Hey I was just reading about someone with the same issue on a specific notebook forum, I wonder if it is a common fault?