How I fixed my noisy Asus VivoMini V66 PC fan (Hint: it sucked)

The Pool Man · 03 Oct 2018

So I've used Apple all-in-ones and iMacs since 1986. Tim Cook has been efficiently destroying Apple and I jumped off the iMac ship in April of 2017. I did so because my 3 year old iMac was going to be replaced by a new one that... really... wasn't that different from my old one... except that it came with a notable price increase.

So I decided to get a Mini PC and monitor. Why? One silly reason I didn't want YET another camera staring me in the face with a nearby mic. Both the Asus monitor and VivoMini PC allowed me this. Another reason was how 'easy' the VivoMini PC is to open.

How I fixed my noisy Asus VivoMini V66 PC fan (Hint: it sucked)-2018-10-03-15_11_25-how-easily-upgrade-tutorial-vivomini-vc66-series-_-asus-720p-.mp4-vl.jpg

I loved the idea of this thing. But the execution has been painful. What was promised as 'library whisper quiet' really turned out to be kinda loud. If you've ever been in a hotel room while someone is vacuuming next door, it sounds something like that.

I contacted support. They casually suggested sending it in. Why I didn't is they have an annoying tendency to wipe your drive and then I'd have to spend a while putting everything back in its place. I opted out.

Over the year or so it got louder. And louder. To the point it made a disturbing sound when turned on in the morning. Almost a 'clackity-clack' at boot.. which went away... and was only 'fan' noise the rest of the day. I mean you touch anything and the fan would increase. YouTube upset it immensely.

A few days ago I noticed that the heat outtake had 3 of about 30 tiny holes clogged.

How I fixed my noisy Asus VivoMini V66 PC fan (Hint: it sucked)-inked2018-10-03-15_18_37-how-easily-upgrade-tutorial-vivomini-vc66-series-_-asus-720p-.mp4.jpg

I rolled my Hoover upright over. Crossed my fingers. Turned it on and aimed the bare nozzle on it. Worked it for a few seconds. Hit the intake holes on the other side.

Fan noise is now %99 gone. It is now as 'whisper/library quiet' as the marketing promised.

Don't fear. The fan still works. I know it does because the temperature readings are MUCH lower than usual. I'm at 46C and all summer it's been a fast jump to the 60s and 70s.

What's infuriating here is that -- if it was dust somehow -- how was it that my unit has NEVER been this quiet? Think about it. It means that dust was in it AT PURCHASE. And I can confirm it just wasn't me because other reviewers of the unit had the same complaint about the noisy fan.

Anyway I'm planting this here in case it helps someone surfing the net.

CountMike · 05 Oct 2018

One problem with that, fans should be blocked from turning. If they over-speed because of so much air going thru them they could be damaged or even damage motherboard.
Those fans are brushless DC motors with permanent magnet so they work as a generator, generating electricity of opposite polarity. That can burn out electronic parts.
Brushless DC electric motor - Wikipedia

The Pool Man · 05 Oct 2018

Not exactly sure what you were trying to say, CountMike.

The last time I opened up a Mini PC I broke it and so I was VERY hesitant to open this up. But I did to make sure there wasn't a lot of dust or a dead bug. I had a can of compressed air but didn't really see much dust and so I barely used it.

I think the vacuum did the trick.

Steve C · 06 Oct 2018

Many cheap PC fans have a foil sticker covering the bearing. If you carefully peel this back and lubricate with 1 or 2 drops of light machine oil you find the noise reduces. If the noise persists I would tell support you are competent at fixing PCs and ask them to send you a new fan.

CountMike · 06 Oct 2018

The Pool Man said:

Not exactly sure what you were trying to say, CountMike.

The last time I opened up a Mini PC I broke it and so I was VERY hesitant to open this up. But I did to make sure there wasn't a lot of dust or a dead bug. I had a can of compressed air but didn't really see much dust and so I barely used it.

I think the vacuum did the trick.

Thought it was clear. When you blow or suck into fans and they start turning (windmill effect) they generate current with swapped polarity (+ and -) which can damage it or parts.

Stexred · 06 Oct 2018

just block the fan
if you are going to vacuum it

The Pool Man · 06 Oct 2018

CountMike said:

Thought it was clear. When you blow or suck into fans and they start turning (windmill effect) they generate current with swapped polarity (+ and -) which can damage it or parts.

I get it now. Thank you.

I appreciate the caution, but really, having the thing run like crazy and not cooling the system properly was potentially way more dangerous than a brief vacuum from the exterior. It's working perfectly now.

TechnoMage · 06 Oct 2018

I've been cleaning out PC's and their associated cooling fans for well over 30 years, and it was about that far back when I used compressed air to clean a "5 inch muffin fan" and one blade flew off of the fan, effectively destroying it. Fortunately I had a replacement fan, because it was a customer's PC.

I still use my shop air compressor to supply the 120 psi compressed air to clean out a PC, but I always block the fans with a diddle stick, so it can't turn during the cleaning process. Be careful and be safe!

A dirty CPU fan may or may not make it noisy, but it can cause the fan speed control to run the fan at maximum speed, which CAN make more noise.

How I fixed my noisy Asus VivoMini V66 PC fan (Hint: it sucked)-dirtyfan-heatsink.jpg

This fan was plugged with white lint, from the white carpet it was sitting on. Always keep the PC up away from the floor.

Same fan and heat-sink after a very thorough cleaning and re-oiling.

How I fixed my noisy Asus VivoMini V66 PC fan (Hint: it sucked)-after-cleaning.jpg

Sometimes it's not so much the fan, but the air inlet in the case that can get plugged with dirt.

How I fixed my noisy Asus VivoMini V66 PC fan (Hint: it sucked)-dirtyfangrill.jpg

No fan can do it's job when its air intake is plugged.

Many Intel CPU's will just shut down if they get too hot. And, AMD cpu's will decrease their clock speed to reduce heating.
Customer complaint might be, "this thing just keeps running slower and slower, the longer it's ON."

I found years ago, that after you remove the little sticker from the back of the fan, to lubricate the main bearing, the label may no longer stick to the fan's frame. I use a Micro-Oiler, like a hypodermic needle to inject a few drops of fine machine oil right through the center of the label. I've now done that several hundred times and it works great. I've used that technique to save fans that will hardly even turn. Yes, if you've guessed that I'm a computer technician, you're right. For over 30 years.

At 75, it's more of a hobby than an occupation, although I do still run a few service calls.

Y'all have a great day now, Y'hear?
TechnoMage

CountMike · 06 Oct 2018

The Pool Man said:

I get it now. Thank you.

I appreciate the caution, but really, having the thing run like crazy and not cooling the system properly was potentially way more dangerous than a brief vacuum from the exterior. It's working perfectly now.

I often call PCs a "Hoover" because they make great vacuum cleaner and collect dust galore. High frequency works as static electricity attracting dust and fans and cooling provide a lot of air. My brother that used to work in Switzerland brought me couple of PCs from a Swiss hospital which had some highly technical parts and it had dust in it. !!!

CountMike · 06 Oct 2018

TechnoMage said:

I've been cleaning out PC's and their associated cooling fans for well over 30 years, and it was about that far back when I used compressed air to clean a "5 inch muffin fan" and one blade flew off of the fan, effectively destroying it. Fortunately I had a replacement fan, because it was a customer's PC.

I still use my shop air compressor to supply the 120 psi compressed air to clean out a PC, but I always block the fans with a diddle stick, so it can't turn during the cleaning process. Be careful and be safe!

A dirty CPU fan may or may not make it noisy, but it can cause the fan speed control to run the fan at maximum speed, which CAN make more noise.

This fan was plugged with white lint, from the white carpet it was sitting on. Always keep the PC up away from the floor.

Same fan and heat-sink after a very thorough cleaning and re-oiling.

Sometimes it's not so much the fan, but the air inlet in the case that can get plugged with dirt.

No fan can do it's job when its air intake is plugged.

Many Intel CPU's will just shut down if they get too hot. And, AMD cpu's will decrease their clock speed to reduce heating.
Customer complaint might be, "this thing just keeps running slower and slower, the longer it's ON."

I found years ago, that after you remove the little sticker from the back of the fan, to lubricate the main bearing, the label may no longer stick to the fan's frame. I use a Micro-Oiler, like a hypodermic needle to inject a few drops of fine machine oil right through the center of the label. I've now done that several hundred times and it works great. I've used that technique to save fans that will hardly even turn. Yes, if you've guessed that I'm a computer technician, you're right. For over 30 years.

At 75, it's more of a hobby than an occupation, although I do still run a few service calls.

Y'all have a great day now, Y'hear?
TechnoMage

Yeah, I have run into some lulus of dirty coolers, PCs and fans. There was one from a coal company, you guessed it, full of coal dust, Another one from sowing room, full of lint, stopped most fans dead. In my own office PC in the middle of the factory I found a mouse nest after coming back from a 2 week trip.