fan failure

I was typing merrily away when my pc shut down...no warning, no noise, nothing.

I rebooted it and the screen said:

Shutdown due to thermal event
Fan failure.

So I opened the case and cleaned out the dusties
Then plugged it back in with the case open.

I'm clueless as to "fans"...so I'm including pics.

When I opened the case the silver metal box on the bottom (in pics) was very warm. However this fan started when I turned the pc on...at first it made a noise and didn't blow out cool air until I restarted the pc again (to see if it would get rid of the noise - just a slight grinding)

The black round Datech thing at the top looks like it has something in it that should turn around - that doesn't move when the pc is on.

After about 10 min. of it being on again...it shut down just like the first time.

My question is:

Can I replace anything myself?
What do I replace?

PC: Dell Dimension 4600 C (Slim version) Windows XP -- 4 years old.

 

After having pc off for an hour I restarted it in safe mode

It stayed on for 30 min. and then shut down - the monitor turns off too.

When it first started - the fan in bottom metal box is barely turning and making a low grinding noise. After 20 min. the fan picked up normal speed and the grinding wasn't as evident and would disappear for 15 sec. or so if I moved the case (to check on the fan movement)

When it turned off the bottom metal case was definitely warm - not too warm to touch though.

 

The DaTech thing is your CPU fan, and you need it running! I would also replace the PSU fan and maybe even the PSU (box on the bottom of the PC).

The PSU looks like a Dell one, not sure if you can get one anywhere but Dell. You should be able to replace the fan in it. As for the CPU one, you could get one from Dell, or possibly from DaTech. Personally, I would remove the existing CPU fan and rig up an 80 or 120mm fan, (only remove the fan, not the heatsink ) and replace the one in the PSU.

E

 

Yeah - thought so - I turned pc on again and the Datech CPU fan doesn't move inside at all or make any noise like it's trying to.

What is the heatsink? Is it in my picture? I see that the whole black thing (cpu?) has an electric wire coming out to the upper left and hooking in to pc up on the upper right with a plastic clip -- so a new one must have that wire too that gets replaced? Or are you saying I'm replacing something inside it?

So the metal thing at the bottom with a million wires running from it is the "psu" which I think means "power supply unit"

I can just unscrew the top 4 screws that are on top of the fan and replace the fan? I need one from Dell for that? If not, what do I look for?

I do "software" with pcs -- not the hardware so excuse the ignorance.

 

id start with fixing the heatsink first (the black turbine looking thing) You can shoot it out with compressed air to see if maybe it's just all plugged up or you can replace it, which could be tough since its a slim case. it is PROBABLY a socket 478 pentium 4 or celeron, correct me if im wrong here. you shouldnt have any problems finding a low profile heatsink to replace that one but it could be tough to find one that will flow enough air to keep it cool in a small case. ill see what i can find. if you dont want to replace this yourself then it shouldnt be too expensive to get a PC shop to replace it if you give them the parts

until you get it fixed, stop trying to use it because it may fry something

 

It will be tough because they don't make ones this size or...?

My pc has Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.8 GHz if that's what you mean.

The info on the DaTech is:DB9733-12HBTL
P/N 9G180
DC Brushless Fan 12 v 1.35 A

I haven't had any issues for 4 years with heating or with fans so...

I'd much rather replace it myself. If I can't - a friend at work has built his own pc -- he'd probably be able to put this in for me.

I only turned it on and tried in safe mode because that was in another thread...
Then I wanted to make sure it didn't start up since it had only happened once (I'm using a different pc for these posts)

FYI - my case is always free to breathe so to speak - nothing is around it, on it, or against it and I live in Ohio - not too warm or cold in my house.

 

"What is the heatsink? Is it in my picture?"

The heatsink is between the fan and the CPU. You should be able to remove the fan and replace/rig up another fan to it. And yes PSU is the Power supply, sorry, I thought I put that in there.

And like Viper said, do not use the PC untill you at least replace the fan on the CPU. The heatsink is just a finned metal block that sits on a chip, the fan blows cool air on it, and the heat from the CPU is removed. The metal thing with 'spikes' right below the Datech fan and just to the left of the Dell print on your motherboard is a heatsink. The CPU one is slightly different and has a fan on top of it.

E