One of my resolutions for 2020 was to fix my main laptop, Envy. Upgrading Windows and the memory were my main focuses, but something else pushed its way to the front of the line: the overheating problem.
Envy was running so hot that it frequently shut itself down while I was working. I spent many a-day holding the laptop up in one hand and waving an electric fan under the bottom with the other, hoping the device would cool down enough for a reboot.
In April, I got fed up with the whole situation. I decided to crack the laptop open and see what I could do.
The good news: I thoroughly cleaned out Envy’s insides, completely eliminating the overheating problem.
The bad news: I made a mistake during the cleaning process that caused Envy’s hinge to break again, creating an entirely new problem.
The Cleaning Process
Before I got started, I downloaded a maintenance guide from HP’s website for my specific Envy model. This PDF provides information about Envy such as specs and part numbers. Most importantly, it includes illustrated instructions for performing various tasks.
I found a page that explained how to remove the bottom panel to get to Envy’s guts. In a nutshell, I only had to undo twelve screws and pry up the panel with a specific tool. So, I upended Envy on the kitchen table, gathered some screwdrivers, and grabbed a medicine cup to hold the screws.
Despite the instructions, my inexperience with computer repair complicated the process. I couldn’t remove some of the screws, which were seated so tightly that they initially refused to come out. Then I overlooked two of the less obvious screws in the middle of the bottom panel. I also struggled to get the bottom panel off. I didn’t have the tool the manual suggested, so I stuck the tip of a flathead screwdriver under the panel’s edges at several points to get it loose.
At some point during all of this, I unknowingly made a fatal mistake: I removed the two screws in the screen’s bezel. I don’t know why I did that! That step definitely wasn’t in the maintenance guide. Maybe I was thinking of the disassembly directions for one of my other computers. Or maybe I just got too happy removing screws. In any case, I would later come to regret this move.
I immediately saw what was causing Envy’s overheating problem once the panel was off. Seven years worth of dust had turned into quite a mess. There were huge tufts of it everywhere. Even the inside of the bottom panel was covered in a layer of dust. In lieu of canned air, I ran Q-tips over the surface and around the vents.
The worse area by far was the fan. Dust was caked up around the outer case and over the blades. Since the bit I could clean off wasn’t going to do much good, I completely unscrewed the fan from the motherboard for easier access. I worked for over an hour, carefully swiping the flattened and ever-so-slightly wet end of numerous Q-tips along both sides of the fan blades.
When Envy’s insides were as clean as I could get them, I turned my attention to the bottom panel. Besides the dust layer, there was a thick circular imprint on the panel from the fan’s dust buildup. I used damp napkins to wipe off the dust. Then I reused the flattened Q-tip method to clean between the vent slots.
To my relief, Envy worked fine when I put it back together. It was running cool and quiet, almost like it was brand new again. Not only had I fixed the overheating, but I had learned new information and skills that would give me a leg up when I was ready to install my new RAM chips. I was very proud of myself.
The Unintended Consequences
The other shoe dropped a few weeks after the cleaning. I got a nasty surprise when I opened Envy’s lid and the bezel split along the screen’s lower left corner…right where I had previously removed the screw.
Now, I’ve been dealing with Envy’s hinge problems from day one. It’s like my version of the MacBook keyboard situation. Every so often, the bezels (mostly the left one) separate exactly like this. From what I later learned in various online forums, it seems that the bezel splitting is a common issue for my model.
I’ve gone through the split twice. The first incident happened shortly after we bought Envy from Aaron’s. The creaky groans I’d heard every time I’d opened the lid, which I’d written off as the hinges breaking themselves in, had turned out to be the bezels progressively splitting up the sides. The left bezel eventually busted open completely. Aaron’s sent it in for repairs and it came back good as new. The second time, a few months later, an Aaron’s salesperson stopped that same corner from splitting again by tightening all of the screws in the bezel and bottom panel himself. I haven’t had any serious splits since then.
This recent split ended up worse than any previous incident. I didn’t realize that removing the screws had weakened Envy’s hinges again, so I kept opening and closing the lid like normal. The next thing I knew, all hell broke loose. The bezel’s left corner came through the screw that’s supposed to hold it in place. Pieces of plastic broke off. Wires popped out everywhere. The metal part of the hinge was exposed. The screen went lopsided. The two halves of the laptop stopped lining up properly when I closed the lid. I nearly cried.
I managed to restore the laptop to its former state. Somewhat. I stuffed everything back inside the hinge (except for one stubborn wire) and snapped the screen back onto the hinge. The screen is more wobbly than before and I can easily pull the left side off the hinge if I want to, but it’s level again at least.
I’ve been leaving Envy’s lid open full-time to avoid breaking anything else. I’m also super careful of that exposed wire near the hinge when I move the laptop around the house. The last thing I need is for the screen to go out. Of course, having the lid open means dust will accumulate inside the computer again (and faster). I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.
Conclusion
Do I regret cleaning the dust out of Envy in light of the damages I caused? Not really. The benefits of stopping the overheating problem outweighed the possibility of another bezel split, even one as bad as what I ended up with. Envy probably would have burned itself up if I hadn’t done something when I did.
The split bezel/broken hinge is unfortunate. It hurts my heart to see my beautiful Envy broken like that. I’ve also had to reevaluate my future setup. With the other upgrades effectively rendered moot now, I won’t be able to keep Envy as long as I’d planned. Nevertheless, the damage doesn’t interfere with my work as badly as the overheating did. I think I made the right choice under the circumstances.