black screen

[charliesimith]

My sister has a HP DV2899 Laptop (http://www.popvoucher.co.uk/cheap-hp-dv2899-laptop_lid-omupmmap.html), she says it cuts out frequently (the fan turns off and the screen goes black). I've never had this when I've used it although I have noticed the fan is noisy and the laptop gets very hot, it feels very warm on the keyboard. I've had a look at the fan and there doesn't seem to be much fluff so I'm thinking it's the fan and I'm tempted to replace it.
My only concern is that it if the systemboard controls the fan it might actually be the system board that's faulty. Just after a second opinion really, anyone have any suggestions?
Cheers

[mjc]

The thing about laptop heatsinks is that what you can easily see is not all of it...quite often the 'fluff' builds up in the areas that aren't easily visible. To truly see how 'dirty' the heat sink is, you need to remove the entire unit, then the fan from the heatsink and any shrouds. Then scrub the dang thing down with a brush under warn running water (the heatsink, not the fan). Let it dry, apply thermal compound if there isn't a thermal pad and reassemble.