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X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

X200/X201/X220 (including equivalent tablet models) and X300/X301 Series
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hyde
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X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#1 Post by hyde » Thu Aug 27, 2015 10:24 am

I recently moved my laptop home to run it as HTPC and it was just streaming some music videos and watching some trailers on youtube.
I've never had my X220 run this hot. The surface temperature on top of the lid and around the hinge on upper left corner reading was 145F.


Couple of days ago I removed the battery to give it more space to breath since it's inside the entertainment unit (but front is open) however it made me worry when It was that hot yesterday.

It's on Series 3 Dock and the area around the eject button was extremely hot too.

Any suggestions?

8/18/11 - X220 i5-2540M, IPS, Intel 6205 Wifi, 8GB, U2312HM
1/15/12 - S405 (Wife's), A6-4455M, 14", 4GB
7/02/15 - T450s i5-5300U, 14" FHD IPS, FP, 12GB
7/1/20 - T490 i5-10210U, 24GB, 14" FHD TS IPS, 512GB NVMe,
5/20/23 - T14 Gen 3 AMD 6650U, 1TB, 32GB, WUXGA

dr_st
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Re: X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#2 Post by dr_st » Fri Aug 28, 2015 12:23 am

Obviously, whatever your entertainment unit is, there is not enough ventilation inside it for a full-blown laptop. Especially one with a full-voltage CPU like the X220.
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad

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Re: X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#3 Post by Puppy » Fri Aug 28, 2015 2:17 am

It is better with the 6 cell battery that sticks out down so there is a small space between the desk and the notebook in top-left corner. I have stopped using the dock during a hot summer days with room temperature over 30'C because of it.
ThinkPad (1992 - 2012): R51, X31, X220
Huawei MateBook 13

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Re: X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#4 Post by mpcook » Fri Aug 28, 2015 7:03 am

My X220's and the X230 I am using all get exceedingly hot while in the dock, it is not conducive to effective cooling. Being in an enclosed space is compounding problem for you.
Current: 2 x W520 ET, 2 x X220 i7, T420, X230 i5, T420s, MacbookPro, Dell Venue 11 Pro, Dell XPS 8930, X1 Yoga 3GEN
Past: IBM5150-8088 500 600E 600X T20 T21 5xT23 X30 3xX31 X32 T40 T42 3xT43 T43p SL510 T60p X60T X60s T61 2xT400 T410si T400s T500-3.06GHz X200 X201 X220i5 X220i7 2xT420s

hyde
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Re: X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#5 Post by hyde » Fri Aug 28, 2015 11:44 am

I think dock might be obstructing the airflow, but I checked it again last night after about 2 hrs of video/streaming, it was just fine, it wasn't nowhere near as hot, is it possible fan did not work properly resulted in such hot surface?

I had my X220 on dock for 4 years in the office, while it wasn't in confined space, it never got that hot. With the dock, without the battery, there is a lot of room to breath underneath but does X220 board have any safety measure to cut the power or shut down when it gets too hot? I should have just run the hwinfo to check the processor temp, because I am planning to run X220 with BlueIris and I need to be comfortable with it running 24/7 (and without a dock, there aren't enough ports) without getting too hot. If necessary, I will move it outside the cabinet.

8/18/11 - X220 i5-2540M, IPS, Intel 6205 Wifi, 8GB, U2312HM
1/15/12 - S405 (Wife's), A6-4455M, 14", 4GB
7/02/15 - T450s i5-5300U, 14" FHD IPS, FP, 12GB
7/1/20 - T490 i5-10210U, 24GB, 14" FHD TS IPS, 512GB NVMe,
5/20/23 - T14 Gen 3 AMD 6650U, 1TB, 32GB, WUXGA

hyde
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Re: X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#6 Post by hyde » Sat Aug 29, 2015 10:05 pm

Hi everyone, I have bad news, I went back home yesterday with plans to run tests and check it out, and I was greeted with "Fan Error" and instant shut-down every time I tried to restart.

Before I buy a new fan and replace it (seems like a very intensive job to remove the fan, by the way) any suggestions? Maybe test to make sure it's the fan? Open it up check connectors?

Is this correct replacement: http://www.amazon.com/Eathtek-Lenovo-Th ... B00YRLLXMC

I recently took a trip to west coast and the laptop was in backpack, moved around a lot, considering it's 4 yrs old, it's possible that something happened, unseated maybe?

8/18/11 - X220 i5-2540M, IPS, Intel 6205 Wifi, 8GB, U2312HM
1/15/12 - S405 (Wife's), A6-4455M, 14", 4GB
7/02/15 - T450s i5-5300U, 14" FHD IPS, FP, 12GB
7/1/20 - T490 i5-10210U, 24GB, 14" FHD TS IPS, 512GB NVMe,
5/20/23 - T14 Gen 3 AMD 6650U, 1TB, 32GB, WUXGA

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Re: X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#7 Post by axur-delmeria » Sat Aug 29, 2015 10:35 pm

^ It looks right. But maybe you can buy just the fan? It appears to be fastened with screws, which means it can be easily removed.

But before that, maybe the fan just needs cleaning and lubrication?
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons :lol:
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E :cry:

hyde
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Re: X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#8 Post by hyde » Sat Aug 29, 2015 11:53 pm

axur-delmeria wrote:^ It looks right. But maybe you can buy just the fan? It appears to be fastened with screws, which means it can be easily removed.

But before that, maybe the fan just needs cleaning and lubrication?
Maybe, I'll open the case tomorrow, but checking the instructions to disassemble the unit.. It seems like fan replacement is one of the last steps that requires almost complete disassembly.

8/18/11 - X220 i5-2540M, IPS, Intel 6205 Wifi, 8GB, U2312HM
1/15/12 - S405 (Wife's), A6-4455M, 14", 4GB
7/02/15 - T450s i5-5300U, 14" FHD IPS, FP, 12GB
7/1/20 - T490 i5-10210U, 24GB, 14" FHD TS IPS, 512GB NVMe,
5/20/23 - T14 Gen 3 AMD 6650U, 1TB, 32GB, WUXGA

axur-delmeria
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Re: X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#9 Post by axur-delmeria » Sun Aug 30, 2015 1:34 am

hyde wrote:Maybe, I'll open the case tomorrow, but checking the instructions to disassemble the unit.. It seems like fan replacement is one of the last steps that requires almost complete disassembly.
I've already opened up my X220 to replace the thermal paste, and I can confirm that.
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons :lol:
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E :cry:

hyde
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Re: X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#10 Post by hyde » Tue Sep 01, 2015 7:42 pm

axur-delmeria wrote:
hyde wrote:Maybe, I'll open the case tomorrow, but checking the instructions to disassemble the unit.. It seems like fan replacement is one of the last steps that requires almost complete disassembly.
I've already opened up my X220 to replace the thermal paste, and I can confirm that.
Thanks, that's a big job.
Is it possible to bypass the fan check temporarily to retrieve data while closely monitoring the temperature because I think I am just going to tackle this later in the future when I have time.

Thanks.

8/18/11 - X220 i5-2540M, IPS, Intel 6205 Wifi, 8GB, U2312HM
1/15/12 - S405 (Wife's), A6-4455M, 14", 4GB
7/02/15 - T450s i5-5300U, 14" FHD IPS, FP, 12GB
7/1/20 - T490 i5-10210U, 24GB, 14" FHD TS IPS, 512GB NVMe,
5/20/23 - T14 Gen 3 AMD 6650U, 1TB, 32GB, WUXGA

dr_st
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Re: X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#11 Post by dr_st » Wed Sep 02, 2015 1:58 am

On older Thinkpads just pressing Esc works to bypass the Fan Error. Maybe on X220 it works too, never tried.
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad

hyde
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Re: X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#12 Post by hyde » Wed Sep 02, 2015 7:33 pm

dr_st wrote:On older Thinkpads just pressing Esc works to bypass the Fan Error. Maybe on X220 it works too, never tried.
Nope, tried that, it won't let me go pass Fan Error and shuts down immediately.

8/18/11 - X220 i5-2540M, IPS, Intel 6205 Wifi, 8GB, U2312HM
1/15/12 - S405 (Wife's), A6-4455M, 14", 4GB
7/02/15 - T450s i5-5300U, 14" FHD IPS, FP, 12GB
7/1/20 - T490 i5-10210U, 24GB, 14" FHD TS IPS, 512GB NVMe,
5/20/23 - T14 Gen 3 AMD 6650U, 1TB, 32GB, WUXGA

axur-delmeria
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Re: X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#13 Post by axur-delmeria » Wed Sep 02, 2015 11:07 pm

If retrieving data is your primary concern, buy a USB-SATA adapter or enclosure.

IIRC, the Esc key trick only works if the 2nd fan (auxillary) is malfunctioning. Some Thinkpad models have them, like higher-end or WWAN-equipped models of the X61.
Planned Purchase: T480s i5-8350 FHD Touch
Impulse Buy: Thinkpad not named for safety reasons :lol:
RIP: X220 4291-C91 X61 7676-A24 760XD-U9E :cry:

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Re: X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#14 Post by dr_st » Thu Sep 03, 2015 12:47 am

On the T42 and T60 at least it worked on the primary fan as well.
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad

hyde
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Re: X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#15 Post by hyde » Thu Sep 03, 2015 11:09 am

I picked up the fan today, I'll start the process, but checking this link: http://www.myfixguide.com/manual/lenovo ... sassembly/
do I have to remove the screen, speakers, bluetooth and all that stuff to replace the fan?

Edit:
To answer my own question, yes, you need to strip this laptop to bare including removal of the screen (complete lid assembly) to swap a simple fan that's held down by 4 screws. I can't believe how much is involved, but finally I was able to do it.
Thanks so much for everyone's help here, I had to break my wifi card to remove it (screw was stripped from previous repair/installation/etc..) and luckily I had my old Lenovo card to put it back in there.

8/18/11 - X220 i5-2540M, IPS, Intel 6205 Wifi, 8GB, U2312HM
1/15/12 - S405 (Wife's), A6-4455M, 14", 4GB
7/02/15 - T450s i5-5300U, 14" FHD IPS, FP, 12GB
7/1/20 - T490 i5-10210U, 24GB, 14" FHD TS IPS, 512GB NVMe,
5/20/23 - T14 Gen 3 AMD 6650U, 1TB, 32GB, WUXGA

hyde
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Re: X220 gets very hot running on dock without battery

#16 Post by hyde » Thu Sep 03, 2015 4:19 pm

I am not proud but I had no choice:
:cry: :oops:
https://i.gyazo.com/0d291f04ae541ab31c6 ... 482bd9.jpg
https://i.gyazo.com/a8659793d21890c1b10 ... 261e2a.png

Thank god Intel for making it perforated. It made it easy to just snip it. The Thinkpad card does not have the same perforation so it would have been much more difficult to cut it.

Does anyone know where I can buy a set of Black and Silver screws to keep a set handy? Looks like T450S uses same set of screws.

8/18/11 - X220 i5-2540M, IPS, Intel 6205 Wifi, 8GB, U2312HM
1/15/12 - S405 (Wife's), A6-4455M, 14", 4GB
7/02/15 - T450s i5-5300U, 14" FHD IPS, FP, 12GB
7/1/20 - T490 i5-10210U, 24GB, 14" FHD TS IPS, 512GB NVMe,
5/20/23 - T14 Gen 3 AMD 6650U, 1TB, 32GB, WUXGA

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