Replacing COU fan

[ShBm]

My CPU fan turns on with the computer, but quickly turns off again. When it first turns on it's fine, but I don't know why it would just stop all of a sudden. So, I'm going to replace it, but I wasn't sure exactly what to do. Do I just unscrew it and take it out? What about the thermal paste? That's my real question, is what I have to do with that. Does it just rub off the CPU and I put a new coat on my new fan? I thought I'd ask before I did anything because I don't want to damage my CPU.

 

[diduknowthat]

The heatsink should be pretty easy to take off. Either unscrew it or unclip it (depends on its design). After doing so, you'll need to remove all the thermal pastes from the CPU and reaply new paste.

 

[INTELCRAZY]

Yeah just get you a paper towel and some alcohol, the thermal paste comes off with ease.... You don't coat it, you just apply a small amount, overdoing it can make heat worse.

Here's some AS5, you won't use all of this, I have a tube of this size, I have used it on my new PC and an older gfx card and still have a little over half a tube left.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

 

[ShBm]

Yeah, I have some of that same paste because everywhere I read it was recommended. Rubbing alcohol is safe to use on my CPU?

I was also wondering if there's a way to increase the speed of case fans, perhaps a BIOS edit.

 

[paratwa]

Denatured alcohol is better to use, rubbing alcohol has impurity's in it that will not allow you to get it as clean as you need it to be.

You can find denatured alcohol at a local hardware store. It is not expensive.

Depending on what cpu and fan combo, the usually procedure is to place a spot of thermal compound about the size of a grain of rice on the cpu and then place the fan on it and attach the fan to the motherboard. Every time you remove the fan you will have to clean the cpu and fan base and reapply the compound.

 

[ShBm]

Now, I'm not sure if it's my fan that's failing. I turn on my computer, and the fan starts with it, but then it'll shut off as it shows my system specs. If I hit F1 to boot the computer even though the fan's off, it'll turn back on. It's a Zalman that has a knob to control the speed, but whenever I try to adjust it, it just makes the LED flicker. A program I use to tell how fast the fan is spinning is also giving me incorrect readings. Could this be some larger issue, possibly with my mobo?