Old laptop fans are getting louder and dustier every year

I cracked open a 2012 Dell yesterday that someone brought in, the fan was caked solid and the thermal paste looked like dried glue. People keep asking why their machine sounds like a jet engine, but they never think to blow it out once a year. Has anyone else seen fans last way longer on machines that actually get a cleaning every 12 months?

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theabarnes1mo ago

That 2012 Dell fan was basically a dust bunny with blades at that point, I'm surprised it spun at all. I swear some people treat their laptop vents like a forbidden snack slot and just let everything pile up in there. The thermal paste being dried glue is the classic move too, that thing was probably running hot enough to fry an egg on the keyboard. A $7 can of compressed air and 10 minutes once a year saves you a $100 repair bill down the road, but nope, we'll just let it scream until the bearings give out. Honestly the fans that get cleaned are the ones that outlive the laptop itself, the rest die young and dramatic.