hi mate, thanks for the detailed reply. well, I DID manage to get the back off in the end, unscrewed a load of screws then discovered I could sort of force it off and there turned out to be plastic lugs along one side. This made it much easier to get back on. I removed the heatsink and the fan which is kind of all one unit. I didn't disconnect the fan as it was too fiddly but I had enough space to safely work. the thermal paste wasn't in TERRIBLE condition but I got rid of it anyway, replaced it and re-affixed the heatsink. I also used compressed air to fire as much dust out as I could. after all that, I don't think it's made a lot of difference! same noise from the fan persists. it is almost like the fan is very marginally tilted over to one side and at higher speeds vibrates a little due to being slightly off centre. I accept there is a risk to the laptop from poor cooling but I don't think its POOR, just noisy. So, an irritant more than a fatal flaw. hopefully! Thanks!
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