Laptop Feet

The little 1/8" thick 1/2" round rubber button style feet that are on
the bottom of my Dell Laptop are coming off. Recently I've been
sitting it in my lap and the heat buildup is a bit hotter than normal.
So the glue has started degrading and the rubber buttons are coming
off. Its like the adhesive on black electrical tape that gets gooey
when hot.

Anyone know of a good way to put them back on with something that is
heat resistant more than the original Dell glue?

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:20:03 GMT, Big_Al <BigAl@MD.com>
wrote:

>The little 1/8" thick 1/2" round rubber button style feet that are on
>the bottom of my Dell Laptop are coming off. Recently I've been
>sitting it in my lap and the heat buildup is a bit hotter than normal.
> So the glue has started degrading and the rubber buttons are coming
>off. Its like the adhesive on black electrical tape that gets gooey
>when hot.
>
>Anyone know of a good way to put them back on with something that is
>heat resistant more than the original Dell glue?

Thoroughly clean off all traces of glue from the cabinet and
the rubber feet- including peeling off the adhesive liner if
it is still stuck to either part (it usually is still stuck
to one or the other). Usually a petroleum solvent will be
needed to get this glue off, but beware of what you use on a
plastic laptop case, I suggest WD-40 or "Goo-Gone"(like the
pictured 8 oz squeeze bottle, not their spray that is like
409 grease cutting soap)
http://www.loveladyh.com/uploaded_im...one-771096.jpg

After all traces of glue are gone wipe off excess solvent
then a final wiping with rubbing alcohol, or detergent
solution on a rag then a rag with only water - just basic
prep steps to get ALL of everything off the plastic and off
the feet, this is critical for best results.

Put them back on with epoxy. For example Devcon 5 minute
clear epoxy, available at many hardware stores in the US.
If the rubber feet are not flat anymore on the contact area
you may need to use a larger amount of epoxy and not squeeze
too hard when putting them back on so you are not forcing
too much epoxy out from under the contact area. If the feet
are still perfectly flat it would only take a tiny amount of
epoxy.

Another alternative that is less permanent than epoxy (for
better and worse, some might think that a tiny bit of epoxy
is looking non-factory) is to just buy a sheet of stick-on
button feet online then when one comes off, just clean the
area with goo-gone and put a brand new foot on to replace
it, throwing away the old one.

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:20:03 GMT, Big_Al <BigAl@MD.com> wrote:

>The little 1/8" thick 1/2" round rubber button style feet that are on
>the bottom of my Dell Laptop are coming off. Recently I've been
>sitting it in my lap and the heat buildup is a bit hotter than normal.
> So the glue has started degrading and the rubber buttons are coming
>off. Its like the adhesive on black electrical tape that gets gooey
>when hot.
>
>Anyone know of a good way to put them back on with something that is
>heat resistant more than the original Dell glue?

My advice would be to attack the source of your problem.
Heat buildup that appears to be higher than normal is a clear
indication of cooling problems in your laptop.
And usually warns you for more problems ahead :-)

Most probable cause is, that your fan is less effective because
of dust buildup inside your laptop. I would suggest to try to
remove that dust (either by opening your laptop or by gently
applying pressured air --when the laptop is switched off!!--)

--
Kind regards,
Gerard Bok

Gerard Bok wrote:
> On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:20:03 GMT, Big_Al <BigAl@MD.com> wrote:
>
>> The little 1/8" thick 1/2" round rubber button style feet that are on
>> the bottom of my Dell Laptop are coming off. Recently I've been
>> sitting it in my lap and the heat buildup is a bit hotter than normal.
>> So the glue has started degrading and the rubber buttons are coming
>> off. Its like the adhesive on black electrical tape that gets gooey
>> when hot.
>>
>> Anyone know of a good way to put them back on with something that is
>> heat resistant more than the original Dell glue?
>
> My advice would be to attack the source of your problem.
> Heat buildup that appears to be higher than normal is a clear
> indication of cooling problems in your laptop.
> And usually warns you for more problems ahead :-)
>
> Most probable cause is, that your fan is less effective because
> of dust buildup inside your laptop. I would suggest to try to
> remove that dust (either by opening your laptop or by gently
> applying pressured air --when the laptop is switched off!!--)
>
Actually the feet coming off did trigger the same thought you have.
I've already started your idea. But the dust is a good one too. Forgot
that.
I had bought a slightly larger drive and faster (5400 to 7200 RPM). I
think it is that new HD that is causing the increased heat along with
new use of the laptop (more time on my lap). The increased speed was
not that noticable so the heat is a side effect I don't care about.
Besides the larger drive can go in the USB case and makes my backup
drive faster and larger now. And that's good so I can keep more
backup history.
Now I've put the old drive back in, and the heat is much less and I'm
going to make/get a flat hard platform (if nothing more than a piece of
wood) for a surface to put the laptop on so the feet keep that small air
gap under the unit. Kony had some good ideas for re-affixing the feet
which is now the remaining cleanup.

Thanks both of you.