Ah ok. Just thought I'd ask before I typed a huge and irrelevant fix. Let us know what you come up with.

Is it possible to clean a laptop cooling fan (even just a little bit) without having to take the computer apart?

Whatever you do: DO NOT PUT A VACUUM ON IT AND MAKE THE FAN TURN REALLY FAST!
It's a lot of fun, but it kills the bearings. Apart from that: The fan may be clean, but there's an entire carpet of dust on your air vents, believe me. You do want to take it apart.
I'd love to help you, but that wouldn't be cheap :D

@ Matious: Suspect the flatcable that connects screen and motherboard.
This can be an expensive one if it's soldered...

Yeah, there's a bit of dust on the fan itself but it's mostly the vents. I wipe it away every once in a while so the computer can be properly ventilated, but it's the fan that I'd like to clean. I may just take it in, even though I hate doing that.

I have been guilty of doing that in the past.

So have I andrei, so have I ;).
And now you're wondering why your fans are noisy, aren't you? :D

@ BD: The problem is that the fan blows air and dust through the vents.
The result is this:
http://www.musicbanter.com/attachmen...1&d=1303671249
Maybe this isn't the case in your case, but if you have the idea that there's not much air coming out of your laptop and it's blowing all the time, you probably have a carpet of dust in your laptop.
Eitherway, the dust on the fan itself, if it isn't a massive amount, won't do it much harm :)

What's a good way to clean it without taking it apart?

Does can of air actually work? those computer dust things.

Haha, that'll just blow the dust into your fan. You don't want that.
Take it apart or let someone take it apart.
I know it's a ****ed up job...

That look like a little dust person.

Jup, feeding it as we speak.
It's growing very fast!