for work i have an hp nc6000 laptop. sometime i find that the fan becomes crazy noisy and just annoys me.

then i installed this little freeware and got it to shut up.. now the laptop is dead quiet.. i like..

http://www.diefer.de/speedswitchxp/

when you have installed it, it lands in the systemtray, and just select "max battery" and the fan shuts up. great little tool if fan-noise annoys you.