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Runaway cooling fan
A friend has a Optiplex 755 and one of the cooling fans runs
constantly. System Information for Windows shows normal CPU and hard drive temperatures. I ended one process that was using a lot of the CPU, but nothing changed. Any other things I can look at? Thanks. |
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#2
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Runaway cooling fan
Time to clean the dust around the Processor will help show it down !
"Mint" wrote in message ... A friend has a Optiplex 755 and one of the cooling fans runs constantly. System Information for Windows shows normal CPU and hard drive temperatures. I ended one process that was using a lot of the CPU, but nothing changed. Any other things I can look at? Thanks. |
#3
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Runaway cooling fan
Mint wrote:
A friend has a Optiplex 755 and one of the cooling fans runs constantly. System Information for Windows shows normal CPU and hard drive temperatures. I ended one process that was using a lot of the CPU, but nothing changed. Any other things I can look at? Thanks. In addition to an air blockage, another reason for a runaway fan, is a clip breaks on the heatsink, and the heatsink is no longer being pressed tightly against the CPU. If the heatsink is dangling, then the CPU gets really hot. And the fan stays on constantly. There are two pictures of the Optiplex 755 here (near the bottom of the page). It's a BTX layout, with the main fan doing double duty as both a CPU cooler, and a "whole computer" cooler. http://en.community.dell.com/support.../19243934.aspx Now, another possibility, is the aluminum heatsink to the. right of the really big cooler, has fallen off. I thought the idea was, the BTX motherboard may measure temperature in more than one "zone", and use the temperature information to decide what fan speed to run. Check to make sure the steel wire that holds the aluminum heatsink, is still secure. Also, if the computer is insane (won't pass POST), the main fan will remain in high speed mode. The fan would probably slow down, once Windows is running. So if the fan runs full speed, and the monitor remains black, it means the CPU isn't reading any BIOS code from the flash chip. There are probably a total of three fans involved there. The main fan on the big cooler, is a monster ( 100 CFM). It can make a lot of noise, when cranked. The video card probably has a fan. The power supply should have a fan too. But in terms of sound effects, the main fan on the CPU, can make a noise like a vacuum cleaner. Paul |
#4
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Runaway cooling fan
"Paul" wrote in message
... In addition to an air blockage, another reason for a runaway fan, is a clip breaks on the heatsink, and the heatsink is no longer being pressed tightly against the CPU. If the heatsink is dangling, then the CPU gets really hot. And the fan stays on constantly. snip Seriously? This scenario is highly unlikely. First of all, the OP stated the CPU temps were normal. If the heat sink were no longer secure, no amount of fan speed would cool the CPU, and it would be overheating or even shutting down. Secondly, while it's not impossible, it is extremely improbable that the clip on the heat sink would break of its own accord in service. The only time I have ever seen those type of clips break is DURING a replacement or installation procedure on the heat sink, not months or years after the installation. -- Glen Ventura MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009 CompTIA A+ http://dts-l.net/ |
#5
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Runaway cooling fan
On 07 Dec 2010, "glee" wrote in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general: First of all, the OP stated the CPU temps were normal. If the heat sink were no longer secure, no amount of fan speed would cool the CPU, and it would be overheating or even shutting down. Secondly, while it's not impossible, it is extremely improbable that the clip on the heat sink would break of its own accord in service. The only time I have ever seen those type of clips break is DURING a replacement or installation procedure on the heat sink, not months or years after the installation. I've seen several examples of the clip breaking on their own, years after manufacture. They were all Dell computers. The clip was a spring- y metal band that was laid across the fan/heat sink and anchored to eyehook-like points that were soldered into the motherboard. The eyehooks came loose from the motherboard and the heat sink fell off. The CPU overheated immediately and the computer shut down and would not complete a bootup. I fashioned new eyehooks out of safety pins, soldered them onto the motherboard, reattached the clip, and the computers have been working fine ever since, as far as I know. I'm sure this is not the problem in this case. |
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Runaway cooling fan
Mint
Most unlikely to be the CPU fan since the CPU is running at normal temp. If it was the CPU fan then your heatsink would be out of whack (not in place correctly). Have you checked the PS fan which can run constantly if the PS is running hot on account of heavy dust bunnies and not getting enough cooling. Did you isolate the noise to the fan yet ?? -- Peter Please Reply to Newsgroup for the benefit of others Requests for assistance by email can not and will not be acknowledged. This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights. http://www.microsoft.com/protect "Mint" wrote in message ... A friend has a Optiplex 755 and one of the cooling fans runs constantly. System Information for Windows shows normal CPU and hard drive temperatures. I ended one process that was using a lot of the CPU, but nothing changed. Any other things I can look at? Thanks. |
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Runaway cooling fan
"Nil" wrote in message
... On 07 Dec 2010, "glee" wrote in microsoft.public.windowsxp.general: First of all, the OP stated the CPU temps were normal. If the heat sink were no longer secure, no amount of fan speed would cool the CPU, and it would be overheating or even shutting down. Secondly, while it's not impossible, it is extremely improbable that the clip on the heat sink would break of its own accord in service. The only time I have ever seen those type of clips break is DURING a replacement or installation procedure on the heat sink, not months or years after the installation. I've seen several examples of the clip breaking on their own, years after manufacture. They were all Dell computers. The clip was a spring- y metal band that was laid across the fan/heat sink and anchored to eyehook-like points that were soldered into the motherboard. The eyehooks came loose from the motherboard and the heat sink fell off. The CPU overheated immediately and the computer shut down and would not complete a bootup. I fashioned new eyehooks out of safety pins, soldered them onto the motherboard, reattached the clip, and the computers have been working fine ever since, as far as I know. I'm sure this is not the problem in this case. We had almost all Dells for years where I worked, and also at two other sites I supported, and I never saw that. I wonder if it was a particular model that had the problem. The clips you describe sound like Socket A or Socket 7 types...were they? Safety pins! I love it! The people in the local hardware store know better than to help me anymore. They used to ask what I was looking for, and I'd start describing what I was trying to do with some oddball plumbing or electrical part, using it for some unrelated application...and they'd back away slowly! lol! -- Glen Ventura MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009 CompTIA A+ http://dts-l.net/ |
#8
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Runaway cooling fan
On 07 Dec 2010, "glee" wrote in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general: We had almost all Dells for years where I worked, and also at two other sites I supported, and I never saw that. I wonder if it was a particular model that had the problem. The clips you describe sound like Socket A or Socket 7 types...were they? I said "several", but it was really only three or four. It's been a few years now and I don't remember what socket form they were. They were all similar models bought around the same time. It was obviously a bad design decision and presumably Dell eventually fixed it. Safety pins! I love it! The people in the local hardware store know better than to help me anymore. They used to ask what I was looking for, and I'd start describing what I was trying to do with some oddball plumbing or electrical part, using it for some unrelated application...and they'd back away slowly! lol! The first one I had, the little eyelet seemed to have been lost when the clip sprang open. I cut off the ends of a small safety pin and used the loop end as a new eyelet and soldered the two short pins back into the original two holes in the motherboard. I later found the original eyelet wedged into a corner of the case, but my handmade fix seemed sturdier than the original, so when the others showed up with the same problem, I used my trick on them, too. |
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Runaway cooling fan
On Dec 7, 9:50*am, Mint wrote:
A friend has a Optiplex 755 and one of the cooling fans runs constantly. System Information for Windows shows normal CPU and hard drive temperatures. I ended one process that was using a lot of the CPU, but nothing changed. Any other things I can look at? Thanks. REFORMAT YOUR COMPUTER AND INSTALL OPEN SOURCE LINUX UBUNTU! |
#10
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Runaway cooling fan
"glee" wrote in message ... "Nil" wrote in message ... On 07 Dec 2010, "glee" wrote in microsoft.public.windowsxp.general: First of all, the OP stated the CPU temps were normal. If the heat sink were no longer secure, no amount of fan speed would cool the CPU, and it would be overheating or even shutting down. Secondly, while it's not impossible, it is extremely improbable that the clip on the heat sink would break of its own accord in service. The only time I have ever seen those type of clips break is DURING a replacement or installation procedure on the heat sink, not months or years after the installation. I've seen several examples of the clip breaking on their own, years after manufacture. They were all Dell computers. The clip was a spring- y metal band that was laid across the fan/heat sink and anchored to eyehook-like points that were soldered into the motherboard. The eyehooks came loose from the motherboard and the heat sink fell off. The CPU overheated immediately and the computer shut down and would not complete a bootup. I fashioned new eyehooks out of safety pins, soldered them onto the motherboard, reattached the clip, and the computers have been working fine ever since, as far as I know. I'm sure this is not the problem in this case. We had almost all Dells for years where I worked, and also at two other sites I supported, and I never saw that. I wonder if it was a particular model that had the problem. The clips you describe sound like Socket A or Socket 7 types...were they? Safety pins! I love it! The people in the local hardware store know better than to help me anymore. They used to ask what I was looking for, and I'd start describing what I was trying to do with some oddball plumbing or electrical part, using it for some unrelated application...and they'd back away slowly! lol! -- Glen Ventura MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009 CompTIA A+ http://dts-l.net/ When I read Nil's post, I knew it sounded familiar. It was the chipset heatsink clip that would come loose, shut the PC down, and keep it from booting up again. Here's a picture of the offending part: http://media.hardwareanalysis.com/ar...arge/10302.jpg and two articles about it: http://www.computing.net/answers/har...off/28145.html http://www.computing.net/answers/har...cho/29093.html Seems the retaining clip is part of the detection circuit, and shuts it down when the circuit (clip) is broken. -- SC Tom -There's no such thing as TMI when asking for tech support. |
#11
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Runaway cooling fan
On Dec 7, 5:05*pm, Kevin Panzke wrote:
On Dec 7, 9:50*am, Mint wrote: A friend has a Optiplex 755 and one of the cooling fans runs constantly. System Information for Windows shows normal CPU and hard drive temperatures. I ended one process that was using a lot of the CPU, but nothing changed. Any other things I can look at? Thanks. REFORMAT YOUR COMPUTER AND INSTALL OPEN SOURCE LINUX UBUNTU! Keep your day job, dude. :-) Andy |
#12
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Runaway cooling fan
On Dec 7, 5:22*pm, "SC Tom" wrote:
"glee" wrote in message ... "Nil" wrote in message ... On 07 Dec 2010, "glee" wrote in microsoft.public.windowsxp.general: First of all, the OP stated the CPU temps were normal. If the heat sink were no longer secure, no amount of fan speed would cool the CPU, and it would be overheating or even shutting down. Secondly, while it's not impossible, it is extremely improbable that the clip on the heat sink would break of its own accord in service. *The only time I have ever seen those type of clips break is DURING a replacement or installation procedure on the heat sink, not months or years after the installation. I've seen several examples of the clip breaking on their own, years after manufacture. They were all Dell computers. The clip was a spring- y *metal band that was laid across the fan/heat sink and anchored to eyehook-like points that were soldered into the motherboard. The eyehooks came loose from the motherboard and the heat sink fell off. The CPU overheated immediately and the computer shut down and would not complete a bootup. I fashioned new eyehooks out of safety pins, soldered them onto the motherboard, reattached the clip, and the computers have been working fine ever since, as far as I know. I'm sure this is not the problem in this case. We had almost all Dells for years where I worked, and also at two other sites I supported, and I never saw that. *I wonder if it was a particular model that had the problem. *The clips you describe sound like Socket A or Socket 7 types...were they? Safety pins! *I love it! *The people in the local hardware store know better than to help me anymore. *They used to ask what I was looking for, and I'd start describing what I was trying to do with some oddball plumbing or electrical part, using it for some unrelated application...and they'd back away slowly! *lol! -- Glen Ventura MS MVP *Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009 CompTIA A+ http://dts-l.net/ When I read Nil's post, I knew it sounded familiar. It was the chipset heatsink clip that would come loose, shut the PC down, and keep it from booting up again. Here's a picture of the offending part:http://media.hardwareanalysis.com/ar...arge/10302.jpg and two articles about it:http://www.computing.net/answers/har...sink-solderdow... Seems the retaining clip is part of the detection circuit, and shuts it down when the circuit (clip) is broken. -- SC Tom -There's no such thing as TMI when asking for tech support. The computer is at a senior center, so popping open the case probably won't be an option. There are 3 other exact models and none of them are doing it. I am thinking. Bad sensor or bad fan ? Seems like I saw a program once that could control the fan speed. It supported a lot of motherboards. I'll look around. Andy |
#13
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Runaway cooling fan
Mint wrote:
On Dec 7, 5:22 pm, "SC Tom" wrote: "glee" wrote in message ... "Nil" wrote in message ... On 07 Dec 2010, "glee" wrote in microsoft.public.windowsxp.general: First of all, the OP stated the CPU temps were normal. If the heat sink were no longer secure, no amount of fan speed would cool the CPU, and it would be overheating or even shutting down. Secondly, while it's not impossible, it is extremely improbable that the clip on the heat sink would break of its own accord in service. The only time I have ever seen those type of clips break is DURING a replacement or installation procedure on the heat sink, not months or years after the installation. I've seen several examples of the clip breaking on their own, years after manufacture. They were all Dell computers. The clip was a spring- y metal band that was laid across the fan/heat sink and anchored to eyehook-like points that were soldered into the motherboard. The eyehooks came loose from the motherboard and the heat sink fell off. The CPU overheated immediately and the computer shut down and would not complete a bootup. I fashioned new eyehooks out of safety pins, soldered them onto the motherboard, reattached the clip, and the computers have been working fine ever since, as far as I know. I'm sure this is not the problem in this case. We had almost all Dells for years where I worked, and also at two other sites I supported, and I never saw that. I wonder if it was a particular model that had the problem. The clips you describe sound like Socket A or Socket 7 types...were they? Safety pins! I love it! The people in the local hardware store know better than to help me anymore. They used to ask what I was looking for, and I'd start describing what I was trying to do with some oddball plumbing or electrical part, using it for some unrelated application...and they'd back away slowly! lol! -- Glen Ventura MS MVP Oct. 2002 - Sept. 2009 CompTIA A+ http://dts-l.net/ When I read Nil's post, I knew it sounded familiar. It was the chipset heatsink clip that would come loose, shut the PC down, and keep it from booting up again. Here's a picture of the offending part:http://media.hardwareanalysis.com/ar...arge/10302.jpg and two articles about it:http://www.computing.net/answers/har...sink-solderdow... Seems the retaining clip is part of the detection circuit, and shuts it down when the circuit (clip) is broken. -- SC Tom -There's no such thing as TMI when asking for tech support. The computer is at a senior center, so popping open the case probably won't be an option. There are 3 other exact models and none of them are doing it. I am thinking. Bad sensor or bad fan ? Seems like I saw a program once that could control the fan speed. It supported a lot of motherboards. I'll look around. Andy If you try to slow down the fan without finding out what the problem is, you may run into even more problems than a loud fan. I would let your friend know that you have to have access to the innards of the PC in order to fix it properly. It could be something as simple as the plug has come slightly loose, not making a connection on the sensor leg, and forcing it to run fast. Or, as others have pointed out, it could be dust blocking the circulation around and through the CPU heatsink, and by forcing the fan to run slower, you'll be overheating the CPU. Sort of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario. I don't think my earlier post has anything to do with your problem; it was just a follow-up to Nil's post of the heatsink clip breaking. -- SC Tom -There's no such thing as TMI when asking for tech support. |
#14
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Runaway cooling fan
On 07 Dec 2010, "SC Tom" wrote in
microsoft.public.windowsxp.general: When I read Nil's post, I knew it sounded familiar. It was the chipset heatsink clip that would come loose, shut the PC down, and keep it from booting up again. Here's a picture of the offending part: http://media.hardwareanalysis.com/ar...arge/10302.jpg and two articles about it: http://www.computing.net/answers/har...off/28145.html http://www.computing.net/answers/har...cho/29093.html Seems the retaining clip is part of the detection circuit, and shuts it down when the circuit (clip) is broken. Yes, now that you remind me, I believe it was the chipset heat sink, not the CPU. Our clip looked a little different that the one in that picture, but the anchor loops on the motherboard look just right. Ah, the good old days when we'd keep our computers going with baling wire and chewing gum. |
#15
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Runaway cooling fan
glee wrote:
"Nil" wrote in message ... On 07 Dec 2010, "glee" wrote in microsoft.public.windowsxp.general: First of all, the OP stated the CPU temps were normal. If the heat sink were no longer secure, no amount of fan speed would cool the CPU, and it would be overheating or even shutting down. Secondly, while it's not impossible, it is extremely improbable that the clip on the heat sink would break of its own accord in service. The only time I have ever seen those type of clips break is DURING a replacement or installation procedure on the heat sink, not months or years after the installation. I've seen several examples of the clip breaking on their own, years after manufacture. They were all Dell computers. The clip was a spring- y metal band that was laid across the fan/heat sink and anchored to eyehook-like points that were soldered into the motherboard. The eyehooks came loose from the motherboard and the heat sink fell off. The CPU overheated immediately and the computer shut down and would not complete a bootup. I fashioned new eyehooks out of safety pins, soldered them onto the motherboard, reattached the clip, and the computers have been working fine ever since, as far as I know. I'm sure this is not the problem in this case. We had almost all Dells for years where I worked, and also at two other sites I supported, and I never saw that. I wonder if it was a particular model that had the problem. The clips you describe sound like Socket A or Socket 7 types...were they? Safety pins! I love it! The people in the local hardware store know better than to help me anymore. They used to ask what I was looking for, and I'd start describing what I was trying to do with some oddball plumbing or electrical part, using it for some unrelated application...and they'd back away slowly! lol! Actually, certain models of cooling devices, are notorious for failing. And for good reasons. On some AMD systems, the socket has three plastic tabs for the clip to snap onto. And some genius heatsink designers, fit a "one-hole" clip onto the plastic. And then apply extreme pressure on the clip. After a couple years, the single plastic tab, snaps from the abuse. There have also been cases, of some of the Intel plastic ones snapping. So it is possible for cooler parts to fail while in use, and without mechanical shock being the reason for the failure. All it takes, is plastic... and stress. My current after-market cooler, uses screws and nuts. And I can be reasonably assured it won't fall off. The Northbridge cooler, is sometimes held in place with a spring steel wire. And it hooks onto some U-shaped things soldered to the motherboard. Due to the metal chosen for the U-shaped thing, it doesn't solder well. (I have one design here, that uses stainless steel for the hook, when a tin-lead interface should have been used. They can pull out of the motherboard, because of the lousy solder joint.) You can see an example of a U-shaped thing, pulled out here. http://sequimpc.com/images/IMG_1940.jpg Paul |
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