Fan running constantly

[steadysteve]

Hi guys,
I have got a Packard Bell desktop comp.
The cooling fan is running flat out almost from the minute it is switched on, although it does sometimes slow down so not 'stuck' in top gear. It doesn't sound poorly, just on all the time. Bloody irritating and wearing after a while. Never heard one like it.
The Curry's Tech Guys have looked at it three times under the extended warranty to no avail (cleaned the fins on the processor, put some paste on it to aid heat transfer etc etc.)
Any info help appreciated.


Also when returning to it after it has been on standby and going onto internet explorer, it puts a message on the screen advising that the last session didn't close properly and do i want to return to it or the home page? I always close all programs manually before putting it on standby.

Again, any advice appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[Fanum]

Try restarting it and hitting f2 or whatever key it says takes you into the bios at setup.

There may be settings in there that control the fan

There are also various benchmarking progs like Everest that will give you an in-depth look at the MOBO settings, including temperature etc- that may help diagnose the problem.

 

[BD]

Are we talking CPU fan or case fan,or the fan on the PSU.CPU fans are controlled by software,case fan also but can be wired direct to the 5v rail so can run constantly

 

[Malvern_Beemer]

If the noise is intrusive then it is likely that the bearings in the fan are on there way out. Just replace the fan, they're very cheap and a new one should be virtually silent. Best to do this before the fan dies completely and causes a much more expensive meltdown. I'm surprised that the droids at Currys didn't suggest this, but then again.

 

[Decster]

Might be a lot of dust clogging up inside makes the computer heat up quickly.

 

[Michael R1150GS Adventure]

my quad core advent fan runs continuously and has done from new (they alldo)
its bloody noisy too, but then it is running a hheeeyowge graphics card

My new i7 laptop with twice the power runs virtually silent

weird science

 

[Malvern_Beemer]

Might be a lot of dust clogging up inside makes the computer heat up quickly.

He's already stated that the Currys droids have had it apart and cleaned it out.

 

[(RIP) andrewgsadv]

Had a similar problem with a dell, was the graphics card on its way out,fan noise from that as overheating. New graphics card has no fan,now very quiet running

 

[rodders]

Which fan.
Why did they take the CPU off.. was it overheating.. If they took the CPU off they SHOULD have removed ALL of the old heat sink compound, cleaning the top of the CPU with isopropyl or similar before putting the new compound on.. If they put too much compound on that would exacerbate the problem as much as not enough...
By the way Currys tech guys

 

[BD]

As I said "which fan",forgot about the gpu,but may be onboard so untill we know which fan.....

 

[dakarDude]

He's already stated that the Currys droids have had it apart and cleaned it out.

Then that would definitely be the first thing I'd be looking at

 

[steadysteve]

Which Fan

Are we talking CPU fan or case fan,or the fan on the PSU.CPU fans are controlled by software,case fan also but can be wired direct to the 5v rail so can run constantly

CPU fan i think. Quite a big one with a shroud, blows on a square component (2-3 inch wide i seem to remember) with very thin fins on it.

 

[steadysteve]

Bearings

If the noise is intrusive then it is likely that the bearings in the fan are on there way out. Just replace the fan, they're very cheap and a new one should be virtually silent. Best to do this before the fan dies completely and causes a much more expensive meltdown. I'm surprised that the droids at Currys didn't suggest this, but then again.

Cheers for the reply. It's not mechanically noisy, it sounds perfectly healthy from that point of view, it's just flat out all the time. Like a bloody hairdrier going on 'fast' all the time aaarrrggghhh!
What makes it worse is the tower is next to the screen in the top of the desk/cabinet. No room underneath.

 

[steadysteve]

Dust

Might be a lot of dust clogging up inside makes the computer heat up quickly.

The Curry's guy #1 looked all pleased with himself when he took the back off because it was clogged up, cleaned it out, no different.

 

[steadysteve]

Had a similar problem with a dell, was the graphics card on its way out,fan noise from that as overheating. New graphics card has no fan,now very quiet running

Yeah Curry's suggested that but it hasn't got one. Only used for e.mail and t'internet. Thanks

 

[steadysteve]

F2

Try restarting it and hitting f2 or whatever key it says takes you into the bios at setup.

There may be settings in there that control the fan

There are also various benchmarking progs like Everest that will give you an in-depth look at the MOBO settings, including temperature etc- that may help diagnose the problem.

Thanks Bill, will try that. Or at least my 16 year old will...

 

[steadysteve]

Comp

Thanks for all the replies guys. Will hopefully get it sorted using the pointers given and report back.

 

[chrishb4]

Download a prog called speccy, it's free and will tell you what's going on inside the pc, temps etc.

 

[UturnTony]

windows. you could run task manager and see what's running and what the processor is running at. windows media player will run in the background and keep the processor running at 20 odd percent and cause the fan to run. just a thought as this was the problem with my new lenovo lap top which was running the battery down rapid as the fan was going like a feckin' helicopter. pc world knowledge guys replaced the battery (3 weeks to get it) which didn't fix it so i investigated it myself via google and there it was, stop media player running and presto, quiet machine and lotsa battery life. result.