Computer fan problems

Since last night, my computer fan has been running on high.

I already did hard reset and blew the vents out with a hairdryer on cool.

Any other suggestions on how to fix this that isn't related to either A. Replacing fan or B. Replacing motherboard.

I am broke.

Thanks.

Try one of those compressed air bottles that are cheap to buy and get rid of all the dust that has accumulated in your PC. Amazing what you can get rid using one of those....

reply to post by scotsdavy1


I've already blown the dust off/out of the vents. Anyone know what else could be wrong other than the heat sensor being messed up, board, or fan?

Any fixes that don't require replacement of those? Any ideas? Me broke.

Right now it's blowing cool air.

What system are you running ...win7, Vista, XP?
Did you check for adware, malware...
You can also try running: sfc /scannow from the run command. If you are running Microsoft Windows ****

all I know you can do without knowing your system configurations...

reply to post by Shdak


I'm running windows 7 but I also booted Ubuntu and it was still doing same thing.

When I reset computer the HP screen brought up a 90b error, which is related to a fan issue.

I was just wondering if there's any other fix beside throwing my computer through a window...or replacing motherboard etc.

External fan controller would do the job.
Or maybe switch fan ports on the mobo, and don't use that one anymore.

reply to post by OrphanApology


First of all, install coretemp so you can see if you really are overheating. (dl.installiq.com...).

Second, take your access panel off and look into the fans themselves, blowing out any debris with compressed air.

An external blowdrying wont clean out ANYTHING. An internal blowdrying probably wont help either. Find the fan that is the offender and take it out of your computer and clean it out with rubbing alcahol and q-tips. When it looks new again, put it back in. (make sure all rubbing alcohol has evaporated before reinstall.)

If this STILL doesn't help, buy a new $2.99 fan off the internet and install it.Make sure to measure your current fan and order the same size.
www.newegg.com...

Try running it in,safe,mode,and see if problem is still there....
Take both sides off the PC and again, see how it runs

reply to post by evilmonkey


Thanks for the links. I will try taking my computer apart. First I am going to need to buy some tiny screwdrivers.

Thanks again for some links for stuff to try. I will first make sure it isn't overheating.

I have it propped up normally. The design of this computer is so asinine, they put the fan on the bottom of the computer with no space between it and whatever it's sitting on. It has overheated in past because of that. Either way though I will try all the suggestions and report back if they don't work.

2.99 for a fan = extra awesome. All the sites I had looked up were like 30 bucks. Thanks for the link.

Newegg.com is the only place I buy that stuff from.
Built my entire computer using parts I bought from them.

reply to post by rangerdanger


I've thought about trying to build my own computer but I don't know where to start. I don't know as much about computers as I should.

I am looking on there now and it looks like most of the stuff is really cheap. Reminds me of how Amazon used to be before it got too popular. There's still deals on Amazon but for the popular items it's sometimes hard to find any.

reply to post by OrphanApology


It's not nearly as hard as people think. A little research will point you in the right direction, and there is a thread on ATS where you can ask all the computer questions your heart desires. I think I have the link to that thread in my sig.

reply to post by OrphanApology


I have heard lots of issues under that code for HP, if it's not a software issue; check and make sure your BIOS is up-to-date...

reply to post by OrphanApology


Might be time to replace the thermal paste between the proc and heatsink. In order to do that, you need to remove the heatsink, scrape the old thermal paste off of the top of the cpu as well as the interface pad of the heatsink with a plastic scraper (never use anything metal on either) and apply the new thermal paste. If you are not sure that it's the cpu that's overheating, d/load a program called Speedfan and it will tell you what exactly it is that's running hot, as well as all your fan speeds (obviously). It interfaces with the thermal sensors in the motherboard, cpu, gpu, etc. and displays them for you.

xXxinfidelxXx
reply to post by OrphanApology

 

Might be time to replace the thermal paste between the proc and heatsink. In order to do that, you need to remove the heatsink, scrape the old thermal paste off of the top of the cpu as well as the interface pad of the heatsink with a plastic scraper (never use anything metal on either) and apply the new thermal paste. If you are not sure that it's the cpu that's overheating, d/load a program called Speedfan and it will tell you what exactly it is that's running hot, as well as all your fan speeds (obviously). It interfaces with the thermal sensors in the motherboard, cpu, gpu, etc. and displays them for you.

q tip, and rubbing alcohol also works to remove thermal paste. Just make sure you dip the q tip in alcohol to keep it from getting everywhere.

just running the computer at the bios stats screen for a while will give you an idea of its 'at rest' temperatures which you'll be able to compare to your cpu's guidelines, check the air flow of the fans...does it feel like its going its job? if not perhaps its on its last legs and get a new fan...sometimes a drop of wd-40 will work wonders on a fan where its starting to run a bit dry to give you time to replace the fan

also do check the psu to make sure its got a clean air supply as its amazing the size of the dust bunnies that can hide in there and it blocks up the air flow increasing the temperature

but i wouldn't trust a hairdryer to shift compacted dust bunnies particularly middle of the heatsinks and best thing to do when cleaning a computer out is to try and get it as day 1 fresh as possible so do spend that extra bit of time pulling that bunnie out from between the hdd and the dvd burner etc

Just one more thing to add to all the suggestions above: you need to clean in front of the fan, so the hot air can get out of the computer, but you also need to clean the places from which the air enters the computer, having clean entry and exit points for the cooling air is the only way of having an efficient air cooling.

I didnt see where it was asked, but is this a laptop or desktop? If desktop, you should be able to thumbscrew off the side panel, and verify that the CPU fan itself is clean enough. if its a laptop, you'll have to remove pretty much the entire bottom casing and blow the dust out from every orifice, and maybe remove the heatsink and re-paste and reinstall

reply to post by kingofyo1


Alright, so update everyone.

Before even taking apart the computer(I am waiting for paste) the error message went away and the fan is quiet again. I don't know what's going on with this thing but I think I should still replace the cheaper parts you all suggested. I will just have to look some videos up on doing it all.

What worries me is that it doesn't start running on high anymore even when I'm in my CPU intensive programs, like my music software.

reply to post by OrphanApology


well what does coretemp report??