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cpu fan failure during start up on Dell 7100
I received me Dell 7100 on the 28th of January and on initial start up saw the message, "cpu fan failure f1 to boot or f2 for setup utility". I then shut off the pc and opened the case and checked for a loose connection and didn't find one but I pulled the cpu fan connection and reseated it just to make sure. The next day it booted fine. The third day I received the cpu fan message again so I opened the case and saw the cpu fan spinning with the message still on the screen. I rebooted and flashed the bios to version A04 which I hoped would fix the problem but it didn't. Over the next 13 days I received the same error message 5 times on start up. I contacted Dell and they sent out a tech last Thursday. He installed a new motherboard and cpu heatsink and fan which solved my problem until yesterday. When I started my computer I received the same cpu fan failure message once again and also this morning. I checked the bios version and saw the new motherboard has A06 on it. Should I flash it with version A04? Does anyone have an idea about what is going on?
Josun54
4 Posts
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February 15th, 2011 14:00
I am having the exact same issue with my XPS 7100, I have not contacted Dell yet because when I open the case the fan is running fine so I am not sure why I keep getting this error message. It happens to me about every 3rd time I boot up. I would be interested in finding a solution as well .
Mike097
6 Posts
0
February 15th, 2011 16:00
It's nice to know I'm not the only person having this problem but at the same time, I'm sorry you have to deal with it as well. I contacted Dell this afternoon again and someone is supposed to call me tomorrow about the problem. I assumed with a new motherboard and heatsink/fan, the problem would go away. I wouldn't wait and not report the problem because you don't really know for sure if the fan is running properly by simply looking at it. Low rpms can mean extra heat and stress on the cpu.
Twweaker
1 Message
0
February 19th, 2011 08:00
Got my first "CPU Fan Failure" message this morning on my 4 month old Dell XPS 7100.
Guess I'll be calling Dell tech support next chance I get. The fans in these machines appear to be defective.
Mike097
6 Posts
1
February 19th, 2011 10:00
I talked to tech support on Wednesday and here is what they suggested. I went into the system set up (press F2 before computer boots into Windows) after restarting my computer. He had me reset my bios back to default. There is an option for this in the menu, saved the changes and let it boot into windows. I'm running bios version A06 on this machine. He then had me go to the Dell site and download the latest chipset drivers for my computer (SB 7XX) and helped me install them into the correct Windows folder. There is a link for the directions to do this above the download button. It was pretty simple. So far I have been error free when starting my computer in the morning. I know it's only been 3 days so far but this is certainly the longest I've gone without the "cpu fan failure" error message during start up.
Mike097
6 Posts
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February 21st, 2011 14:00
Well, the fix didn't last. Turned on the pc this morning and there it was again, "cpu fan failure". It's back to technical support once again.
Orange Kat
2 Posts
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March 20th, 2011 11:00
ANY follow up to this - is it the message that is an error, or has the fan really failed?
I have been getting these every couple of days. I sort of hear something running inside the case, do I assume that that is the fan? There's not more than one fan is there.....?
After reading these posts I'm really reluctant to call for service - don't want them pulling it apart unless they really know what the problem is.
THX
Mike097
6 Posts
1
March 20th, 2011 14:00
There are 3 fans inside the case. The psu fan, cpu fan and the case fan. I questioned the Dell tech about the possibility of the power supply being faulty before they tried to fix the problem the first time. All they would replace the first time was the motherboard and cpu fan which failed. When I contacted customer support the second time, I asked again about the power supply giving incorrect voltages during the initial seconds of start up causing the error. He didn't think that could be the problem but when a service tech came out the second time he replaced the cpu fan, motherboard and power supply and the problem has not returned since. That was just about a month ago now. So in my case I think it was the power supply. Don't be afraid to contact customer support about the problem you're having, they were decent with me and handled it quickly. They charged you for a warranty in the price of your computer so make them fix the problem.
Josun54
4 Posts
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March 20th, 2011 15:00
I contacted customer service and they remoted in on my desktop and flashed the bios with a different version which did not fix the issue. I contacted them again and they sent a tech out to replace the cpu fan and now I have no more issues to date. It has been about 3 weeks since a tech installed the new fan. So hopefully this is a permanent fix for me.
Orange Kat
2 Posts
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March 20th, 2011 19:00
Thanks will do!! Could you do me a huge favor and provide contact info for tech support -I've just spent 45 minutes looking all over the website - I dont know why it needs to be so difficult....
Mike097
6 Posts
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March 20th, 2011 23:00
Go to the official Dell site, Dell.com and in the upper right you will see "Technical Support" in small blue letters. Just click on that link and start from there by answering some questions about your pc. You'll need your service tag number at some point so I would find it on the top or back of your pc and write it down for easy access.