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54529
February 17th, 2015 06:00
Intermittent CPU Fan operation
We have a Dell Studio XPS 8100 from december 2010.
The past days the fan is intermittently going high/low at a 5s interval when the PC starts to heat up.
When we use the softwaretool Speedfan to manually control the behaviour of the CPU Fan, it doesn't do this.
So it seems the fan is not broken but the control algorithm of the CPU fan has changed or is influenced in some way.
Any ideas how to solve this without having to use the speedfan software ?
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Porlek
4 Posts
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February 17th, 2015 19:00
Okay after looking through a hundred or more forums I *think* I may have found the solution. Look in your Uninstall Programs for Dell Datasafe. You should notice it installed around the time your problem started (along with Dell Support Assistant but I don't think that one is the problem).
Uninstall anything that states Dell Datasafe and restart computer.
I did this and then I ran some graphics benchmarks to make sure my CPU was well used. The problem had gone away and has not returned since.
If you do uninstall Datasafe and keep Dell Support Assistant don't forget to check the boxes in Support Assistant for auto downloads or you'll find Datasafe re-installing itself again!
Don't know what Datasafe was or why Dell decided to install it onto my PC but that seems to be the trouble. Good luck.
Albertstan
3 Posts
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February 17th, 2015 07:00
I also have a Dell Studio 8100 XPS (Sept 2010) and exactly the same thing as you describe has started happening with mine too. It started last week. Could this have anything to do with the Windows update that was instelled last week?
kirkd
4 Operator
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5.2K Posts
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February 17th, 2015 08:00
Lot's of problems recently like this. One person uninstalled recent Windows updates and solved the problem. He is now installing each one individually to try to identify the bad guy.
Usually, the fan profile resides in the BIOS, not in a normal windows core program. The BIOS is written by Dell and not Microsoft, so it's hard to imagine why a MS update would affect the fan. I've had two laptops with fan problems. Both were fixed by BIOS updates, one official update and one a non-official. The later one was eventually fixed by Dell a year later.
kirkd
4 Operator
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5.2K Posts
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February 17th, 2015 08:00
Correction; I didn't have my morning coffee yet.
One of my laptop problems was with the fan, but the BIOS fix was for a video issue. The fan problem was a poor profile for speed vs. temperature.; the fan wouldn't come on till the temps got fairly high, then came on a supersonic speed. This I cured using I8kfangui. I was able to set a four step profile for each fans to get a very smooth fan speed/temperature profile so overall temperatures were very consistent, and I very rarely had high speed fan operation except with demanding games. This program worked for early Dells (written for the Inspiron 8000) but not for many recent laptops.
Porlek
4 Posts
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February 17th, 2015 18:00
Mine started last week also. I have uninstalled all the W7 updates and it is still doing it. It seems to be fine til the CPU starts to get hot and the fan has to speed up - as soon as this happens even when the CPU is cool the fan continues whirring on and off. I cleaned the fan, I reattached the heatsink with fresh thermal paste and still the same problem.
I guess I'll have to try a new fan next but I'm not convinced it will help.
Thing is - if I put the PC to sleep mode for only a second and then wake it, the fan stops whirring (until it gets to the point the fan has to go to fast again then it never stops the whirring yet again).
Smiseel
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33 Posts
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February 18th, 2015 06:00
Hi,
I'm the person who restored the computer to Feb 11 - the date before the Windows update.
Before this, I opened the case I could visually see the processor fan speed fluctuate from lower to higher.
1- I cleaned everything with compressed air.
2- I restored the computer to Feb 11 because the problem sound began on Feb 12th, and then ran the desktop through it's paces. Everything worked, no more fan cycling up and down.
3- I downloaded ccleaner and got rid of anything I thought might be clogging up the system and one of my uninstalls was the 'dell datasafe".
4-Using windows update, I downloaded and installed the files.
I no longer have any problems. Smooth sailing!
Was it the '"system restore" or the "dell datasafe"? After reading Porlek's post, I think it must have been the "datasafe". In any case, my computer is working smoothly now that I got rid of a lot of junk with ccleaner. I'm a happy woman!
Hope this post helps you,
Jane