CPU Fan stuck on one speed ?

Question

The fan on my 5150 seems to stick on the medium speed after I start the computer. I assume the fan is designed to run continuously, but change speeds depending on CPU use, ect. Mine will not change at all. Rebooting the computer does not seem to help. About the only thing I have found that does stop this is to run Fangui. I can turn off the fan with Fangui then uninstall the application from the computer, and the fan seems to work correctly afterwards, speeding up and slowing down normally. This might stay this way for one or two reboots, but eventually the fan will stick on the medium speed after a startup. I have run a diagnostic on the fan, and the test stated that the fanâ€™s low and high speeds were OK.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

SKMexiFry · Answer

The same exact thing was happening to my 1100, even the part about using the Fangui, down to the last detail. My problem: Dust in the vent. It even had just started doing this after I put a P4 in instead of a Celeron. After I blew compressed air in the vent a few times, the fan almost completely turned off, and would only come back on during heavy use. I would try this first, especially if you have not cleaned it since purchasing it. Try to blow air in every few weeks, as it will build up in there fast. Hope this works!

mach3 · Answer

Are you using bios A36? I had the same problem with it :-)

Dawo · Answer

mach3, I am using bios A36, at least that is what pops up on the screen on start up. Is there a bug in it? Thanks, Dave

Dawo · Answer

Thanks for the info. I tried cleaning the fan as you suggested, and since it has been working OK. I have only had the computer about two weeks, and you wouldn't think it could get that dirty in that time. Hopefully that was the problem though. Regards, Dave

mach3 · Answer

Dawo >> It is not a bug I think, but take a look at this:

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_bios&message.id=26952&highlight=A36#M26952

But I haven't heard of machines that have burned and there is no official from Dell either (and it has been more than a month since the A36 was released) - so until now I don't think it's a general problem.

However I chose to return to A35 to play safe. And I think that the fan control from bios need some improvements so I will wait for the A37 :-)

Best Regards

mach3 · Answer

Btw I also experienced the fan shutting down at strange times like when launching a game and other cpu using applications. But I did not have any crashes and the fans went on again some times.

Again I believe that the fan management system needs to be improved.

Best Regards

mach3 · Answer

With the A36 version it forgot to write

rickmktg · Answer

If you click on a message you just posted, you can then EDIT it and not have to post three different messages in 4 minutes.

mach3 · Answer

Ok sorry about that - I did not know

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