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Excess heat can cause the fans to run faster and continuously which can potentially damage internal components and reduce the performance of the computer. Your computer may contain one or more fans to keep the internal components cool. Under normal working conditions, it is normal for a computer to generate a fair amount of heat and become warm to touch depending on usage. Fans that continue to spin quickly and make abnormally loud noises might indicate a problem.
Common causes for fans not working, abnormal, or loud fan noise, overheating:
Expand the sections below for more information and follow the troubleshooting steps.
Blocked air vents can cause serious performance issues by restricting airflow, this can cause the processor, system memory (RAM), and other hardware to overheat which may lead to a potential hardware failure. Excessive heat can also cause a significant decrease in performance as most processors automatically reduce the speed of the processor to help compensate for heat-related problems. If you notice the computer fan running constantly and making an abnormal or loud noise, this might indicate that the computer is not running as efficiently as possible, and/or clogged air vents.
It is important to keep dust from accumulating in your computer and ensure adequate ventilation to help reduce heat. Lint and dust accumulation prevents air from flowing around the cooling fins and causes the fan to work harder.
Your Dell computer may contain several fans to keep the internal components cool:
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Proper ventilation is important for better air circulation both outside and inside the computer. Adequate ventilation can help the computer fans perform efficiently and also increase their life span. You can also consider placing the computer in a cooler room in your house or office which can help prevent the computer from overheating.
Guidelines to ensure adequate ventilation
Running a hardware diagnostic test can help you identify hardware-related problems and provide you troubleshooting steps to help resolve the issue. To determine if your Dell computer is experiencing a hardware problem, it is recommended that you first run a hardware diagnostic test on your computer. Dell offers both integrated and online diagnostics. Dell SupportAssist or ePSA hardware diagnostic test help check if the hardware devices are working correctly.
To learn more about Dell ePSA or PSA diagnostics, browse to the Dell knowledge base article Resolve Hardware Issues with Built-in and Online Diagnostics (ePSA or PSA Error Codes).
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See the Dell knowledge base article Resolve Hardware Issues With Integrated and Online Diagnostics (SupportAssist ePSA, ePSA, or PSA Error Codes) for information about how to look up the error code for additional help.
If the Dell ePSA diagnostics and other troubleshooting steps has not identified the cause of USB issue, we recommend that you consider running a hardware checkup using Dell SupportAssist. Dell SupportAssist diagnostic test helps you troubleshoot a problem and get automated fixes.
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Dell Technologies recommends updating the device drivers and BIOS as part of your scheduled update cycle. Device drivers and BIOS updates may contain feature enhancements or changes that will help keep your system software current and compatible with other computer modules (hardware and software) as well as increased stability.
It is recommended that you installing the following device drivers to ensure optimal performance of the fans in your computer.
To learn how to download and install a device driver on your Dell computer, see the Dell knowledge base article Drivers and Downloads FAQs.
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To learn how to download and update the BIOS on your Dell computer, see the Dell knowledge base Dell BIOS Updates.
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Here are some additional steps that can help improve the performance of the fans in your computer.
Windows updates can support your Windows operating system in many ways. Windows updates can solve specific problems, provide protection from malicious attacks, or even add new features to the operating system.
SupportAssist helps you optimize your computer by running a series of diagnostics to identify modifications to files and settings of your computer. Optimizing your computer improves your computer speed, storage space availability, and stability by cleaning temporary files, tuning computer performance and optimizing network.
Cleaning your files helps you remove redundant files, temporary folders, and other unnecessary clutter from your computer.
Tuning your computer performance helps you adjust the power settings, registry, and memory allocation to maximize the processing speed of your computer.
Optimizing your network helps you ensure network connectivity and updates your computer settings to maintain an efficient and reliable network.
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Many applications or software that is run in the system tray, or also called notification area. These applications usually launch during startup and stay running in the background but remain hidden. Preventing these applications from launching during startup will not only improve the performance of your computer but also help the fans run slower comparatively due to lesser load on the processor (CPU).
Malware (virus, spyware, trojans, and so on) can cause a computer fan to run constantly due to an overload on the processor (CPU), this in turn causes the fans to run constantly and fast. Spyware and other types of malware are a big cause of many computer problems. If you suspect your computer has been infected, there is a chance that malicious software may be running in the background and slowing down your computer.
It is recommended that you scan your computer with an anti-virus or anti-malware program. Windows 10 computer comes integrated with Windows Defender which provides basic protection against malware. Most Dell computers also come with a basic anti-virus software that is preinstalled like McAfee but may require a subscription. There are many anti-virus or anti-malware programs (free to use and subscription based) that you may use like McAfee, Norton, Kaspersky, Trend Micro. Use the anti-virus or anti-malware program that is installed on your computer to run a thorough or deep scan.
To learn more, see the Dell knowledge base article Protect your computer or remove virus, spyware or other malware in Microsoft Windows.
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19 Feb 2023
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