CPU overheting problem - HELP!

dulpit

Hey, last week while i was burning a DVD my computer just decided to up and shut down automatically... When I switched it back on a big message was on screen saying that my CPU had suffered a terminal event (overheating) and to get it serviced as soon as possible. Happened again later on that evening when nothing was happening... My mother knows a guy so she rang him, he looked at PC (I wasn't around) and said that the hard-drive was too full (it was at time, too many DVD's that needed to be burned only a couple of gigs left) he said that could be causing problem. Cleared a lot of stuff off, over 40gb free now on a 120 gb disc. Last night shut down again, same message. Am i screwed? Does having too much stuff on disc cause a problem like this? Any solutions/observations would be greatly appreciated.

TerrorFirmer

Try running it with the side panel off. It might work as a tempory fix. As for this guy your mother knows, don't ask him anything else...

Check to see if the fan is still running on your cpu. If not, you can get a new one fairly cheap and you don't need to know anything really about computers to replace it. If it is still working, you might need to take off the fan and heatsink, clean the thermal paste (this goes between base of the heatsink and your processor itself) and apply some more. This is also fairly standard and not remotely as difficult as it may sound, even to somebody with no experience.

dulpit

SO you say that having a lot of stuff on your hard drive does not affect CPU heat at all? Cos thats what i thought...

bringitdown

Also: remove dust from the Heat Sink / Fan / Chassis, a lens brush / blower can help here along with a hoover but do not apply the hoover directly any components.

Ensure adequate air flow into and out of the system - ie. if it is pushed up against a wall the exhausted air may just be blowing back into the system.

Ambient temperature also affects the system temperatures, ensure the room the PC is in is not an oven.

Get a temperature monitor and compare temps before and after cleaning - motherboard monitor is one.
http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,7309-order,1-page,1-c,alldownloads/description.html

The amount of content on your Hard Drive CANNOT affect your CPU temperature AT ALL.

XDA

Sounds like there is more than likely a problem with the Heatsink and fan on the CPU. For safety, you should source a new one and replace it. They are usually just a clip on job and easily replaceable.

Also make sure that you get some thermal compound along with the new heatsink/fan. When you remove the old one, clean the area of the CPU which will be in contact with the HSF and then apply a thin layer of thermal compound to the contact area before fitting the new HSF.

This will almost certainly solve your problem.

It is VERY unlikely that a full hard disk is causing any kind of thermal problem.

XDA

juliuspret

Full Hard Drive = Software problem.

You have a HARDWARE problem.

Clean out all dust and make sure that the fan is working at full speed by checking the RPM indicator(if possible) in the BIOS.

It is also possible that it was just a bad CPU or you overclocked the thing too much and BOOM its died on you.

Still if you are sure its a software problem then try a clean install of Windows on another partition or HDD and see if that works as it might also be a bad driver issue.

Keep us informed.

P.S.
When I was a lot younger I blew the PSU by switching it to 110V...the repair guy said I "overloaded" the computer(voltage that is) but my Mother then accused me of killing the PC by "loading" too many games on it....hahaha!!!

dulpit

Ok I downloaded that thing (Motherboard Monitor) and restarted computer and then got a read, says that case is 54 degrees, chipset is 43 degrees and CPU is 91 degrees:eek: (all Celsius) sounds very warm, is it dangerous? Also, i cleared as much dust as i could possibly get at Saturday...

bringitdown

Waaaay too hot are your fans spinning ... particularly your CPU fan?
What RPM is MBM reporting for each fan?

dulpit

bringitdown wrote:

Waaaay too hot are your fans spinning ... particularly your CPU fan?
What RPM is MBM reporting for each fan?

Only one fan seems to be spinning - Fan 1 @ 2612 RPM. Took off the case to have a look, there's only 1 fan that I can see, is at the back of the tower blowing out. If there's any others I can't spot them...

bringitdown

Hmmm there is usually a fan on the Heatsink that is attached to the CPU unless the computer is particularly old or has a particularly fantastical heatsink.

If it is a Dell PC sometimes the heatsink/fan/cpu are guarded under an exhaust shoot. You may have to remove this to see if the CPU fan is spinning altho if MBM reports only one fan, then perhaps there is only one fan /confused.

Post up your system specs ... but with a temperature of 91c I'd be pretty worried...!

dulpit

Not a Dell - PCPro.

Not sure what specs you need so:
Pentium 4 - 2.99 Ghz
Windows XP Pro Service Pack2
512mb ram
Intel motherboard (d865glc i think is the motherboard - may be something else, got this from msinfo32)

bringitdown wrote:

If it is a Dell PC sometimes the heatsink/fan/cpu are guarded under an exhaust shoot. You may have to remove this to see if the CPU fan is spinning altho if MBM reports only one fan, then perhaps there is only one fan /confused.

As i said its not a Dell but looking inside it does have something that looks similar, box with intel stamped on it, looks like heatsink could be inside....

Would one of these PC doctor/repair shops be able to fix this?

bringitdown

Yeah, perhaps a trip to a repair center is in order.

Strange setup on the CPU/Heatsink/Fan ... if you had access to them you could clean off excess dust and retry MBM.

Be wary of getting ripped off tho. If it is just dust this should cost you very little, at worst it is a replacement of the fan/HS, still should not cost an arm and a leg.

To satisfy my curiousity any chance you could post a pic up of this box??!

/edit: by PcPro you mean these guys: http://www.pcpro.ie/

dulpit

Ya its that crowd (well their sticker is on the front of box) Unfortunately i don't have a digital camera handy (or at all) so I'm using sister's phone, quality's not great.

The fan is on the left, and the box is the shiny thing in middle... Actually looking at this pic, inside's still quite dusty, whats the best way to clean it? Dry cloth?

Pacifico

Fairly dusty alright!

Take the fan off the heatsink, clean it and the heatsink. Do the same with your exhaust fan.

bringitdown

The thing with the Intel Sticker on it is the CPU fan. It should spin when the PC is on. It it doesn't spin - there is your trouble. If it does remove all the dust from that bit of kit.

Best way to get rid of dust is to use a blower or gentle brush like ones used to clean camera lenses to displace the dust and then a hoover to remove it... as I said earlier don't apply the hoover to any components directly, hover it over them at a distance of 2 inches or so and then brush the dust, it should suck it up then.

Here is a pic of a lens brush, http://aka.fotovista.com/dev/4/7/43050074/g_43050074.jpg you should be able to pick one up in a Jessops or a camera shop for a few yoyos. I have used one and pushed it down between the CPU Fan blades and then spun it to remove dust and temps drop several degrees straight away. /obviously PC off and power cable removed, earth yourself too.

TerrorFirmer

Can of compressed air is also good, only cost a few euro from PC World or Maplins - you'd be amazed at how much of a hoover a machine can be. I give mine a small clean out every once in awhile but even after a few days its noticable. I once opened a machine that hadn't been opened since it's manufacture - there was actually a carpet of dust over everything,you could barely see the motherboard at all. Funny and all though, your computer can last 10 years like this - or 2 months if something just gets particularly bad. Most people never open the machines...

dulpit

So basically you're saying if that fan isn't swirling get it fixed and if it is just clean the sh1t out of it? And cross my fingers? I'll let ye know how it goes...

bringitdown

dulpit wrote:

So basically you're saying if that fan isn't swirling get it fixed and if it is just clean the sh1t out of it? And cross my fingers? I'll let ye know how it goes...

Yup!

Cuddlesworth

I would go with a can of compressed air to clean it out, just point it at the fan and let it loose. Only costs around a tenner.

Ps the guy who looked at your pc should be taken out back and get the Lassie treatment.

dulpit

Hey, so update on the roasting CPU... Ihad noticed that it seemed to get esp. warm while playing music (up to 95 degrees or so). Anyway, got around to cleaning it earleir today, did as good a job as i could... Comp. was idling before hand, temp was around 60 -70degrees, and as i said when i played music it jumped to over 90.

Anyway, cleaned it, got as much dust as possible out, cleaned the fan blades (lots of gunk there ) etc. let it for a while (dinner was happening) and switched back on 20 minutes ago, doing nothing around 45 degrees, music playing jumps to 48 or 49 degrees, occasionally 50.


Fixed I think.. 50 is a safe temp, right? Cheers for help too lads, nice one...:D